In general, we seek the expression of life in all its fullness. All this so that people can express their full capacities, faculties and potential, so that ecosystems and their respective species can express their life potential. But for that we need good politicians and good politics. Not the kind that bad politicians shamelessly display.
By Rodrigo Arce Rojas
First of all, we must begin by pointing out that politics, simply put, is the art of governing for the common good; it has to do with the management of power so that the resulting force is oriented towards the common wellbeing. Politics is therefore indispensable. Unfortunately, throughout history, for various reasons, in several of our countries the purpose of the common wellbeing has been lost and it is becoming increasingly clear how bad politics oriented towards personal interest or the interests of groups in power has gained ground.
What is taking precedence is the insatiable quest for the accumulation of wealth and power, even at the cost of sacrificing social and environmental aspects. All this in the name of development, developmentalism, and in the name of economic growth. This also explains the lumpenisation of politics marked by increasingly internalised corruption at the different levels of decision-making. When citizens have to defend themselves against bad politics and bad politicians, then we have entered a dangerous social involution that ends up affecting all of us, human and non-human (more than human or other than human).
The underlying problem is that a narrative, a vision and a practice have been built up that has led us to believe that the only possibility of development is to assume the hegemonic economic model without doubts or murmurings in order to achieve development or even sustainable development. So, we all run in the direction of these illusions and the development industry remains vigorous and even social or vulnerable groups themselves echo these proposals and enlist in the army of developmentalists.
It is hard to explain how social groups that have been victims of exclusion end up supporting the groups in power. But not only vulnerable groups, but also intellectuals aligned with the hegemonic system and the media that make up the coalition of power for the predominance of a single way of thinking. The figure of the successful man, or woman, is then created, implying that he or she is able to generate commodities for the market through his or her individual work.
When economic growth and development have been installed as dogmas, then anything goes, to the sadness of the excluded, human and non-human. Thus, we are systematically altering and degrading ecosystems, we are driving thousands of species of flora and fauna to extinction, we are polluting the soil, water and air, we are causing damage through emissions of metal and metalloid pollutants and other toxic substances, we are causing diseases, among other negative impacts.
However, regardless of the fact that more and more environmental regulations are being generated, in general there is a process of weakening environmental legislation. But all this is done in the name of development, it is the sacrifice that has to be paid to achieve development. They say: “it doesn’t matter, when we are better off there will be a better distribution of wealth and we will even be able to repair the damage, we have caused”.
This explains the pressure to remove it in order to pass laws that favour the conversion of forests to “more profitable” uses in terms of agro-exports, and also explains the attempts to unprotect indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. For these political evils, economic growth and “development” are everything, even if that means disappearing forest ecosystems and affecting the human rights and especially the territorial rights of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation.
Although scientists repeatedly warn about the importance of conserving forests (in general all natural ecosystems) not only because of their great usefulness for humanity itself but also because of their own intrinsic values, bad politicians disregard all these considerations and do not feel the slightest shame about their actions because they consider that they are working “in favour of development.” Sometimes, however, rather than working for development, they are working for big economic interests, their own and those of the power groups.
So, one can understand what the Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti has graphed so well in “Extinctions.”
Extinctions
Not only whales
the dolphins the bears
the elephants the baboons
the friar seals the bontebok
the forests the Amazon
are in danger of extinction
also face that risk
the pledges / the hymns
the word of honor / the magna carta
the retired / the homeless
hand-in-bible oaths
primary ethics/self-criticism
simple scruples
the rejection of bribery
the candid shame of having been
and the shy pain of no longer being
it would therefore be necessary to cover up
with goodwill and haste
the hole in the ozone layer
in the ozone layer / and furthermore
the infamous gap in the conscience
of the decision-makers / so be it
A beautiful and at the same time dramatic message generously delivered by the poet. Incidentally, it is an example of the power of the word that represents the fusion between science and poetry, between science and philosophy, between nature and culture. Because there are no separate realities, there is a single intertwined reality, a Socionaturaleza, a Culturaleza, a territory, a socioecosystem, the Biocultura that unites us, Pachamama or Gaia. And no matter how much bad politicians insist on monetarist reductionism, whatever we do to so-called nature, the damage ends up affecting our own humanity.
Now, to conclude this reflection, it is not that we are not interested in the economy or the market, they will always be necessary and important, what is under discussion is the meaning of everything we do. More than development, what we seek is flourishing, what we seek is the happiness of all people and the happiness of all ecosystems with their respective species interacting in their environment. We seek what people have called Buen Vivir or Buenos Vivires, full life, beautiful life, sweet life, tasty life. In general, we seek to express life in all its fullness. All this so that people can express their full capacities, faculties and potentialities, so that ecosystems and their respective species can express their life potential. But for that we need good politicians and good politics. Not the kind that bad politicians shamelessly display.
Photo: Puinamudt
Rodrigo Arce Rojas holds a PhD in Complex Thought from the Edgar Morin Real World Multiversity. E-mail: rarcerojas@yahoo.es
