Mastering nature

Man is outside and above nature, destined to dominate it – this is the world view taught by the Bible and Christianity with its „subdue the earth“. A scientific face was given to this ideology by the Enlightenment and its science, which perpetuated the idea that man was the natural „owner and master of the earth“ (Descartes). This idea that the earth is there to be subjugated by man was a necessary condition for the subsequent and ever-increasing destruction of nature, the exploitation of raw materials and animals, the poisoning of soils and seas, for wars against „wild nature“ and „wild primitive peoples“, for colonialism and genocide. This idea that the ultimate goal is always „progress“ and „growth“ has managed to accelerate human history to such a bizarre degree that it is now difficult to comprehend the extent of the destruction that human has left on the planet. The idea that humans are above all other living things and are justified in exploiting everything else on the planet to the hilt has brought us to where we are today: In the midst of a natural and climate disaster that will shake, change and make survival on Earth impossible for many.

The system of destruction

Industrial capitalism has colonised the entire globe and is the web that encircles and imprisons the entire planet: There are no more local problems – every product on the market links people in different parts of the world and different places in the production chain, every T-shirt is linked to land grabs and rainforest destruction, to the power of agribusiness and the impact of fertilisers, pesticides and other chemicals on rivers and groundwater, to the collapse of insect populations, to global networks of exploitation and sweatshops, to endless slums, to children and young people ruining their health with piecework in dangerous factories, to offices with panoramic views and Swiss bank accounts, to container ships powered by heavy fuel oil, to shopping malls and endless landfills where 80% of fast fashion ends up. Every piece of fabric is part of a global network of profit and exploitation, deforestation and destruction. Capitalism‘s constant quest for growth, doubling its economic output every 25 years or so, has brought us to this point: on the one hand, capitalism‘s consumption of raw materials has become so great that it can no longer be satisfied, and on the other, the resulting destruction and pollution is so devastating that we are in the midst of a catastrophe in which the industrial system threatens to destroy all the foundations of life in the long term.

The attack of green capitalism

Faced with its own devastating destruction of nature, the same capitalism is making a „green“ turn – a cynical and bizarre response to the ongoing devastation. It cloaks itself in an anxious disguise, calling itself „climate and CO2 neutral“, while maintaining the same industrial progress and growth. A new crisis of capitalism and the same old capitalist solution: economic growth and technological innovation. This time it is also about exploiting new sources of energy, developing new infrastructures, recruiting new products and opening up new markets – only this time everything is electronic, digital, „sustainable“, „green“ and „climate-neutral“. But green capitalism and its new innovations and infrastructures are the same continuation of the ongoing exploitation of nature: new toxic mines and land grabs from indigenous peoples, development of new energy sources at the expense of nature and people, pipelines in every direction, toxic waste dumps… Also the capitalism of e-cars and eco-certificates only leaves behind deforested areas, depleted soils, overfished seas, extinct animals, destroyed habitats, impoverishment, misery and war.

Old patterns – new infrastructure

At the moment, for example, Europe is massively expanding its hydrogen, gas, mining and wind power infrastructure: Hydrogen is to come from the disputed territories of the Mapuche indigenous people in Argentina and Chile, from Norway, where it is produced from toxic natural gas, and eventually from some African countries, such as Namibia, the former German colony, which will soon supply ‚green‘ hydrogen on a large scale. New pipelines are being built for the hydrogen infrastructure in the North Sea and between Spain and France. There are also plans to drill for gas in the North Sea – and Germany wants to produce gas in the Atlantic off Senegal, which the locals are protesting against because of the destruction of nature and the lack of fish. At the same time, thanks to the LNG terminals in the North Sea, which were completed at lightning speed, there are massive supplies of fracked gas from the US – the protests of local people on the island of Rügen against the ugly terminals and the new LNG pipeline, as well as the voices warning of the imminent extinction of the harbour porpoise, were unanimously ignored during construction. Finally, 13,000 new wind turbines are to be built in Germany, covering two per cent of the country‘s total area. A total of 1.8 million tonnes of copper (from Peru and Chile), 95 million tonnes of cement and 30 million tonnes of steel will be used to build these wind turbines, as well as iron ore (from Brazil), silver (from Mexico and Argentina), bauxite (from Guinea) and rare earths (from China). In addition, a number of offshore wind farms are to be built in the North Sea, the infrastructure for which will form a new European „electricity motorway“. There are also other crazy plans in the EU, such as turning a huge area of northern Sweden (in the territory of the indigenous Sami people, who also fight against huge windparls in Norway also belonging to german and siwss companies) into the largest rare earths mine… or opening various lithium mines in France and Portugal, or extracting lithium from the Rhine…

