Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
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68 S politics and governance<br />
Looking back, <strong>the</strong> last few decades should teach us that democracy<br />
is vulnerable <strong>to</strong> those, whe<strong>the</strong>r terrorists or ideologues <strong>of</strong> any<br />
sort, who fl agrantly defy <strong>the</strong> rules <strong>of</strong> civility, <strong>to</strong>lerance, and public<br />
order. The his<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>of</strong> Greek democracy, again, stands both as a<br />
beacon <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> possibilities <strong>of</strong> self-governance and a warning about<br />
its fragility. Looking <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> future, ours will one day appear as an<br />
oddly disoriented time. Many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> issues that fueled <strong>the</strong> passions<br />
<strong>of</strong> our day will appear <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong>m as merely vaporous diversions from<br />
much larger issues. In particular, our obsession with consumption<br />
and individual rights <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> neglect <strong>of</strong> collective rights will appear<br />
derelict, perhaps criminally so.<br />
BEYOND LEFT AND RIGHT: THE CASE<br />
FOR PROTECTING POSTERITY<br />
We are at <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> an age <strong>of</strong> isms—socialism, Marxism, and<br />
capitalism—all <strong>of</strong> which in varying ways held that economic<br />
growth and technology could solve all <strong>of</strong> our problems. The<br />
18th-century Enlightenment belief in <strong>the</strong> possibility <strong>of</strong> human<br />
improvement has been whittled down <strong>to</strong> little more than <strong>the</strong> hope<br />
for continual material betterment, which in turn is threatened by<br />
ecological and demographic realities, and by our own psychology. 9<br />
Only <strong>the</strong> true believers and a few neoclassical economists remain<br />
on <strong>the</strong> crumbling ramparts <strong>of</strong> paradigms lost. But <strong>the</strong> need for orienting<br />
principles, durable political ideas, and practical visions that<br />
join us across old partisan divisions is greater than ever. I do not<br />
think <strong>the</strong> prospect <strong>of</strong> following such principles is as unlikely as it<br />
may fi rst seem, however, because we’ve done it before. In <strong>the</strong> late<br />
1960s, for example, Republicans and Democrats assimilated <strong>the</strong><br />
evidence about environmental deterioration and joined <strong>to</strong> create<br />
<strong>the</strong> National Environmental Policy Act (1969), <strong>the</strong> Clean Air<br />
Act (1970), <strong>the</strong> Clean Water Act (1972), and <strong>the</strong> Endangered Species<br />
Act (1973). Preserving and enhancing <strong>the</strong> environment was<br />
widely regarded as central <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> national interest, not dismissed