Saturday 23 February 2013

Australian academics: Democracy should be replaced by 'elite warrior leadership' in order to fight global warming


The world is full of envirofundamentalist doomsday prophets, who paint a grim picture of what is ahead for humanity. Few are however as candid as the two Australiansprofessor emeritus of medicine David Shearman and philosopher and ecologist Joseph Wayne Smith, who openly attack the liberal democratic system, which they think should be replaced by an authoritarian "elite warrior leadership". 

This is what the two "warriors" have to say in the foreword of their book 'The Climate Change Challenge and the Failure of Democracy':

We have known about these impending problems for several decades. 
Each year the certainty of the science has increased, yet we have failed to act 
appropriately to the threat. We have analyzed the reasons for this indolence. 
This understanding will lead you to ask yourself if Western civilization can 
survive in its present state of prosperity, health, and well-being, or will it 
soon suffer the fate of all previous civilizations—to become a mere page in 
history?
We will demand from you the reader, far more than your comprehension 
of the consequences of climate change and the workings of democracy. You 
will need to examine the limits of your introspection and the motivation 
bestowed upon you by biology and culture. The questions to be asked are 
difficult. You have a commitment to your children, but are you committed 
to the well-being of future generations and those you may never see, such as your great-grandchildren? If so are you prepared to change your lifestyle 
now? Are you prepared to see society and its governance change if this is a 
necessary solution? -

Chapters 6 and 7 demonstrate that the inherent failures of 
democracy that have lead to the environmental crisis also operate in many 
other spheres of society. They are inherent to the operation of democracy. 
Furthermore, we come to share Plato’s conclusion that democracy is inherently contradictory and leads naturally to authoritarianism.
In chapters 8 and 9 we argue that authoritarianism is the natural state of 
humanity, and it may be better to choose our elites rather than have them 
imposed. Indeed Plato, on seeing the sequelae of democracy’s birth, observed that it is better that the just and wise should rule unwillingly, rather 
than those who actually want power should have it. We analyze authoritarian structures and their operation ranging from the medical intensive care 
unit and the Roman Catholic Church to corporatism with the conclusion 
that the crisis is best countered by developing authoritarian government 
using some of the fabric of these existing structures. The education and 
values of the new “elite warrior leadership” who will battle for the future 
of the earth is described.

(bolded by NNoN)

PS

The authors do not - at least not in the foreword - say, what will happen to the global warming    'deniers' in their brave new world. However, the Gulags of Stalin and Mao should serve as good models ...

3 comments:

Derfel Cadarn said...

Of course western civilization will become a page in history, to think it can endure unending would be infantile. However it is extremely unlikely that AGW will have anything to do with our demise other than trigger a war that will end it all. There is no significant evidence to back up these two morons claims. The only threat posed from AGW is the inflexibility and blind devotion shown by its adherents. To call themselves men of science is ludicrous. One can be sure that whatever sacrifices called for upon society to survive,none will be being made by these two charlatans or their warrior leaders. If they have any other choices I would like to hear them as this offer is not an option.

KG said...

"The only threat posed from AGW is the inflexibility and blind devotion shown by its adherents."
Absolutely. They have more in common with religious fanaticism than they do with scientists.
Interesting, that they never mention the undoubted benefits of a warming earth for people in cooler climates..

But then, one couldn't run a gigantic wealth distribution scam that way, the truth being rather less convenient.

Jon Jermey said...

"We analyze authoritarian structures and their operation ranging from the medical intensive care
unit and the Roman Catholic Church..."

Well, THERE'S your problem. You can't start with two of the most dysfunctional systems on the planet and expect to come up with a feasible despotism, surely.