Change! Why we need a radical turnaround

181 Pages·2018·0.873 MB·English

by  Graeme Maxton

Change!
Why we need a radical turnaround
Graeme Maxton
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Copyright © 2019 Graeme Maxton
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be
reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express
written permission of the author except for the use of brief
quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
First Edition: 2018, Komplett-Media
Second Edition, 2019
ISBN 978-3-8312-0474-8
LeeMax
Zur Frohen Aussicht 4
8006
Zurich
Switzerland
www.graememaxton.com
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Foreword
Is it really so bad?
The headlines, the scientific evidence and the solutions are often
confusing. For many people it is yesterday’s news, while for
others it is a conspiracy.
What is climate change? How big is the problem? And what
should societies do?
I am not a typical ‘green’. I don’t recycle much, I don’t always
take the train if I can fly and I am not vegetarian. I used to work
in banking. But I have also spent the last decade working on the
climate problem. I have worked alongside many of the world’s
top climate scientists, and had the chance to discuss what is
happening with business leaders, economists, politicians and
activists across the world.
I wrote this book to share what I have learned, to explain what is
going on and to help others understand what will happen without
change.
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To grasp the scale of the challenge is hard, partly because the
answers to the climate problem do not lie in the solutions
currently proposed. Shifting to electric vehicles, recycling and
investing in renewable energy will not achieve very much.
Successfully stopping global warming requires a much more
fundamental rethink. Societies will need to overhaul their
approach to development and redefine their purpose. Commonly
held ideas about happiness, progress and freedom will need to
change. To build a better world, societies will need to reform
almost everything they consider normal.
Achieving a transition on this scale will take a very long time, of
course. It will need a new Enlightenment and that will take many
generations.
Unfortunately, given the pace of atmospheric change, that is too
long. Not only do societies need to rebuild their foundations, they
also need to tear down vast swathes of what has been built so far
if they are to avoid a catastrophe.
And they need to do this regardless of the economic, social and
human costs.
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A tale in four parts
The first part of this book explains the problem. The second part
looks at what will happen without change. Perhaps surprisingly,
it is possible to predict what will happen in the coming decades
with considerable accuracy. The third part focusses on what is
needed to address the urgent part of the problem, while the last
part explores how humanity might build more sustainable long
term economic foundations.
This book is aimed mostly at the rich world as well as China.
While the climate problem affects the rest of the world too, and
often in more serious ways, it is the rich world and China which
have the greatest responsibility for what is happening and the
greatest capacity for change. The rest of the world will need to
play a vital role too, but a different one.
The transition needed is difficult and complex. Thankfully, many
people are already trying to make it happen. I hope this book
might nudge you into action too because we will need all the help
we can get.
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As you read it, please remember three events which celebrated
their 50th anniversaries recently: the founding of the Club of
Rome, the introduction of the Big Mac and the student riots in
Paris during 1968.
The Club of Rome and its book The Limits to Growth explained
in the early 1970s that radical change was necessary. The Big
Mac is a symbol of humanity’s unhealthy lifestyle since then.
The ‘68 riots are a reminder of what it sometimes takes to force
change.
“Plutôt la Vie!” shouted the students in Paris. “Choose life
instead!”
Let’s all choose life instead.
Graeme Maxton, April 2019
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For MaDrBaTRaXaDaAaX’scaS
and Robin and Alexina
With sincere thanks to Herbert Lenz in Munich for his support
and encouragement, and also to Klaus Fabry in Zurich without
whom this book would not have been written. Special thanks too
for Ian Dunlop in Australia, Nina Sattler-Hovdar in Austria, Mike
Jewell in Taiwan and Martin Deron in Canada.
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Sections
Page
Part 1The problem
 A book for yesterday, today and tomorrow 12
 Why collapse is hard to see 17
 It is too late for sustainable development 20
Part 2 What happens if societies do not change
 Is anyone out there? 22
 Waiting for nature to catch up 26
 Have we come all this way just to blow it all now? 30
 Like a major nuclear war, just different 38
 The fossil fuel business says no 45
 Social and economic stasis for the rich world 54
 Migration, inequality and anger too 63
 Enlightened jungle capitalism rules, OK? 65
 Poor poor world 69
 Like frogs in a warming pot 71
Part 3
Dismantling the modern world
 Accept reality or fight for change 73
 Not a good place to start 78
 Like smoking, growth kills 80
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 The global footprint and overshoot 82
 Mostly well meaning but falling short 90
 Don’t let greed lead 93
 The big goals to aim for 96
 A strange but saner world 103
 A Department for Transition 105
 Prosecuting the guilty 110
 Reforming welfare will be key 115
 Getting others on board 117
 Why charity and CSR are BS 129
 What will the transition cost? 131
 How can this be financed and structured? 134
 The poor world diverges 138
 Limit the undesirable 142
 What does all this mean for me? 147
Part 4
Laying new foundations
 The great sweep of history 157
 Societies need to forbid more 162
 Leaders need to lead 164
 Don’t let the monopolists decide 167
 The environmentalists failed too 170
 Be agnostic on growth 173
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