Climate change will force us to ditch old paradigms. Enterprise will go on even if capitalism doesn’t.
REPORTER AND AUTHOR NAOMI KLEIN RELEASES HER BOOK This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate
NAMING THAT CHERISHED PARADIGMS ARE BREAKING AS CLIMATE CHANGE ADVANCES AND THE PERFORMANCE OF CAPITALISM LOOKS EVER MORE SHODDY AS A WAY TO PROVIDE ESSENTIALS TO HUMANITY
Signals: Sooner or later the things we have been ignoring, brushing under the carpet, get named by brave individuals. Once a voice with enough authority and context gives it a name, it has to be dealt with. Naomi Klein, a brilliant reporter and sharp mind does just this in her new book.As she states clearly: Capitalism, since it was unshackled by the deregulation of the 1980s, has widened the gap between rich and poor. The top 3% held 55% of all wealth last year, up from 45% in 1989. The bottom 90% controlled 24.7% of wealth, according to statistics released this month by the Federal Reserve. The book represents a new wave of signals – bringing leaders, policy makers, thinkers and householders to confront cherished beliefs.
Comment.
For strategists, the emerging debate presents a golden opportunity to re-frame the course for the organisations they serve. Indeed, the framework we call industrial capitalism does not even serve the interests of enterprise for human good and undermines many corporation’s efforts to do good and do good business at the same time. What Klein calls an extractavist mind set is one forced on many enterprises by the legal and policy framework they operate in – not just the mindset of its leaders.
The links below point to articles with extracts from her new book and to signals of paradigm shift.
SUPPORTING LINKS
Naomi Klein: ‘We tried it your way and we don’t have another decade to waste’
Article in the British Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/14/naomi-klein-interview-capitalism-vs-the-climate
Naomi Klein: ‘Climate change is not a problem that can be solved simply by changing what we buy—a hybrid instead of an SUV, some carbon offsets when we get on a plane. At its core, it is a crisis born of overconsumption by the comparatively wealthy,’
http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2014/04/change-within-obstacles-we-face-are-not-just-external
At the same time Klein argues there has been a shift in attitudes about how people treat one another. Signals of this include the rise in popularity of the messages around Water and Food security for all promoted by the HUMANITARIAN WATER AND FOOD AWARD which is exhorting corporations to cooperate across the board to promote food security.
http://blog.wafaward.org/csr-and-sustainability/ladder-steps-corporate-support-water-food-security/
The 21 September is Peace Day – a world-wide day of awareness
World Climate Talks kick off on the 24 September
http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/
Protests are planned around the world on the same day as Peace Day
Recent signals issue showed how peace and climate are corollaries, how greens are thinking security and the military are thinking green, in a remarkable fusion of approaches from two seemingly opposite viewpoints.
http://stephenhinton.org/2014/07/23/military-think-green-and-greens-think-security/
In October, Sacred Valley Dialogues provides a space on Mallorca for strategists to meet to reflect on how to approach the energy-economy-environment challenge in their specific contexts.
http://sacredvalleydialogues.org/
Unsure of how to proceed? Book Stephen Hinton for free one-hour consultation-
http://stephenhinton.org/the-one-hour-free-consultations/
Links to buy Naomi Klein’s book online: This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate