Excerp: Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment - Page 2

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Cars, Computers, ipods, Aeroplanes, 200 TV Channels, Luxury Yatchs, Caribbean Vacations, Palatial Homes, Video Phones, Designer Clothes, Designer Drugs, Cosmetic Surgery ............... The list is endless.

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How many things have you aquired and how readily would you just give them up?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism Looking at the site, I noted they seemed to like the anarchist label? But I have to admit I saw an old home the other day, in area with a lot of vintage homes built in the late 1800 or early 1900's. I was amazed to see a huge solar electric panel & dish next to the house. As weird as it looked I think we would have been far better off today if they had done that originally.
I don't see technology as evil rather the abusive attitude that prevailed in our society.

Lifestyle of Mass Destruction.


Destruction is an inherent feature of Development.

Progress = Destruction of Nature.
Development = Destruction of Nature.


We can have Sustainable Lifestyle.
We cannot have Sustainable Development.

Development can never be sustainable.
Sustainability and Development cannot exist together.





Development and Sustainability are opposites.
Development and Sustainability are contradictory.

Sustainable Living is associated with consuming less – being satisfied with a simple and frugal life.
Development is associated with never ending desires – always wanting more.


Sustainable lifestyle requires Constancy.
Sustainable lifestyle requires Sameness.
Sustainable lifestyle requires Repetition.


Development is associated with Change.
Development is associated with New.
Development is associated with Transience.


Industrial Societies can never be sustainable – When you make thousands of consumer goods you kill Nature - you kill Animals, Trees, Air, Water and Land.

A Society that does mental work [city based] can never be sustainable - it will keep on making consumer goods - destroying the environment moment by moment.

Only agriculture-based societies that do physical work can be sustainable.



The term Sustainable Development is like the terms

Stationary Walk.
Silent Talk.
Wakeful Sleep.
Dark Sun
Gentle Torture.
Dry Rain.
Peaceful War.

sushil_yadav

Sushil has some very valid truths that he puts foreward-all should take note of these. However, his? conclusions are exactly that...he proposes a end. However I ask you a simple question did nature choose man or did man choose nature???

We have choices-thats our freedom. We have changes all the time...thats the essence of moving. Technology is based upon knowledge. The real problem lies here; that some have shifted our attention from the knowledge that forms the technology to the technology itself. We needn;t get rid of man to do this; rather all our efforts should be to to change man's way of thinking. The industrial world is something we need to sustain our population-thats al it need be. Anything else is material luxury and has no meaning...only surficially. What we need is to recognise that the 'we' means us and animals and everything else supports itself. Once this is known deep down, any actions will be more akin to nature.

so true, i think im gonna buy an island and hide there

Considering that Germany's early wins were against countries who had not industrialized & mechanize their military forces. We can see one of the primary pressures toward industrialization is war.
Funny how governments seem to promote wars instead of seeking to coexist with other nations? Just look at the cold war & the expenditures promoting [military applications] scientific advances in our society.
Don't they tend to push other governments into similar actions for their own survival?

I can't say I have read all this - briefly looking thru this.

I have thought about this very carefully in the past - we can't go backwards. This world will no longer support us, we have overpopulated and done to much damage. Already in parts of the world there is mass starvation, and it will continue until we collectively decide to do something about it. Technology is now our salvation - only if we are willing to use it for good and not just profit. Right now the world bank and the world trade organization have most of the control.

There really isn't much we can do except voice our opinion vote correctly and purchase wisely. The worst thing we can do is watch TV and listen to the radio and take in all that capitalist garbage they keep feeding us. The best thing we can do is log onto our computers and share ideas with eachother and have discussion and learn what we can do and do it.

As far as the emotional problems today's society causes, I attribute a lot of it to TV and radio, however, a study has been done linking a lot of this to the processed foods we eat.

Technology is neither good nor evil in itself, how we use or abuse that makes them negative or positive influence?

I don't think technology is bad... but when it makes life less gratifying it becomes a negative influence.
I truly believe a Sustainable lifestyle requires Constancy, Sameness and Repetition. Just as the wise Sushil said.
If I am understanding the rest of you then you seem to agree for the most part with all of this correct?
And if you do agree, what are we going to do about or are we going to ignore it all and just go on without changing anything at all?

Side note: An excellent example of this is the movie "The Last Samurai". To me that movie wakes my mind to all of these things. Have any of you seen that movie?

If you do a search on the internet you might find that you can sign up for wind power. It is unfortunate that you have to go on the internet and do a search to find this.

All our electric power comes from wind.

I've seen the movie, I think, I remember the name.

