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| author | Joe Carstairs <me@joeac.net> | 2026-08-03 12:00:18 +0100 |
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| committer | Joe Carstairs <me@joeac.net> | 2026-08-03 12:00:18 +0100 |
| commit | b90191a28322c76677a544334d58109b027e1d26 (patch) | |
| tree | d556dd357f49242b50d3e2bd01d90c9c814665d6 /chapter4.md | |
| parent | 5d8a5042d89c46fe29502857f983dcadd3e1b3e6 (diff) | |
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diff --git a/chapter4.md b/chapter4.md index 007ccc1..071350b 100644 --- a/chapter4.md +++ b/chapter4.md @@ -9,92 +9,41 @@ literature, namely, the Apocalypse of St John. Now, in this chapter, I aim to show that in order for green rhetoric to succeed, it should imitate the apocalyptic rhetorical strategies of the Apocalypse discussed in the previous chapter. -In order to consider how green rhetoric might succeed, I have to specify: what -is the rhetor trying to achieve? How are they hoping that it will be achieved? -And: who are they trying to persuade to do the achieving? - -So, for the sake of a discussion point, I will take the example of the Green -New Deal. The idea behind a Green New Deal, alluding by its name to the 'New -Deal' of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, is a large programme of -government action at the nation-state level aiming to significantly change the -way the economy is structured for the better [@pettifor-gnd, pp. 14-25]. - -There is no fixed list of measures a Green New Deal might contain, but the -centrepiece measures are likely to include strengthening environmental -regulations on industry and beefing up enforcement agencies; renationalising -key industrial sectors, particularly those in control of public goods such as -transport infrastructure or energy infrastructure; increasing tax on wealth and -corporations and closing tax loopholes; and spending the money on investment in -improving and expanding the public realm and subsidising local green -industries. - -The package may also extend, for example, to increasing spending on research -and development; raising tariffs on underpriced imported solar panels and wind -turbines to support the development of national green industries; banning -fracking and other extreme forms of fossil fuel extraction; instituting a -moratorium on new data centres; making it easier for corporations to be sued -for environmental damages; subsidising heat pumps and home insulation; and, -yes, perhaps even raising carbon taxes. - -As with the original New Deal, the wide-ranging scope is thought to be a -crucial part of the proposal. Each measure is made more attractive to its -potential supporters because it comes as part of a package promising to -transform society for the better. - -Like the original New Deal, it is not intended to be attractive to everyone. It -is not designed to be attractive to owners of capital or senior managers, for -whom a Green New Deal would be very expensive indeed: it would result in huge -cuts to their salaries, bonuses and dividends, and reduce their power over the -economy. Nor is the Green New Deal designed to be attractive to neoliberal -ideologues, who determinedly believe that the invisible hand of the market will -eventually, eventually, eventually bring about a just society. It could, however, -be attractive to a large majority of, say, the UK electorate, covering proletarian -households in both the working classes and many of those in the middle classes. - -The original New Deal was largely made possible by an enormous (not to say -'apocalyptic') wave of industrial action. However, in the US in the 1930s, a -large proportion of the workforce was unionised, and employed in sectors such -as manufacturing, energy, and transport, where workers are gathered in -tight-knit communities on shop floors and strikes hit shareholders hard. In the -present UK context, unions encompass a much smaller proportion of the -workforce, and much of the workforce is employed in the service sector, where -industrial action can be difficult to organise and less effective than in -primary industries. Industrial action can still play an important role, and -Matt Huber [@climate-change-class-war] gives an excellent discussion of how -green rhetoric might be effective in that arena. But because of the structure -of the UK economy, it's likely that industrial action would have to work -alongside other forms of political action if a Green New Deal is to be brought -about in a country like the UK in the near to medium term. - -Alongside industrial action, people in the UK can join political parties, where -they can shape policies by engaging in internal politics, by voting for -candidates for election, and by standing for election themselves. They can also -vote in general elections, ultimately resulting in electing a government which -prioritises a Green New Deal policy. In order to increase momentum behind the -movement, they can also join protests or take part in direct action. +What