All modern societies are based on an anthropocentric and sociocentric social contract, in which ethics, since the time of Hobbes, Kant, Smith and Rousseau, refers only to relationships between humans, with the sole obligation to avoid the destruction and subjection to unnecessary suffering of other beings, especially animals.
Failure to consider the intrinsic value of every living being, regardless of human use, however rational and sustainable, has always led to the unlimited exploitation of nature by humans. We have entered a new planetary phase for humanity, the phase of the struggle for collective survival and the protection of the planet; we therefore need a new model of behavior.
Sustainability and the superorganism Earth
In this historical period characterized by the climate emergency, the word "sustainability" is both overused and trivialized, especially in political and economic terms. The fact that the "green" label is being applied to every activity of our capitalist society is proof of this, in fact today we can notice a certain "sensitivity" even on the part of sectors that have always profited by producing and/or investing in products or activities that are not so "sustainable" [1] . This is because people are becoming increasingly aware of the gravity of the environmental crisis that characterizes the sixth mass extinction in which we find ourselves.
The contemporary panorama often presents materialistic and at times anti-spiritual characteristics, it is the era in which the cult of money predominates, whose prestige and power are increasing and in which practical and material success is the symbol and proof of the value of the individual.
Modern man somehow lets himself live , he doesn't ask himself many questions about his worth, his origins or his goals but follows his own desires and personal ambitions. With a slightly higher morality, he carries out those family, civil and even religious duties that have been conventionally instilled in him by society, confining himself to an ordinary life based on material goods. It happens, however, that sometimes an individual finds himself surprised or disturbed by life [2] and begins to ask himself questions, as is increasingly happening today.
Currently, the superorganism Earth is likely on the verge of creating new adaptations, not necessarily beneficial for the human species. Chronic food shortages, prolonged droughts, and even massive species mortality, including that of Homo sapiens, could occur. Hence the concern for the future and the desire to reinvent ourselves as a collective species.
In our society, however, any system based on old models will try to "hold on to people" so as not to disintegrate, just as happens in a toxic relationship, where the person who realizes they are in an unhealthy situation finds themselves even more oppressed by the other, who exploits all the partner's weaknesses to continue keeping them tied to them.
Making ecology "fashionable" is one strategy to retain the attention of those who, in this state of "critical transition," are experiencing a reawakening of consciousness that leads them to desire a new kind of world, more harmonious and based on collaboration rather than power and competition, on sustainability rather than exploitation, on connection and empathy rather than division and discrimination.
Consciousness divided between fashion and awareness
A social fad always arises from the dissatisfaction of a more or less large segment of the population. To encourage its spread, an ad hoc propaganda campaign is created, highlighting only the positive aspects of this novelty.
We are then led to believe that the new fashion will improve or even eliminate the social aspect that creates so much unhappiness. In this sense, new fashions become true promises of happiness, but they are a utopia because they actually create new forms of unhappiness that will give rise to new fashions that will not keep their promises, and so on.
Social trends, like any other trend, have a constructive intent as their founding principle, a positive character aimed at improving some aspect of life. At their peak, however, speculation usually takes over, which has a negative character as it begins to exploit them for economic and moral gain.
Speculation is a constant in fashions and, over a longer period of time, will lead to their disappearance, replaced by new ones due to the "discontent" that, at a certain point, arises as the previous fashion enters its decline and the profits from speculation become less than the effort required to obtain them. This aspect shows how the promise of happiness that fashions bring, at a certain point, is unfulfilled.
However, since fashions are the skeleton on which complex societies are based, they deny this flaw in the system so as not to generate moral conflicts in social man, who would not only become meaningless but would be forced to remedy it, resulting in the weakening of speculation and its associated privileges. The mechanism of fashion makes contemporary man "broken," as he is forced to choose which side to take in order to be accepted by the social group.
Sustainability cannot be a fad
The concept of happiness is a conditional promise , as it is linked, through trends, to something external and inherent in the social system. If we reduced sustainability to a simple fad, we could be almost certain that sooner or later it will be overtaken by some other trend. Therefore, to truly achieve it, it must be linked to an ethic accompanied by spirituality as a global vision of the Universe, the Earth, and humanity.
The breakdown of this interconnection, in fact, is one of the most significant causes of the ecological crisis. It becomes necessary to restore meaning to existence through a system of profound values, making ethics fluid, a truly intimate dimension. In the natural biological system, the information conveyed by human societies, particularly fashions, does not exist. In fact, a tree does not decide to force its growth into an unfamiliar habitat just because it is considered more trendy by the plant community at that moment.
In nature, with which another relationship is imposed so that it can maintain its biocapacity, man can express himself freely in his entirety , he does not have to decide which part of his being to give importance to and he can rediscover his unity as a human being. [3] It is from here that we must start again for a reconstruction of our humanity and our civilization.
The need to be anti-systemic
Our society is inherently trivialized, turning every small discovery, reflection, or even necessity into the subject of fashion or a product to be profited from. In the West, we have a detached approach to things and people themselves, viewing everything as a collection of pieces rather than a unity.
We've lost sight of our animal side , made up of emotions from which we always try to dissociate ourselves so as not to make the effort to work on them, and consequently we've also dissociated ourselves from nature, which isn't there for us to do with as we please, but rather we are part of it and depend on it. Somehow we're beginning to realize that something isn't working in our civilization, entirely founded on reason, science, and domination, but we still too often think that science and reason will help us get out of it.
