Taking a Lesson from George Orwell–On His Birthday
George Orwell would have turned 116 today. Referring to his involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936) he composed the essay “Why I Write,” in which he said:
“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it. It seems to me nonsense, in a period like our own, to think one can avoid writing of such subjects. Everyone writes of them in one guise or another. It is simply a question of which side one takes and what approach one follows. What I have most wanted to do throughout the past ten years is to make political writing into an art.”
Wow. Everyone writes of totalitarianism and democratic socialism in one guise or another. I never considered that, though it’s certainly what has happened here at 2GreenEnergy. Once I became aware that the migration from fossil fuels to renewable energy is almost entirely dependent upon political will, I became extremely uninterested in keeping track of the banal reports of marginal improvements in efficiencies, costs, new businesses based on old ideas, and the like.
The entire enterprise of clean energy, electric transportation and sustainable agriculture are eminently doable. Turning around the environmental collapse is clearly achievable. Whether or not this happens, and happens in time to make a difference, rests entirely on our shoulders; it’s a function of a mass coming together and a demand for change.
And it’s possible that the time now is right, that we are suddenly poised for success. Note that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has become a household name. At age 15, she began protesting outside the Swedish parliament about the need for immediate action to combat climate change and has since become an outspoken climate activist. Now there are 13.8 million Google hits on her and her activities.
Maybe we’ll get on board, maybe we won’t. One thing’s clear, however: we won’t get a second chance.
Craig,
That’s it ? Really? ! An out-of-context misquote from an author who wrote a vast number of essays and studies on a wide variety of political and philosophical movements, along with the parroted propaganda uttered by a precocious, spoiled schoolgirl playing truant?
George Orwell certainly didn’t believe the political spectrum was divided into solely into the doctrines of Democratic Socialism or Totalitarianism ! Although he supported his own definition of democratic socialism, in many of his later essays he discussed the difficulties of defining “democratic Socialism” as imprecise and impossible to pin down as a doctrine.
During his lifetime Orwell was continually attacked by leftist intellectuals and writers as being too far to the right. His commonsense, moderate form of socialism, was the result of his era, and life experiences. He greatly admired the optimism of American politics and praised the new Liberal political manifesto published by the soon to be elected Australian Prime Minister, Robert Gordan Menzies.
Today, he would probably be described by CNN or the NYT as a “neo-conservative”.
As for Greta Gutenberg, well,…self-opinionated little muppets have often cause a sensation among the foolish, gullible and cynically exploitative. Nine-year-old Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto,Hong Xiuquan,etc aregood examples.
While other child prodigies have at least a semblance of talents Greta Gutenberg has only the desire to show off and revel in her notoriety.
The world of new technology has moved on at an unbelievable rate in the last two decades. Technology is transforming human existence irrevocably.
The rise of social media, e-commerce, blockchain, decentralised and centralized crypto-currency, the formation of new global power shifts and economic demographics are happening at breathtaking speed.
Facebook, Amazon etc will all soon join bitcoin and others with crypto-currencies, creating challenges to Fiat currencies and economic patterns on a scale incomprehensible a mere 20 years ago.
Do you really believe bleating about the simplistic utterances of a precocious brat and a long dead author whose political theorizing emerged from a world that no longer exists, is helpful or relevant ?
Your observation:
“Once I became aware that the migration from fossil fuels to renewable energy is almost entirely dependent upon political will, I became extremely uninterested in keeping track of the banal reports of marginal improvements in efficiencies, costs, new businesses based on old ideas, and the like”.
That’s a very defining moment of truth for you ! That was the moment you lost your passion for truth and new technology, instead devoted yourself to serving a politicized doctrine. By your own admission, you rejected accuracy in favour of doctrinaire propaganda. Your new found passion based on political activism and “faith”, in place of honest objective science.
How very sad.
Are you really that deep into your obsession? Have you lost all hope for pragmatic, objective, (if imperfect) technologies? Have the talons of fanaticism sunk so deep into your heart?
George Orwell loved to debate (often with himself). As a writer his honesty was witnessed by his ability to evolve and admire virtue, even in his enemies. He was saddened by frightened fanatics and despised hypocrites.
I refer you to the Poet Robert Browning, who wrote;
“Just for a handful of silver he left us,……,
He alone breaks from the van and the freemen,
He alone sinks to the rear and the slaves!
Craig, I beg of you, forget all this “Democratic Socialist” nonsense, forget your blind obsession with hating fossil fuels and the imagined ills of the administration. Cheer up, and take hope form all the clean(er) technology racing into production.
Does it really matter if Clean(er) Coal or advanced nuclear help to dramatically cut unwanted emissions ? Isn’t it just far more important the emissions are reduced than if the method of reduction suits your political agenda?
Even the ‘Guardian’ can get it right sometimes! Aren’t you concerned at the pervasiveness of Facebook and Amazon ? Johnathon Harris’s Guardian article is very thought provoking.
[ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/24/facebook-google-currency-libra-financial-transactions%5D
Craig, we may be making only small steps to a better environment, but our steps are real and based on practical, realistic technology. We can prove our results. Can you?
What’s the point in demanding of grand schemes that don’t work, no one wants, and may result in even more disastrous outcomes / All for the sake of a blind belief in an outdated political doctrine ?