kinds of action might a green rhetor feasibly seek to evoke addressing a +mass audience in the UK? As in the major economic transformations of the early +twentieth century and post-war era, industrial action could play a crucial role, +although legal restrictions on union activity and the de-industrialised nature +of the UK economy constrain what industrial action can achieve. Alongside +industrial action, people in the UK can join political parties, where they can +shape policies by engaging in internal politics, by voting for candidates for +election, and by standing for election themselves. They can also vote in general +elections, ultimately pressuring the government into prioritising green issues. +In order to increase momentum behind the green movement, they can join protest +groups such as Extinction Rebellion. They can also take direct action, such as +the campaign of non-compliance which forced the repeal of the poll tax in 1990. Notably, all of these actions may be difficult for those called to take part in them. Getting involved in politics in any but the most trivial capacity requires giving up evenings and weekends: annoying for, say, a Masters student, but potentially a major sacrifice for an exhausted parent working a full-time job. Standing for election could be costly to your relationships, and expose you to -ridicule and abuse. Depending on the action involved, protesting or taking -direct action could get you arrested. Organising your workplace could get you -fired. Meanwhile, the benefits of a Green New Deal stand far off, and remain -largely outside your control. The call must then be to make a sacrifice for what -is good, even if, paradoxically, it costs you. +ridicule and abuse. Protesting or taking direct action could get you arrested. +Organising your workplace could get you fired. Meanwhile, the benefits of a +major green transformation stand far off, and remain largely outside your +control. The call must then be to make a sacrifice for what is good, even if, +paradoxically, it costs you. This is, in John Collin's terms, an 'ethic for martyrdom.' So, could John's apocalyptic rhetorical strategies be of use in motivating UK citizens to take -political actions to advance the cause of a Green New Deal? +political actions to advance the causes of the green movement? First, I'll consider minority cognition. This was the first aspect of John's strategy which I considered in the previous chapter. While the particular kind of minority cognition favoured by John -- that is, direct testimony imparted by -a divine authority -- may be unpersuasive to many UK citizens, the preference -for a minority cognition is still necessary. +a divine authority -- may be unpersuasive to many UK citizens, minority +cognition is still necessary. -Recall that, as Thompson [@thompson-revelation] argued, St. John needed to use +Recall that, as Thompson [@thompson-revelation] argued, John needed to use minority cognition in order to resist the overwhelming weight of the majority epistemology of Greek society, which would have pressed his audience into submission to the imperial cult. Likewise, in our society, there are @@ -129,17 +78,17 @@ unquestioning trust in government agencies and chemical companies. She exposed that they hadn't done their homework or had lied. In a Cold War context, questioning the techno-scientific-industrial authorities could be perceived as traitorous. Chemical companies fought hard against her, sued the publishers to -try and prevent it being published, then spent a quarter of a million dollars -on an aggressive publicity campaign against her. She was attacked for being +try and prevent it being published, then spent a quarter of a million dollars on +an aggressive publicity campaign against her. She was attacked for being 'emotional' and an 'hysterical woman.' The fact she had published novels was cited as evidence that she couldn't be a real scientist, and her literary writing style as evidence that what she was writing couldn't be real science. Real science, the chemical industry hastened to remind the impressionable -public, is necessarily presented in the format of laboratory reports, -maximising their utilisation of technical jargon in order to avoid -under-qualified persons from understanding their contents. Carson had no PhD, -no academic institution, and no network of scientific colleagues to back her -up. [@silent-spring, pp. 122-124] +public, is necessarily presented in the format of laboratory reports, maximising +their utilisation of technical jargon in order to prevent the comprehension of +their contents by under-qualified persons. Carson had no PhD, no academic +institution, and no network of scientific colleagues to back her up. +[@silent-spring, pp. 122-124] To fight the chemical lobby, Carson had to adopt minority epistemology. So, alongside her considerable arsenal of traditional scientific facts, she @@ -150,20 +99,18 @@ her report that parathion poisoning had been known to induce serious illness not only in those