At the same time, the absurdity of green capitalism is exposed by proposals such as dumping concentrated and highly toxic CO2 waste in the North Sea (Habeck), or continuing to operate nuclear power plants in order to reduce emissions, or building new ones (Thunberg). In order to satisfy the energy hunger of green capitalism, the network of destruction is constantly being extended – and whether capitalism calls itself green or not, it is always based on extractivism, colonialism and exploitation, on mines, factories, temples of consumption and technological-military armament.

Everything different!

We propose a break with the dominant religious-scientific ideology, which keeps coming up with new justifications and pseudo-solutions for the domination and destruction of nature. It is time to break with the whole Christian tradition of colonisation and genocide, and to consign to the dustbin of history the idea that this industrial system would bring us progress and happiness. In less than five generations, industrial capitalism has managed to threaten the very survival of the human and animal worlds. In just one century, technology and the ideologies of progress of various political persuasions have brought us electrification, urbanisation, weapons of mass destruction, industrial mass murder, atomic bombs, the internet, smart phones, quantum computers and gene editing. What we are hurtling towards is not a natural disaster, but a social disaster – a social system that is destroying all the foundations of life through a global industrial system. This catastrophe is happening by the minute: 30 acres of rainforest are being cut down every minute, while at the same time one million tonnes of Greenland‘s ice is melting. At the same time, the economy‘s energy needs are growing. And the shareholders‘ tills are ringing every second. This social disaster, this economy of destruction, has clear profiteers and responsibles – it is at the expense of the poor and marginalised – while the agribusiness and meat industry, which is cutting down the rainforest; the oil and chemical industry, which is poisoning the oceans and the soil; while Bayer-Monsanto, which is responsible for 60 percent of insect deaths with its pesticides; while the technology and car industries, the energy giants and energy companies, the mining companies, the industrialists and banks and many others continue to siphon off fat profits…

We are not apocalyptics who, in the face of impending catastrophe, hope for a new kingdom of heaven. In fact, we are quite desperate. But despair can also make us determined. We are also inspired by the initiatives and struggles that are springing up everywhere to resist the advance of destruction. We think of Lützerath and the variety of actions that were united in their rejection of the monstrous mine. We think of all the fiery attacks in solidarity with this struggle. We think of the new generation of climate activists, some of whose reformism seems naive to us, but who we admire for their determination. We hear and read about the indigenous Wet‘suwet’en in British Columbia, who have been fighting for generations against the colonial state‘s infrastructure projects and to prevent the construction of gas pipelines – as well as the rebellious Mapuche communities in southern Chile and Argentina, who have been fighting for centuries for their autonomy and also against the colonialists‘ wind and hydrogen farms. One also thinks of the hundreds of attacks on antennas and fibre-optic cables in France, which hinder the constant expansion of the technological network, and of the rich experience of past struggles against the nuclear industry, in which various forms of disobedience, solidarity and sabotage have complemented each other. All this and much more comes to mind when we say that we are more determined than ever to stop this global capitalist industry that brings nothing but suffering and destruction. And this with self-determined, offensive and creative means, the variety of which is limitless – as are the possible struggles against the industrial system of destruction.

Just as we reject the total idea of subjugating nature, we do not have an all-encompassing concept of how everything should be different. Perhaps the problem also lies in the search for individual solutions and ideologies, and in putting them on the throne, instead of creating thousands and thousands of independent and self-determined solutions side by side, which can value each other and communicate freely, instead of warring, subjugating and exploiting each other.

For a world where we live in harmony

and as part of nature.

Let‘s shut down the industry of destruction.