Ronald Wright - A Short History Of Progress: Preview I

I've been listening to the Massey Lectures featuring Ronald Wright; a historian and author.

The complete 4.2 hour recording of his lectures are on my computer and I've managed to listen to all of it. Wright gets at many points, the most prominent is that we are at the crossroads similar to that of the inhabitants of Easter Island, or Sumer. In Easter Island, it's inhabitant's belief in their mythology lead them to consume even more under resource scarcity in the hopes that offerings to the gods would provide them once again with abundance. Within our context, modern society has placed extreme devotion to the mythology of progress, technology, and complexity of lifestyle. To that end, we similarly are committing ourselves to the hope of salvation when the attitude itself is what has created our dilemma.

Wright suggests that moderation of consumption, and political cohesion towards a social prosperity isn't anti-capitalist. This is something which I don't think that he has explored fully, when it seems he says it quite briefly and "matter a fact". In order to truly understand the incongruence of what he seems to be suggesting, it is important to draw a parallel to theory of Hunter Lovins' natural capitalism. This in essence seeks to apply the costs of labour and that of the environment to goods and services offered within a capitalist framework. If true cost analysis were adopted by some system, by definition it would be sustainable, and theoretically peaceful-- very little to disagree with there.

However in her theory, there is a problem of defining capitalism. Because for me capitalism is not simply an ideology of free markets. Rather capitalism is the economic and imperialist manifestation of deranged liberal ideologies; and there are two important points to make in that regard. Firstly, capitalism was born hand in hand with liberalism, and reflected indeed one's personal agency within an economy. However equally as important was the assumption that personal responsibility would suffice for the costs of ones personal agency. In society we have law which is in theory an attempt to assert protection against attacks to ones rights. Law is of course seriously flawed, most often corrupted, heavily outdated, and a great deal prejudice; but it is representative of the need for the whole to dictate the terms between individuals. Bringing this back to Lovins' theory, it is necessary for the whole/state/commons to dictate responsibilities that stem from personal economic agency. In other words, in order to see responsibility extend beyond matters of property, power, privaledge, and individualism-- the society must set strict regulations and terms on ones "economic liberties". This implication of the state inherently contradicts what many capitalists are attempting to create.

This is essentially the dialogue that socialists of the 21st century must engage with, rather than flogging the dead horse of centralized economies, and the abolition of ownership. Socialists must now be prepared to take on a new way of thinking for how a society of a whole can benefit from a well planned, rational, moderated, and democratic economy. I would suggest that personal economic agency has a role within that framework. I would also suggest that we have under appreciated the value of models such as the co-operative, which exemplifies a respect for personal agency and democratic responsibility.

Recently at the NDP convention it was iterated that socialists/social democrats/New Democrats have a strong belief that the economy is not a means unto itself, but a means of achieving social prosperity. Ultimately we must now define exactly what that economy would look like-- what prosperity would look like independent of any economic connotation-- we must define a culture and society which respects sustenance, security, compassion, justice and peace; and then of course make it happen.

I have included a track from one of the five discs, and hope to be learning more about the Massey Lectures in the days and weeks to come!