“What is quite clear is that a way of life which bases itself on materialism, that is on permanent limitless expansion, in a finite environment, cannot last long, and that its life expectation is the shorter thé more successfully it pursues its expansionist objectives.” Dr E. F. Schumacher –...
Survival
Chapter One
Survival
“An examination of the relevant information available has impressed upon us the extreme gravity of the global situation today. For, if current trends are allowed to persist, the breakdown of society and the irreversible disruption of the life-support systems on this planet, possibly by the end of the century, certainly within the lifetimes of our children, are inevitable” <span class=“citation”>From A Blueprint for Survival The Ecologist Vol.2, No.1, 1972 : Supported by 34 distinguished biologists, ecologists, doctors and economists.</span>
Some people have dismissed the Values Party as sentimental nature–lovers. On the contrary, we know that nature is utterly indifferent to any one species and couldn’t care less whether human beings survive or not. We disagree with environmentalists who believe man shouldn’t interfere with nature at all. There is nothing wrong with altering our environment provided it is really in our interests – in the long term as well as in the short term.
The trouble is that much of our present intervention in the relationships between living species is not making the world a better place. It is not in the interests of any species.
It wasn’t until this century that man found out
- how to make weapons that could destroy the world;
- how to poison and break down the atmosphere, and
- how to use up energy resources and minerals in a few generations.
No doubt you are already aware of the possibility of a nuclear holocaust. But the danger of ecological breakdown is more subtle, less obvious, harder to understand, yet just as real a threat to our survival. Our species depends for its survival on the predictability of ecological processes and on the continued resilience of the ecological networks of which ‘homo-sapiens is an integral part. The time has come when you can no longer take the survival of yourself, your family, your fellow countrymen or other world citizens for granted. You may argue that there’ll be a last-minute miracle, that the back-room boffins will make a scientific breakthrough,and that man has always survived so far and thus will continue to do so.
We don’t like the odds. The Values Party does not accept that the world can continue speeding recklessly along the path towards crisis in the assurance of a technological salvation on the way.
The Values Party exists to tell anyone who’ll listen that we must start taking sensible action now in case our species does not find a last-minute escape route from the logical consequences of its greed and stupidity. If you want to ensure survival for your descendant help us start making provision. We are offering New Zealand a survival kit. As the Blueprint said:
“We do not need to destroy the ecosphere, all we have to do is to carry on as we are.”
