"One fascinating aspect of doom scenarios is that they have evolved
over the centuries to suit the times. Once you get familiar with the
history of apocalypse stories, it’s no surprise that in our
technological age, technology—and not a god, an emperor, or the stars—is
the bringer of the end.
After I published an article suggesting that Peak Oil may lead
“merely” to widespread unemployment and hardship rather than collapse,
hundreds wrote to tell me I was a naïve optimist and a cornucopian. A
significant part of the Peak Oil community holds the rock-solid
sentiment that the only future is one of chaos. While the end of the oil
era possesses “death and taxes” certitude, plausible post-peak
scenarios span a wide scope. So why is the most touted one the most
extreme? ... I now believe that Peak Oil catastrophism is largely a manifestation of
our primary cultural myth: that all things end with suffering, death,
and then resurrection. Belief in apocalypse is programmed into western
civilization ... Apocalypticism is at the core of the Judeo-Christian social mythology,
and it influences our beliefs far more than we are conscious of ... And the idea of apocalypse, that some time soon the End Times will be
upon us and all will be transformed, is one of the most fundamental
tenets of that system. A look at the history of apocalypticism proves
this, and reveals that Peak Oil catastrophism conforms to our
apocalyptic myth in such detail that it is difficult to deny its role ... Apocalyptic cults arise, it seems, in a context of oppression, uncertainly, and corruption ... Again, my point here is not that Peak Oil doomerism is wrong. The
apocalypts may be right this time. We face enormous crises and we have
the tools to end civilization. But remember, as you feel yourself drawn
to the apocalyptic story, that it is the natural place to go in
uncertain and dangerous times. We are culturally programmed to do it."
Zum Artikel von Toby Hemenway auf Pattern Literacy (2006) »
Zum Artikel von Toby Hemenway auf Pattern Literacy (2006) »
