The System Is Broken: Post Pandemic Adjustments Not Enough

“This is the time for a Great Reset,” writes George Monbiot in a recent Op-ed in The Guardian. He refers to “a collective failure: a crashing lapse in education, that is designed for a world in which we no longer live.” The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing all of us, individually and collectively, to wonder what the new normal will be. Returning to business as usual is no longer on the table.

(This article is primarily sourced from CommonDreams under its creative commons licence.)

Over 200 artists and scientists issued a demand to world leaders that the planet’s leaders not attempt to “go back to normal” post pandemic. What the world needs is substantive and swift action to address the climate crisis, consumerism, and economic inequality in the wake of the crisis.

Post-Pandemic adjustments are not enough

“Adjustments are not enough,” the group says in a letter published Wednesday in France’s Le Monde newspaper. “The problem is systemic.”

“We believe it is unthinkable to ‘go back to normal’.”

200 stars & scientists unite to call for change post #COVID19. They’re asking us to rethink our economies & consumption habits for the health of people & planet.🌏✨

Read the letter via @lemondefr👇https://t.co/cICngHOCLO

— UN Biodiversity (@UNBiodiversity) May 6, 2020

The pandemic is a tough lesson in the workings of the natural world – and proves how vital a knowledge of ecology really is. — George Monbiot

The letter, written by actress Juliette Binoche and astrophysicist Aurélien Barrau, calls for a “radical transformation” in how the world works and to address the oncoming climate crisis with the urgency it deserves. The letter was signed by artists, activists, Nobel Prize winners, scientists, medical experts, philosophers, an economist and a buddhist monk.

As the letter explains:

The ongoing ecological catastrophe is a meta-crisis: the massive extinction of life on Earth is no longer in doubt, and all indicators point to a direct existential threat. Unlike a pandemic, however severe, a global ecological collapse will have immeasurable consequences.

The system is broken

“Pollution, climate change, and the destruction of our remaining natural zones has brought the world to a breaking point,” says the letter.

The letter: Please, let’s not go back to normal (first published in Le Monde)

The Covid-19 pandemic is a tragedy. This crisis is, however, inviting us to examine what is essential. And what we see is simple: adjustments are not enough. The problem is systemic.

The ongoing ecological catastrophe is a meta-crisis: the massive extinction of life on Earth is no longer in doubt, and all indicators point to a direct existential threat. Unlike a pandemic, however severe, a global ecological collapse will have immeasurable consequences.

We therefore solemnly call upon leaders—and all of us as citizens—to leave behind the unsustainable logic that still prevails and to undertake a profound overhaul of our goals, values, and economies.

The pursuit of consumerism and an obsession with productivity have led us to deny the value of life itself: that of plants, that of animals, and that of a great number of human beings. Pollution, climate change, and the destruction of our remaining natural zones has brought the world to a breaking point.

For these reasons, along with the urgency of renewing with a politics of social equity, we believe it is unthinkable to go back to normal. The radical transformation we need—at all levels—demands boldness and courage. It will not take place without a massive and determined commitment. We must act now. It is as much a matter of survival as of dignity and coherence.

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