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Ruthless Criticism (August 2018)

Von • Aug 10th, 2018 • Kategorie: International

Ruthless Criticism (August 2018):

 

1.  “The fight against climate change” – energy policy as humanity’s rescue?

[Translation of a February 19, 2018 lecture held in Berlin, Germany by GegenStandpunkt]

 

Once again a UN climate conference took place. Once again the “climate catastrophe” was conjured up. Once again there were celebrations: since Paris, almost every state has faced up to their responsibility for this “problem of humankind”! And once again it was announced at the same time: despite all the disaster scenarios, CO2 emissions are rising worldwide. Is this a blatant failure of all heads of state who “sacrifice” their “responsibility for the blue planet” to the “lobbying” of business (Greenpeace), that is, betray the rescue of humanity to the profit interests of industry? No. The heads of states leave no doubt that they do not betray the concerns of humanity, as these critics accuse. They define the problem of humanity differently when they calculate with global warming and its consequences. In the end, is “humanity’s climate crisis” their – constantly betrayed – goal, or is it rather a nice-sounding claim to responsibility for worldwide money-making? Is the fight to set international climate goals and a low-emission economy a means for national growth, and is the ongoing dispute over these climate goals and their success the competition of nations for world market supremacy?

http://www.ruthlesscriticism.com/humanrescue

cf:

„Kampf dem Klimawandel“ – Energiepolitik als Menschheitsrettung? ( 19. Februar 2018, Berlin)

Aufzeichnung:

[online] Berlin | 19.02.18 | „Kampf dem Klimawandel“ – Energiepolitik als Menschheitsrettung?

 

 

 

Abschrift:

Abschrift zur Klimapolitik-Veranstaltung in Berlin vom 19.02.18

 

http://www.contradictio.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018-02-19-Klimapoltik-Berlin.pdf

 

 

 

2. VW’s “Dieselgate”: How are the auto industry, the state, and animal testing connected?

[Translation of a February 28, 2018 lecture held in Regensburg, Germany by GegenStandpunkt]

If VW gets caught with diesel engines that are dirtier than the law allows, can we talk about “failures” and “mistakes” on the part of the auto industry and the politicians? If environmental regulations do not prevent the environment from being ruined and people’s health from being harmed, what are they really for?

 

http://www.ruthlesscriticism.com/dieselgate

cf:

Die Dieselaffäre – Wie Autokapital, Staat und Tierversuche zusammen hängen (28. Februar 2018, Regensburg)

Aufzeichnung:

[online] Regensburg | 28.02.2018 | Die Dieselaffäre – Wie Autokapital, Staat und Tierversuche zusammen hängen

 

http://www.forumkritik.de/sites/audio.html

 

Abschrift:

Abschrift zur Dieselaffären-Veranstaltung in Regensburg vom 28.02.2018

 

http://www.contradictio.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018-02-28-Dieselaffäre-Regensburg-.pdf

 

 

 

3. Unconditional basic income – is poverty “simply outmoded”?

 

[Translation of an October 26, 2017 lecture held in Bremen, Germany by GegenStandpunkt]

 

Leftist representatives of an unconditional basic income believe that poverty, which is endemic to the market economy, is actually superfluous in view of the impressive mountains of goods and productive forces, and thus the possibility of overcoming it is within reach: with the appropriate fair dosage of redistribution, they want to deal with capitalism’s threat of poverty, which affects so many of its inhabitants.

These well-meaning ideas always run up against the ideal as well as real administrators of the “ruling conditions” whose counter-critical retort refers precisely to these “ruling conditions,” which just happen to be the way they are: they are simply banging their heads against the irrevocable reality of a market economy and making fools of themselves as dreamers out of touch with reality – and this should quite self-evidently speak in favor of “reality” and against ideas for a better world.

Now, however, unconditional basic income has made some powerful new friends: in Davos and elsewhere, the proposal is confidently adopted by captains of industry and corporate board members as an answer to the “problems” of their beautiful new “Industry 4.0” – the golden age of digitized world market competition in which they also intend to efficiently produce mass redundancies and low wages. And even the politicians are thinking about a basic income, whether it could be a modern substitute for this or that complicated social program – and be able to take care of all the problems arising from poverty and insecure livelihoods that they too anticipate in the future. If you listen to the calculating talk of entrepreneurs and politicians about basic income, it is possible to learn how convinced the movers and shakers of capitalism are that poverty and growth are inseparable.

We will not get involved in the debate about whether the beautiful idea of an unconditional basic income is finally possible due to this unexpected support or misused in the “wrong hands.” The proposal is neither too modest nor unrealistic, and certainly not humane – just a fatal error about the nature of work and wealth in this society.

http://www.ruthlesscriticism.com/UBI

cf:

Das Bedingungslose Grundeinkommen: Ist Armut „einfach unzeitgemäß?“ (26. Oktober 2017, Bremen)

Aufzeichnung:

 

 

 

Abschrift:

 

Mitschrift zum Vortrag „Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen“ (Bremen, 26.10.2017)

 

http://www.contradictio.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017-10-26-Bedingungsloses-Grundeinkommen_Ank_und_Mitschrift.pdf

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