Eco-problems and eco-challenges are things that can unite humanity, not separate. In political science jargon, a devoted love of environment is called “sub-societal” ideology. In simpler words, it goes beyond the “highly specialized” and traditional ideologies that emerged in the West after the Great French Revolution in the XVIII century.
This state of mind means softening the division into nations, races, and states and uniting based on sub-societal parameters. The unifying factors in the environmentalism framework are belonging to the homo sapiens species and a sense of kinship with other species on the planet. In short, this is the positioning of humans as “equal among equals.” That is, the environmental movement is against enmity, separation of peoples. Only joint work for the benefit of mutual enrichment of nature and humanity will bring results. This is what the transnationality of the movement is.
Environmentalism worldview unites large groups of people regardless of race, nationality, religion, or social class. A notable feature of the eco-movement is that it has emerged as a response to the inability of humanity, divided between different states and nations, to solve pressing environmental problems and a fundamental, deep problem. This problem is the relationship between humanity (which creates culture, “the second nature”) and non-human nature.
The pushing need for change in the Gulf
Why is there no other way out for the Gulf countries than moving towards eco-technologies and an eco-friendly way of life?
Because nature gave the Arabian Gulf inhabitants a direct dichotomy: treating the sea and the coastal and desert ecosystems with care or death. The countries of the West are gifted from this point of view with a “head start” in the race – for some time, they can still live, borrowing resources from nature. The Gulf countries do not have that luxury. Globalization and the leap in technology happened very quickly. The standard of living in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain is already similar to the western one.
But the Gulf countries are overwhelmingly dependent on the desalination of seawater and, until recently, on the sale of oil. The oil will run out – and it is vital for these countries to jump on the train of new technologies that are not based on oil. And get rid of consumerism too.
What is biocentrism, and why is this ideology crucial?
Biocentrism is the perception that all living beings, all fragments of the Earth system, have value in themselves, regardless of human interests. Representatives of this trend believe that the love of all living things for humans is genetically inherent.
A biological pyramid is not a pyramid but a ring in which everything is interconnected and interdependent. Our moral, political ideals cannot be limited to the interests of humanity. It must finally realize its conformity to other representatives of living nature.
Biocentrism is a worldview. It includes the postulate that nature conservation can be economically beneficial. This philosophy teaches that a head-on collision, a fight against a superior adversary, in this case, big business interests, will only lead to failure.
Therefore, environmentalists must learn to speak with business in its language, convince businessmen that eco-technologies, environment conservation in all forms are beneficial and concerns every person, and not just the poor people or poor countries.
Warnings from nature: 2021 edition
Droughts and fires this summer symbolize the fact that no one will be saved from climate change. A person can fly on an expensive plane to another country; but in the “other country,” there will be a wildfire or social unrest due to the rapidly changing climate.
So far, humanity and the Gulf countries, in particular, have a chance to overcome the crisis evolutionarily. It is possible to convince businesses and rulers because they are also people of flesh and blood.
The voice of nature and the environment represent eco-activists, passionaries, in the terminology of the Soviet philosopher Lev Gumilyov. Historically, these are the people who led the nations during the Migration Period, also known as the Barbarian Invasions; who colonized new lands, driven forward by the restless spirit of transformation. It is essential that their energy should be directed not at war and discord but at saving the planet at this critical moment.
When we watched movies like “Children of Men,” we thought that “this is not about us” and “this will not happen with us.” Meanwhile, the problems raised in the film have already arrived. Refugees, wars, total psychosis in some countries, raising fundamentalism – sounds not like a fantasy plot? In the movie, authors sharpened only one but a dramatic moment – oh God, but what if… Women all over the world will become infertile?
This gives a shade of apocalypse to the events described in Alfonso Cuarón’s artwork. But even without this blatant touch, 2027, the year described in “Children…” painfully resembles the current 2021, post-pandemic.
In the following articles, let’s talk in more detail about how each of us can become a biocentrist and peacefully walk the path to harmony with nature.
