Earth Inc.: The Management of Life: Turning and Churning the Living into the Dead
(Part I) Jonathan Gillis
11 November 2011
I think that there is nothing, not even crime,
more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay,
to life itself, than this incessant business. ––Henry David Thoreau[1]
In terms of doctrinal scrutiny, somewhat ontological in approach, the dominant culture–– the incessant business, and namely the extension thereof, which is referred to as globalization––and its way of life are unsustainable, as well as indefensibly violent, insane and psychopathic. The ecocide being committed is without precedent, and is causing, among other harms, immeasurable detriment to the earth’s organic processes.
In considering the noxious premise that the earth, home to all of known life, all of which is of course dependent on Her for continued existence as it is known, is nothing beyond an object or thing as it were, to be controlled, exploited, altered, destroyed, excavated of Her “resources”, and so forth, in the interest of sustaining vast human growth and expansion as exemplified by the views, decisions, and exactions of the powerfully mega-rich, permissible to a hideously grave extent by obedient subjects and an enfranchised and alienated populace, one remains skeptical that humanity is not on the brink of self-inflicted collapse. We do after all, live on a finite planet. That we have driven countless species of life to extinction is perhaps, or if continued will soon become, a foreshadowing of our own fate, if actions determining a future state bare relevance in the many great mysteries of the universe.
Arguably, many modern industries, and subsidiary industries, are inherently lethal, for each is parcel of civilization (namely the incorporation of everything, into a culture of cyclic consumption and uninterrupted waste––the turning and churning of the living into the dead), which is, ultimately, if not immediately, deadly. This is especially true of extractive industries, such as coal, oil, and uranium mining, and commercial logging and fishing industries.
Industrial fishing for instance, has diminished the large marine life of the oceans, such as tuna, swordfish, marlin, cod, halibut, skates, and flounder, eradicating them by as much as 90% just in the past half century. Reminiscent of other industries, the effects of commercial fishing are not constrained to the devastated marine life and ecology. Local fishers and their coastal communities, the world over, have been decimated and fishers and auxiliary workers have lost their lives while performing the toil of that employment. Granted, the latter is a risk associated with the hazards of the occupation, one that is accepted and apparently acceptable. Though arguably, the risk inferred, has grown proportionally to, among other aspects, the advancement of technology, the rate, and the amount, of species extracted, and the regions of deep water which have become accessible for exploitation. A question might then become, not whether there is a chance, however slight, that commercial fishing will be fatal to the worker, but why anyone would continue to risk their life to exploit and destroy the world. The question is of course rhetorical, a mere exercise––it is certainly not intended to be irksome to the worker, especially considering particular social conditions, and that there is a compulsory need to have to pay to exist on the planet. Perhaps thinking it a bit eccentric, that there is compulsion to pay to exist on the planet is a bit self-righteous in thought and not sophisticated; though one is indeed compelled to think it a bit eccentric, if not absolutely outlandish. At any rate, the impacts of industrial fishing range in severity, in recognizable and subtle ways. This is essentially true of any industry.
Industry that produces hazardous waste, such as electronics, the electronics industry generally, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, the war and prison industries, airlines, retail, food and so on. All across the board, many industries and subsidiary industries, are, to varying quantifiable and unquantifiable measures, lethal and harmful to humans, all nonhumans, the earth, land, air, and water. Every industry is networked into a highly concentrated system of control and methodical demolition, namely modern civilization, which is the d
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