Apology for Phillips' accusation - he actually cares about humanity

-      Robert McLean

Leigh Phillips deserves an apology.

Posting about his book, “Austerity Ecology & the Collapse-Porn Addicts: A Defence Of Growth, Progress, Industry And Stuff”, I accused him of being in the pay of the world’s corporations and such an assumption, made wrongly after having read just a few early chapters, was clearly wrong.

I apologise, Phillips is clearly in the “pay of humanity”, that is he cares about the welfare of the human race, but his solutions jar somewhat with those who see any possible resolution to climate change in serious de-growth emanating from an immediate uncoupling of the world economy from carbon-based energy and resources.

In what appears at first glance to be a contradictory idea, Phillips sees the way out as more growth that allows for the embrace of our natural intuitive and innovative essence, rather than blanketing and smothering all those traits as suggested by the “collapse-porn addicts”, chief among the Naomi Klein, whose recent book, “This Changes Everything: The Climate Versus Capitalism”, draws considerable criticism from Phillips.

Phillips unquestionably sees climate change as humanity’s greatest threat, but fears it will be worsened if we take the advice Klein and her contemporaries and subsequently slink-off to our personal bolt-holes and in doing so opt for a way of living that sees us forego, and be forced to ignore the wonderful advances that will always and forever emerge from our inventive minds.

Having seen the early part of Phillips’s book through the eyes of child (children, and the immature, always see a project half completed and make a judgement), it was astoundingly comforting to see the author seriously argue for “public” ahead of “private” writing:

“I am convinced that our greatest hope in combatting a scale of climate change that significantly inhibits human flourishing lies in a turn away from a neoliberal emphasis on market-based mechanisms; ecological austerity; privatization; localism; and regressive consumption taxes – but above all, away from Malthusianism, misanthropy and anti-modernism; and a turn toward  a renewed enthusiasm for the public-sector-led large scale infrastructure; expansion of access to abundant cheap energy; and an open ended, steady raising of everyone’s  standard of living. Our best hope is for humans to keep getting happier, healthier, and yes, wealthier – but also more equal.”

Leigh Phillips - an apology.

Having been an ardent student for several years of what Phillips describes as “collapse porn” and a cautious supporter of what had been written, it was refreshing to stumble upon a writer who was equally concerned about climate change, but who saw the solution through a different prism.

Phillips’ concern about climate change and its impacts are equal to those of the “collapse porn” authors, but he see the solution in the pursuit of what it is we (humans) do best – invent and apply, so more growth.

Should you see climate change as a huge, insurmountable problem for which the existing solutions, or those promoted in the “collapse porn” are so distasteful, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to have any significant desire to pursue them, then take a look at what is suggested by Leigh Phillips in “Austerity Ecology & the Collapse-Porn Addicts: A Defence Of Growth, Progress, Industry And Stuff”.