The perfectly rational way we mass-breed animals using atrocious practices to kill them is a prime example of the barbarity of reason. Everyone should hear at least the screams coming from a slaughterhouse to understand that the normalization of violence also comes from what we accept without question, because it's "useful." We continue undeterred to cut down forests, pollute rivers, dry up lakes, and depopulate oceans , because this, economics tells us, serves to produce well-being.
And with the illusion that well-being means happiness, we invest our energies in consuming, as if life were an eternal Roman banquet, where we eat and vomit so we can eat again. The surprising thing is that we do all this so naturally, each of us convinced that this is our right. We don't feel like we're part of the whole; on the contrary, each of us sees ourselves as an entity unto ourselves, empowered by our own ingenuity and, above all, by our own freedom.
But it is precisely this feeling of being free and disconnected from the rest of the world that creates loneliness and sadness, because we take for granted the little that we have around us and with this limited point of view we are unable to feel the greatness of the rest of which we are a part [4].
Sustainability as an authentic CULTURAL ELEMENT
No society, past or present, has existed or exists without a code of conduct. Codes are legal prescriptions for a just, equal, and cooperative coexistence , and are accompanied by values that effectively make life less conflictual, safer, and more equitable.
Globalization has awakened us to cultural diversity and different ethics , which have their roots in different cultural and historical constructs, such as religions, critical reason, which appeared simultaneously in all world cultures in the 6th century BC, or desire, of which capitalism, with its mania for world conquest by continually stimulating new desires to be satisfied with its marketing system, is said to be a reflection.
Ultimately, all these cultural constructs, by seeking to limit and direct certain behaviors in favor of other, more "elevated" ones, aim to constructively ensure the common good, giving rise to norms and values and overcoming the degrading inequalities that destroy the social fabric.
At the macroeconomic level, globalization, for the sake of profit, tends to erase differences, resulting in the impoverishment of all humanity, while the primary objective should be the coexistence of all different ethics, even when they appear contradictory.
No culture can claim to perfectly represent all human possibilities and capabilities ; rather than tending towards conflict, it should pursue complementarity and mutual enrichment for peaceful coexistence in diversity.
Just as biodiversity represents a richness in nature , ethical and cultural diversity reveals the multifaceted and flexible nature of human nature. We all share a common foundation, we all live on the same planet, and we are equally exposed to threats and risks, as never before in history.
According to Albert Schweitzer , a Swiss-German physician from Lorraine , current ethics are incomplete because they focus only on human behavior toward one another, neglecting all other forms of life. Respect, in fact, is owed not only to other humans, but also to others within nature, to the Earth, to animals, even to inanimate beings, because all have the right to exist and coexist with us.
If this attitude were incorporated into our educational processes starting in childhood and became a collective cultural given, we would not be facing ecological crises of such far-reaching magnitude as the current one. This respect is what is most lacking in today's globalized culture, in which the rights of the poor are continually trampled upon, animals are exterminated, and the dignity of the Earth is systematically violated. We are entering the Ecocene, an ecological era fundamentally characterized by essential care and unlimited responsibility for all living things.
Sustainability as an authentic VALUE
Sustainability, understood as an authentic value, requires essential care in a broader sense and must be extended to the physical-chemical, ecological, social, and spiritual conditions of the Earth, which allow for its reproduction and further evolution, referring to all living beings, to ensure their continuity and respond to the needs of present and future generations, so that natural capital is maintained and enriched in its capacity for regeneration, reproduction, and co-evolution.
There is no long-term future in a society where there is no will to take care of others . On a social level, everyone should have access to essential goods such as food, health, housing, security, the right information, work. We must replace the rational and competitive logic with a cooperative and socially responsible one.
On the economic level it is important to move from the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few to the production of what can satisfy the needs of all, with respect to nature it is necessary to recover a balance to preserve its inestimable natural capital and with respect to the spiritual atmosphere of our society we must strive for the common good and a non-violent culture. [5]
A society is truly sustainable when it is able to respond to various human needs, taking into account all these aspects at the macro and meso levels, and at the micro level, individuals, individually and as groups, are actively committed to implementing an ecological ethic that is not just a passing fad. We live in an era where we can no longer pretend nothing is happening, say "I didn't know," or turn a blind eye. What characterizes the Ecozoic era depends on us.
Federica Ucci
Bibliographic and web references[1]
- R. Assagioli, Psychosynthesis: Transpersonal Being. The Birth of Our Real Being, Gaia Edition, 1996
- L. Boff, An Ethic of Mother Earth, Castelvecchi, Rome, 2019
- C. Mariani, Sociology of Nature, LuoghInteriori, Città di Castello, 2020
- T. Terzani, Another Ride on the Carousel: A Journey into the Good and Evil of Our Time, Longanesi & Co., Milan, 2004.
[1] “Greenwashing” refers to a communication strategy aimed at building a “facade” of an environmentalist image.
[2] R. Assagioli, Psychosynthesis: Transpersonal Being. The Birth of Our Real Being, Gaia Editions, 1996.
[3] C. Mariani, Sociology of Nature, LuoghInteriori, Città di Castello, 2020
[4] T. Terzani, Another Ride on the Carousel: A Journey into the Good and Evil of Our Time, Longanesi & Co., Milan, 2004.
[5] L. Boff, An Ethic of Mother Earth, Castelvecchi, Rome, 2019
