the duchy of hetkettle trophish

2 Responses to “the naturalists”

1. 1 Arkady 21 May 2008 at 7:11

   An interesting essay, but frustrating. What I’ve seen in the environmental movement has been a series of opportunities squandered, and a long term planning cycle that owes more to the eternally feckless “sinecure model” of foundations than it does to cause-oriented activism. That’s in addition to the active efforts to balk them pursued by the magical economy zealots. I attribute it to a dire lack of grounding in the history of democratic movements.

   In the decades prior to officially enshrining and codifying major changes to the way the state does business, a phrase used advisedly, the popular movements ran deliberate election spoilers, shut down commerce, opened their own schools, clinics and created their own sub-economies. The ones that foundered did so when trying to play footsie with people whose schtick is encouraging a hollowed-out accommodationism and maligning the oppositional approach.

2. 2 Arkady 21 May 2008 at 8:17

   Arrgh! What an embarrassing, ignorant comment. I’d ask you to delete it, but I pied myself with the pomposity of it and wearing the cream won’t kill me.

   For twenty years we have approached the problem by pre-negotiating with ourselves on behalf of our opposition. We don’t think about it in those terms, but that is what climate policy is all about. We calculate what concessions are necessary to placate whichever interest, power, or nation it is thought must be mollified, and then devise a scheme to fit within those limits.

   I think I’ll crawl under a rock now :-(

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