Dear friends,

I have made some additions to the article "Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment". To read the modified article please follow either of these links :

http://www.planetsave.com/ps_mambo/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&
Itemid=75&func=view&id=68&catid=6

http://www.earthnewswire.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=89&am
p;page=viewtopic&t=11


sushil_yadav

I had earlier posted links to my modified article. Those links are not working due to some problem. I want to give new links. To read the modified article "Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment" please follow any of these links :

http://www.planetsave.com/ps_mambo/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,75/func
,view/id,68/catid,6/

http://www.freeinfosociety.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=3649

http://www.ephilosopher.com/bb-topic-244.html

sushil_yadav

Man can repair and restore things that have been made by man himself. Car, Computer, Aeroplane, Rocket - if anything goes wrong with these things man can repair and restore.

Man cannot repair and restore Nature/ Environment - because man did not make Nature/ Environment. Once a Forest is destroyed - it is gone for millions of years. One cannot create a Forest in 5 or 50 years - it takes millions of years to make a forest - containing millions of species of animals, insects, birds, plants and trees. Man can create a plantation in 5 or 50 years - not a forest.

The only way to save Environment is by not destroying it - leave it alone - leave it undisturbed. If you destroy Environment you cannot repair and restore it.

sushil_yadav

Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment
PlanetSave
FreeInfoSociety
ePhilosopher
Corrupt
ForeignPolicy

I had a read of the article that you put a link to, and it set me thinking about something similar that I had read elsewhere on a somewhat different subject matter. While randomly browsing the web, I came across something about a self induced cure for depression. It's method was to attempt constant employment of the thinking part of the mind in order to limit the amount of effect that the emotional part of the mind had effectively turning off the emotions so that the person didn't feel depressed. but thats probably a bit off topic.

Your theory does give quite a strong explanation to the way we are desensitized to everything that we see in the media, war natural disaster etc. It all flashes in front of us so fast, and we are so busy concentrating on what is going on in our own lives that we just don't experience the emotive response that would be expected.

I also agree with what you say about repair, we should be concentrating far more on prevention of further damage than repair of what's happened.

Cynic-Al,

What you have written about Depression is very true - people avoid depression by keeping themselves occupied all the time. I have written about this in my article.

As soon as we stop working we experience mental suffering.

We avoid mental suffering by working ceaselessly.

There is no higher purpose behind work.

People do not work because they want to work.
People work because they cannot stop working.

The energy generated by the food we eat forces us to work ceaselessly.

Energy = Energy[Physical Work] + Energy[Mental Work] + Energy[Suffering/ Subjective Experience]

All three energies on the right side are inversely proportional to one another.

When we do hard physical work or hard mental work or a combination of physical work and mental work almost all energy is used up in doing work.

When we stop physical work and mental work the unused energy is experienced as suffering/ anxiety/ restlessness/ discomfort. This suffering is so intense - so unbearable - that most people cannot stop physical activity and mental activity simultaneously for even 2 minutes - they can stop work/activity only under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

People do not work because they want to work.
People do not work for their family.
People do not work for their nation.
People do not work for any reason.

People work because they cannot stop working.

It does not matter what kind of work we do - whether it is physical work or any kind of mental work. As soon as we stop working we suffer from restlessness, anxiety, uneasiness and discomfort.

[ In Yoga and Meditation the goal is to stop Physical Activity and Mental Activity simultaneously - and then transform the subjective-experience of restlessness/ anxiety/ suffering into peace. This requires ability and years of effort ]

For most people the choice is between physical and mental work.
The switch-over from physical work to mental work is disastrous for the planet.

Man can do the same physical work every day.
Man cannot do the same mental work every day.

When man used to do physical work ( farming and related activities ) he could do the same repetitive work day after day- generation after generation.

After the Industrial Revolution when man switched-over to mental work he began a never ending process of making new machines / things / products-- a process which can only end with the complete destruction of environment ( planet ).

Today 50% of world population - 3 bilion people are living in cities. The necessary work of growing/producing Food is being done outside cities - in villages and countryside. Most of the people living in cities are engaged in unnecessary work - making things, buying things and selling things. The switch-over from Physical work to Mental work/ Desk job has led to an endless cycle of unnecessary and destructive work.

When society switches over from physical work to mental work it starts making thousands of consumer goods. People start calling them necessities. They are not necessities at all - 90% of consumer goods that we see today did not exist 50 years ago.

Food, Water, Air, Little clothing, Little Shelter - these are necessities.

Close your nose and stop breathing for a few minutes - you will then know what necessity is.

Stop drinking water for a few days - you will then know what necessity is.

Stop eating food for a few days - you will then know what necessity is.

Today people are making thousands of consumer goods - not because they are necessities - but because they cannot stop making them. People cannot stop doing work - After switching over to mental work they will keep on making thousands of unnecessary consumer goods. Industrial Society is destroying necessary things[Animals,Trees,Air,Water and Land] for makng unnecessary things[Consumer Goods]. This is the reason why the switch-over from physical work to mental work is so destructive. This is the point of no-return - once this is crossed the destruction of Environment/ Nature is inevitable.

If we live a simple life there is individual suffering - but no largescale destruction of Environment.

If we live a consumerist life there is individual suffering - plus largescale destruction of Environment.

sushil_yadav
Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment
ePhilosopher
Corrupt
ForeignPolicy