Endgame (Vol I): The Problem of Civilization

A tanker carrying coal crashed into the Great Barrier Reef today.

This is not a metaphor.

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We were gifted with a copy of Derrick Jensen's book, Endgame, about a week ago. We're sort of listening to sermons here, and we're already believers. But he's a good writer, and mostly rather succinct. As such, it's been a bit difficult to put down.

We're struck by his love of the world and his clear calls to action. He asks repeatedly what it will take for us to stand up to the life-killing capitalists that are destroying the planet. He actively encourages the dismantling of civilization. But he's got options too:

If you agree with all this, and if you don’t want to dirty your spirituality and conscience with the physical work of helping to bring down civilization, and if your primary concern really is for the well-being of those (humans) who will be alive during and immediately after the crash (as opposed to simply raising this issue because you’re too scared to talk about the crash or to allow anyone else to do so either), then, given (and I repeat this point to emphasize it) that civilization is going to come down anyway, you need to start preparing people for the crash. Instead of attacking me for stating the obvious, go rip up asphalt in vacant parking lots to convert them to neighborhood gardens, go teach people how to identify local edible plants, even in the city (especially in the city) so these people won’t starve when the proverbial shit hits the fan and they can no longer head off to Albertson’s for groceries. Set up committees to eliminate or, if appropriate, channel the (additional) violence that might break out.

We need it all. We need people to take out dams and we need people to knock out electrical infrastructures. We need people to protest and to chain themselves to trees. We also need people working to ensure that as many people as possible are equipped to deal with the fallout when the collapse comes. We need people working to teach others what wild plants to eat, what plants are natural antibiotics. We need people teaching others how to purify water, how to build shelters. All of this can look like supporting traditional, local knowledge, it can look like starting rooftop gardens, it can look like planting local varieties of medicinal herbs, and it can look like teaching people how to sing.

Do you find this inspiring or frightening? For us, it's a little of both. We're afraid of the post-civilized world even if we know that the "civilized world" is equally brutal.

Anyway, we're only about a half inch into the book, so if any of our readers are also reading it, let's work through it together. You can contact us via email, send us your thoughts, hopes, deconstructions... we'll think on it and paste it here (anonymously, if you prefer).