Imagine
Imagine a future where we had taken action to successfully halt, or even reverse, the worst effects of the climate emergency. What would that look like? What would the economic systems look like? How would we allocate resources? How would we travel, work, communicate? What would our relationships be like with our colleagues, communities and families? What would happiness look like in this (post-growth?) world?
For many of us, this is difficult to imagine. We are stuck with the images that we are used to being fed. As Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek once famously said, it is easier for most people to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.
But imagine if we were good at imagining beautiful post-growth futures where we live fulfilling lives instead of racing each other to conspicuously consume as many of the planet’s resources as possible. Imagine that our joy came from meaningful relationships with one another rather than with stuff. How would it change things in the present if we were better at imagining alternative futures? And what could we accomplish if we were better at painting a picture of alternative futures for others?
I really enjoy reading the Imagine newsletter from The Conversation. It’s a great way to keep abreast of the latest climate related news and research. But I sometimes wonder if it (along with all of us who are working to promote climate action) isn’t a little too focused on the negatives and the worst-case scenarios. While the header promises it will be a newsletter about “imagining the planet with climate action,” the newsletter typically contains reports and research about how our lack of climate action is negatively affecting our environment now and in the future.
Of course it’s important to consider the consequences of our actions but (as someone who studies marketing) I don’t think those of us working to promote climate action are always doing a great job of winning hearts and minds. And, as the Brexit and MAGA (among many recent) movements have shown us, it isn’t necessarily logic and reason that wins out these days. If we want to help people to change their behaviour, we must give them illogical and emotional reasons to do so as well as logical and rational ones.
I think there’s a lot of shame and doom in the climate movement. We shame people for flying and for buying fast fashion and for not sorting their recycling. And we constantly inform them about the devastating effects that global heating is already having and the worsening effects that we will see in the near future. It’s all scary and it’s no wonder that people are suffering from climate anxiety, which sometimes serves to make us feel powerless and hinders us from taking actions that we feel are too small or meaningless.
Perhaps then, we should work on disseminating a different kind of narrative. One which serves to energise those who are already willing climate warriors and to inspire those who are yet to join the fight. Let’s paint beautiful pictures of slow holidays on trains, of community gardens, of the joy of living with less, in 15-minute cities, and so much more that I can’t even imagine without your help. Let’s tell those stories!
Nihilism suits those who want to preserve the status quo. Depressed people are not active people.
How about we practice some radical, rebellious optimism?
Image description: The header of the imagine newsletter states, “Imagine. The planet with climate action.” The first paragraph describes how Somalia is suffering its longest drought in decades while thousands of acres of rice crops have been ruined by low rainfall in Cambodia.
