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Page added on July 15, 2016
Peak Oil; Climate Change; & System Justification
Research has powerfully illustrated that a lack of knowledge in domains such as energy and the environment can lead to bad decisions and erroneous beliefs that hinder a society’s ability to create change in domains that require it
KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING
Rather self-evident, isn’t it? Certainly that observation is not limited to energy and environment, but the more complex the challenge, coupled with the greater potential impact, the more critical it becomes to understand the issues—all of them—and the range of consequences should there be a failure to respond appropriately.
There are reasons and explanations as to why the general population—and those leaning Right in particular—choose to deny, avoid, or ignore matters of great import and impact. That the justifications, rationales, and innate strategies used might be understandable should not be the end of the discussion. Self-awareness and introspection carry their own set of benefits.
This new Friday series, extending well into the latter part of 2016, will examine the concept of System Justification * and the role in plays in generating continued opposition and denial of the facts and implications of both a peak in the rate of oil production, and climate change. Facts won’t go away, and denial is not a shield, but there are well-defined patterns and behaviors which provide a foundation for the tactics employed to sow doubt and preserve the comforts of the known and familiar.
While the benefits are clear and gratifying today, the ongoing failure to move beyond the emotional and psychological comforts afforded by system justifications is not without its costs and consequences. A greater appreciation for not just the facts of peak oil and climate change, but an understanding as well of how we respond to them, why, and what happens if we fail examine other approaches is arguably of more enduring benefit.
PAY NOW, OR PAY LATER?
It’s understood there are emotional triggers we all prefer avoiding because of the range of effects they have on our sense of well-being. Human nature is difficult for humans to combat! But as the vintage automobile oil filter commercial’s tag line suggested to consumers who wouldn’t make a small investment in purchasing a new one: “You can pay me now, or pay me later.” The implication is that “later” was not the wiser choice.
“Later” is a much worse choice when dealing with issues of peak oil and climate change … much, much worse. Is the risk worth doing nothing now? Facts suggest that doing nothing is the worst choice. Psychological and emotional needs—for some—suggest just the opposite. We need to move to a better place about these issues, and “later” shouldn’t be an option.
* [Courtesy of psychwiki: “System Justification Theory (SJT) is a theory of social psychology that postulates that people are motivated, often unconsciously, to bolster, defend, and justify the status quo–-that is, the prevailing social, economic, and political systems. The term ‘system’ is, intentionally, loosely defined to include a wide array of such arrangements and institutions from relationship dyads to family systems, to corporations and organizations, to economic systems and governments, thus the effort is to identify the general social psychological processes that play out in variety of social establishments. The system justification goal may manifest itself in different forms, such as stereotyping, attribution, and ideology, and is proposed to serve the three more basic existential, epistemic, and relational needs”
12 Comments on "Peak Oil; Climate Change; & System Justification"
Apneaman on Fri, 15th Jul 2016 9:51 pm
“those leaning Right in particular”
They’re fucking retards to put it plainly. Worst of a bad bunch really. Nothing to be done about it (except mock them) since at least half the population is wired that way. If the whole world was left leaning the humans would still extinct themselves, but probably not as soon is all. The conservative ideology is the least suited to dealing with 21st century problems. It’s among the most primitive of worldviews and has only regressed in my lifetime. When I was a kid my old man was into American politics and I remember him watching the voice of the conservative cause, William F Buckley. Now they listen to Rush Limbaugh. There are almost two separate species for fucks sakes. Only a group that was inherently retarded could fall so far so fast. Primitive tribal deity worshipers masquerading as moderns. I think a fun experiment would be to split the US people and resources in half – a left America and a right America and see how they look after 25 years. I bet right America would be a real intellectual and scientific powerhouse LMAO. Learn yerself up some baby geebus biologly 101 at the Discovery institute. New testament physics and old testament chemistry. Those republican politicians can’t even play the, ok climate change is happening, but it’s natural and not us card, because then they could not justify approving development of areas that will be uninhabitable within a decade or two due to SLR, like in Florida, and also development in low lying areas like Houston. They would also have to explain why they are not spending any tax dollars to take measures to protect regular people and their homes and help relocate folks. There is a whole bunch of stuff they could do to lessen the pain and suffering that is coming, but that does not serve their masters, so it’s all a hoax. Retards.
Earth’s 5th Costliest Non-U.S. Weather Disaster on Record: China’s $22 Billion Flood
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=3355
Boat on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 1:00 am
ape,
100 years ago most didn’t have plumbing. You ask too much from humans. While I hold my nose and vote Dem they are about equally lost.