exposed directly, but also to the physicians who treated them, and even the hospital staff who washed their clothes. [@silent-spring, p. 27] -Like St. John, she was also forced to undermine the chemical industry's -majority epistemology. In _Silent Spring_, she showed how the chemical -industry funded the same science which enabled its profits. She -undermined their conceptual frameworks, arguing that the use of words like -'pesticide' and 'insecticide' function to mask the truth that the chemicals -involved are in fact poisons (and in some cases were originally developed by -military scientists for the purpose of deliberately injuring and killing human -beings). And she showed how the chemical lobby used science to dismiss -valid first-hand experiences and impose their solutions on people against their -interests and expressed desires. For instance, she told the story of Joseph -Sweeny, a forestry official in Ohio, who, in opting for a targeted approach to -containing dutch elm disease rather than blanket poisoning, had to go against -the advice of the chemical companies, the universities, and the US Department -of Agriculture [@silent-spring, p. 57]. +Like John, she was also forced to undermine the chemical industry's majority +epistemology. In _Silent Spring_, she showed how the chemical industry funded +the same science which enabled its profits. She undermined their conceptual +frameworks, arguing that the use of words like 'pesticide' and 'insecticide' +function to mask the truth that the chemicals involved are in fact poisons. And +she showed how the chemical lobby used science to dismiss valid first-hand +experiences and impose their solutions on people against their interests and +expressed desires. For instance, she told the story of Joseph Sweeny, a forestry +official in Ohio, who, in opting for a targeted approach to containing dutch elm +disease rather than blanket poisoning, had to go against the advice of the +chemical companies, the universities, and the US Department of Agriculture +[@silent-spring, p. 57]. More recently, Sunita Narain, a veteran of India's environmental regulator, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), has written about the CSE's attempts @@ -180,7 +127,7 @@ courts, in the legislative process, and in the public square. > 'established' science of conservation in our effort to bring a new way to > manage wildlife so that people also benefit. [@conflicts-of-interest, pp. x-xi] -If rhetors today want to persuade their audiences to support a Green New Deal, +If green rhetors today want to persuade their audiences, they're going to have to fight the majority epistemology, held firmly in place by fossil interests. To do that, they'll need to exploit minority cognition, undermining the epistemologies that best serve fossil interests and finding @@ -228,7 +175,7 @@ able to save those who love him. Instead, John, pointing to God's all-encompassing sovereignty and justice, makes a redemptive end appear irresistible, thus encouraging his audience to bet the house on Jesus. -Green rhetors ought to take note of this. A few rhetors have expressed +Green rhetors ought to take note of this. A few mainstream rhetors have expressed pessimism about the end, but the dominant motif is uncertainty. _The Future We Choose_ makes this clear from the very title. In _Forget Me Not_, Sophie Pavelle insists that although she could conclude either with a dystopian vision @@ -251,20 +198,7 @@ self-branded eco-socialist scholar and activist, Max Ajl: > lower, lifting out from healthy obsidian soil, a palette of landrace tomatoes > and peppers. Roofs are coated with patterned raised beds. Side-yards feature > fishponds, which receive all kinds of manure, fattening up their inhabitants. -> Greenbelts surround all cities, as popular planning converts sprawling suburbs -> into farmed swards. High-speed trains link bigger cities to smaller ones, -> smaller ones to capillary lines leading to outlying hamlets kitted out with -> high-speed internet. Ranchers manage grasslands roamed by a bouquet of native -> breed animals that churn cellulosic matter into the soil, producing -> negative-CO2 milk and meat. Intercalated forest-fields overproduce walnut, -> fodder, and myriad maize and wheat varieties. In some places, the burgeoning -> low-tech of perennial cereals inject root structures far deeper than people -> are tall into prairies. There is a lot to do beyond farming: Skilled -> technicians live in the countryside and smaller villages and estates, and -> manage high-voltage smart grids, local renewable storage systems, and -> decentralized windmills, while artisans and decentralized manufacturing -> processes local agricultural materials, supplementing and replacing – where it -> makes sense – large-scale mass-market industrial goods. [@ajl-gnd, p. 117] +> \[_…etc ad nauseam_\] [@ajl-gnd, p. 117] Ajl, as with many other Green New Deal activists, recognises that having and sharing the right utopian vision plays an essential role in bringing about |
