Green Man – huge potential for growth

True Growth Potential Remains Unrecognized

Michael Feller (is that feller as in tree feller or feller as in bloke?) makes some dubious comments in the Sydney Morning Herald recently in an article that starts out appearing to condemn the God of Economic Growth and then makes a catastrophic error.

Media studies is required now more than ever. There are of course journalists and journalists and media outlets ditto. It must be remarked that while media organizations accept paid advertising their ability to tell it like it is will remain compromised. But this is based on a deeper issue; it is the issue of consciousness.

As far as reporting the truth and the ability to report it goes, it may be helpful to make the following observation.  People in a materialistic state of consciousness will perceive reality in a materialistic framework. And while the materialists often point to the evils perpetrated by the Churches and adherents down the centuries claiming this as proof that there is no spiritual existence, it’s a very weak argument and one which can be dismantled with some simple Aristotelian logic. You are encouraged to do the simple logical one-two-three step that disproves that fallacious argument. Onward.

To make it easy to grok the central premise we could go to Amit Goswami retired professor of physics from Berkeley California who will tell us that the basis of matter is not physical stuff at all. And being a professor of physics he might know a thing or three. Along the lines that this material world is the illusion and that the basis of matter is consciousness. So the materialists are the ones who have got it all wrong. Far from them having to suffer the smug attitudes of Greenies, vegetarians, bicycle riders, tree huggers, zen meditators and various transcendentalists, it is the sensitive spiritualists who have to suffer daily crucifixion by the dullards. Bless those bastards! You see the fact is that we get seemingly sane journalists like Michael Feller (is that feller as in tree feller or feller as in bloke?) making some fairly dubious comments in an article that starts out well enough and then makes a few catastrophic wrong turns.

Here’s what the Tree Feller says:

If a team of interplanetary anthropologists were to descend to earth in their spacecraft, they would notice that, like some distant tribe who worships a panther’s claw, a voodoo mask or the gnarled roots of an ancient tree, the human race has a strange fetish for growth.

Whereas past civilisations built their pyramids to gods who brought rain, or made the rivers flow, in ours we shop. The temple is the air-conditioned mall, where we occasionally have lunch on small rolls of tuna and rice – a tasty mix of the endangered and the engineered – before maxing out the credit card on clothes we don’t need to impress people we hate.  Michael Feller – Growth The False God of Economics SMH October 9, 2012

As the joke goes, like a hundred dead lawyers – it’s a good start.  But then a little further on his line of reasoning starts to go off the rails: he says . . . From the self-development books of Oprah and Tony Robbins to the world records in the Olympic Games, the act of standing still, or of tomorrow not being better than yesterday, is the ultimate sin. 

Yes Mr Feller I can see where you’re going and . . .that’s right. Evolution and growth, the act and art of becoming more of who you are is the goal. However. . . when you have a materialistic conception of reality then you will feel compelled to express this innate expression of self by laying waste to large tracts of nature, bullying, bulldozing and erecting . . .factories, shopping malls, skyscrapers. This is also know as conquering nature. In a word . . .rape.

And it is here that Mr Feller, having wandered somewhat from the path goes off course for a 4 wheel drive bush bash par excellence.

Yet economics beyond growth is exactly what we need if some kind of equilibrium is to be restored in the domestic and global economy. . . .we essentially need a no-growth environment.  OK . . . . i’m still istening

But how can such an agenda be pursued?  he asks wondering about the viability of both Capitalism and Socialism. And then he delivers the coup de grace.

Is deep ecology the answer? Not if you don’t wish to wear a hairshirt. Reducing our standard of living to the level of people Bono sings about is never going to be popular. Ditto for primitivism, survivalism and fundamentalist religion as well.

Now . . .i am sorry Mr Feller but this is where I deliver a rant about the crude ignorance of materialistic boof-heads. Go ahead and make up up your own rant . . .NOW!. But hey . . .Mr Feller, I understand that you tried, heroically to say some stuff about how we need to take a critical look at the God of Economic growth, except that you’ve stuffed it up brilliantly. Oh well, what the hell.

Here’s what I would suggest are the main points and how they can be clarified, improved upon and corrected.

1) Growth IS actually GOOD, just not the cancerous growth that is the product of Western style materialism. But . . . you can still have environmentally sensitive and sustainable economic growth, it just needs to be sensitive and sustainable.

2) Growth needs to be re-defined as that which has an inherent and essential metaphysical character. From this point of view we can learn how to hug trees without feeling the need to wear a hair shirt or move to Bolivia. Unless you really want to. Deep Ecology, yes we need more of that. No hair shirt required, just a little emotional honesty.

3) Once we learn how to re-define growth from the point of view of material reality being based on consciousness (a la the quantum science of Amit Goswami et al) all of the elegant, congruent and harmonious perspectives of how we can profitably align with the universe (in the deeper as well as immediate sense) will become much clearer much more easily. This will occur through self-organisation of the geometry of the mind. When your vibratory rate of consciousness changes so will your world-view – through self organizing mental phenomenon. Oh yes this might just be too revolutionary for the pop-up toaster brigade. But that’s why we have laws in society. They are not there just to help the rich get richer. No! They are there to protect the sacred balance of life from boof-heads, dickheads and various wilderbeast.

4) Ultimately it’s a choice. It’s a choice between Love and Hate, between contracting with fear or expanding with love. It’s a choice between dominating the world and nature and having dominion in nature – which will require awakened consciousness. It’s a choice . . .and there ain’t nuthin wrong with Deep Ecology. Think about that next time you’re being hailed on, stormed at, flooded, burnt, singed and shrieked at in the feedback loop of infinity. Nature is very kind, kinder than you may imagine, and She is waiting for you to awaken to this very potent fact. Quantum Out.