Apneaman on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 1:10 am
I’m not asking anyone for anything boat. I just take notes and share them.
GregT on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 1:56 am
“While I hold my nose and vote Dem they are about equally lost.”
Holding your nose, while voting for the future of your country, is pretty fucking stupid Kevin. Idiots such as yourself, are exactly the reason why democracy will never work.
Boat on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 6:32 am
greggiet,
Someone who thinks democracy hasn’t worked extremely well would be the idiot.
In my lifetime I have yet to see any candidate that I would be happy voting for.
Davy on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 7:10 am
I see this dangerous condition most with the early baby boomer generation and those who are living well and who actually have an education. It revolves around defending their status quo lifestyle perks. I am seeing more and more anger from this group because that status quo life has so many holes in it and it is being taken down slowly but continuously. This group is in the leadership role in politics and business. Many are academics at high levels of leadership. There are a multitude of groups with a common bond of entrenched dependence on the status quo. This collapse process will be interesting to see how reality confronts these groups in hardcore denial.
We will see this reality confrontation across the spectrum of predicaments. In our global economy people are bought into market capitalism and representative democracy. They think the problems with these structures can be reformed. They believe these structures to be the best and most capable of leading us forward into the 21st century. They don’t want to consider an alternative because they don’t see the failure they see problems that can be fixed. We cannot afford markets capitalism anymore if we want to acknowledge and adapt to a collapse process. Market based capitalism is the problem. Representative democracy at the global level is unfit to lead us forward. These structures have been corrupted and hijacking. Money and power are now above rule of law and fundamentals. Price discovery and the people’s choice has given way to financial repression with wealth transfer and politics of money based lobbying. These folks who are devote to these political and economic structure are on the right track in one sense. If we choose another direction the global system will fail. That is clear. The failure of the global system equals a die off. There is no changing the status quo except letting it fail so in that sense the belief in these structures is one of survival. There are really no options except a collapse process that drops population and economics to a localized arrangement in line with natural law.
On the peak oil front people are bought into our fossil fuel lifestyles of mass travel and consumerism that oil has allowed. A green transition is considered fine and a way for this system to be maintained. No thought is given to a plan B or a default plan of adaptation and mitigation for a collapse of industrial man. These folks again have a point by being entrenched in their belief in this system because it is a logical survival choice. It is a capable survival choice only if you deny a greater reality of the end of modern man. There are no options that will keep us whole. These status quo groups want to stay whole. These groups have not thought out alternatives to the status quo only alternative status quos. The only option is a collapse process with an adjustment to localism along with pre-industrial lifestyles. Initially much modern could be utilized in a salvage and innovative way but eventually entropy will bring us completely into the next stage which was an earlier stage. We are going medieval. How fast is unknown but we definitely can influence how fast we drop to lower levels of complexity and energy intensity. If we reject this reality then we will default to an uncontrollable drop.
Climate change is the last big predicament with no solution other than adaptation and mitigation. We have no chance of changing the direction of climate change with the current system. The numbers are clear. The current system cannot be changed without collapse and few will advocate collapse as the best option to confront these three predicaments. Natural law says collapse is necessary and must happen. Those who buy into collapse acknowledge this is the only way forward. Either door opened is collapse. The current system in all its forms cannot be changed without failure. We have no possibilities of transitioning to a new energy source. Our political and economic structure have hit that ceiling of effectiveness because of corruption and decay. Too many people make them unmanageable. Abrupt climate change is a fact now. Only collapse and a fall of the population and drop of the economic activity of that smaller population can alter the trend of climate change. It is debatable if the climate trend can even be altered by any action. Abrupt climate change is likely a runaway processes firmly entrenched in negative feedbacks.
This leaves us at two doors one continuation of the status quo in decay and certainty of an end or a diving into collapse now with some kind of preparations. We know the answer here. The global system is an adaptive self-organizing system of billions of decisions most of which have an underlying drive to survival and self-advancement and they revolve around the status quo. It would take a catastrophic change to change that. No amount of talking will change this organism of modern man. This means the two doors are your choices at the individual and local level. Society is unable to change but you can. There are multiple things you can do as an individual. Relocate and prepare as needed. Many have discretionary lives that revolve around hobbies or discretionary activities. Drop these and prepare. Those who are struggling now without abilities for change at least find a meaning and understanding of the coming collapse process so when it hits you don’t make poor decisions. In times of danger poor decisions will kill you. There is no hope at the top and difficult choices at the individual level. Collapse is what it is. There is nothing positive or pain fee about it. It is the embrace of this reality of death at multiple levels of abstraction and resulting actions that will make a difference. Embracing the status quo in denial is an option but it will be a cruel one in the end. There are no good options but there are many good choices in the condition of no good options.
JuanP on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 7:49 am
Boat “Someone who thinks democracy hasn’t worked extremely well would be the idiot.”
Democracy doesn’t work, it never has worked. The majority of humans are too stupid, ignorant, insane, and/or selfish to vote for the long term greater good if it is against their own personal short term profit. That is why we are destroying the biosphere. You, Boat, are a classic example of a stupid, ignorant, selfish, and insane voter. The fact that you can’t understand this is irrefutable proof of your psychological and intellectual limitations. Go vote for one fool or the other if you think it will do any difference, but if you were to die before the elections and not vote it would change absolutely nothing. Things will keep getting worse no matter who wins the stupid elections. Elections are nothing more than a circus to distract the sheeple.
GregT on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 9:55 am
“Someone who thinks democracy hasn’t worked extremely well would be the idiot.”
“In my lifetime I have yet to see any candidate that I would be happy voting for.”
You’ve never seen a candidate that you would be happy voting for, yet you believe that democracy works extremely well?
That sounds rather idiotic to me.
Sissyfuss on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 10:46 am
I was thinking the same thing, TeawithGreg, but you know Boat is a little dingy.
Clyde Spencer on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 2:05 pm
Apneaman
I marvel at how those on the left spout not only the same ‘group think,’ but practically verbatim. I’m suspicious that Liberals have secret catechism meetings where they read aloud from the New Yorker.
The other thing about Liberals that I find interesting is that they seem to be absolutely convinced that they, and only they, have the intelligence and wisdom to know what is best for the rest of the world. It is an arrogance that borders on hubris. Consider that liberals frequently consider themselves so important that they can ignore the accepted rules of capitalization and that they can use crude and vulgar words to express their feelings. Perhaps they lack the vocabulary to do otherwise.
Liberals, in general, support the idea of Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming. Yet, they never acknowledge that there are unanswered questions that need to be studied. Instead, they resort to the mantra that “The science is settled.” The science is NEVER settled. Real scientists are still testing Einstein’s theories 100 years after he proposed them.
Liberal environmentalists advocate the application of the Precautionary Principle. Yet, Liberals see no contradiction in advocating for wholesale changes in laws and the culture without being able to predict the unintended consequences of destabilizing systems that work, albeit imperfectly.
I believe that you think too highly of yourself and those like you.
Apneaman on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 2:58 pm
Clyde Spencer, you’re new here so I’ll be generous and give you a free pass (not) since you have obviously missed my hundreds of comments ripping liberals and environmentalists too. You are suffering your indoctrination like so many other retards who make snap judgements based on keywords because that is how the party, your team/tribe trained you up. There are many people in America and on this board who understand the seriousness of AGW and have no major political leanings – independant thinkers. Try it sometime. Do you even know the definition of an environmentalist? Obviously not. An environmentalist is someone who advocates for policy and lifestyle change in the hopes of protecting the environment. Most often they are part of one or more groups and like you mindlessly repeat the party lines without investigation. I don’t advocate anything since it’s far too late, but rather point out how the stupid humans are suicidal and not in control. Someone like you lacks the intelligence and imagination to label me correctly since you believe there are only two worldvies – team left & team right – wrong. I don’t give a fuck – what category is that?. You might say I am largely apolitical and hate everyone equally but that would not be wholly accurate because I do despise the subhuman merican conserveAtards more than the American liberal. The main reason I take more pokes at dip shits like you is that your overwhelming, no limit stupidity provides me with an endless pool of comedic material to work from. Thanks and continued enjoyment with your marveling.
Boat on Sat, 16th Jul 2016 3:29 pm
greggiet,
Of course you don’t think like I do. your a foreigner. lol
Here are examples that no candidate or party runs on.
Military spending should never exceed the combined total of Russia and China. Any other activity would be an immediate tax. Savings, 300 billion
Immigration should be stopped until an exhaustive study is completed to determine long term sustainability of water, food etc.
Illegal immigration jobs would dry up quick if employers were punished for hiring them. Savings, 15 billion.
Cut 300 billion from adult social programs.
An immediate $1.00 fuel per gal tax for infrastructure.
A consumption tax to eliminate the lost revenue. savings, 420 billion.
Mandate any new construction to be energy efficient.
Within 20 years transportation would be hybrid, electric or nat gas.
100 billion spent on building efficiency for existing structures.
These changes would start paying off the debt where interest payments run around 420 billion a month.
Both parties are short sighted and lack the boldness to problem solve.