Why bother???

I listen to radio because it often offers ideas and perspective that aren’t curated by some algorithm.

And over the festive season break, I dropped in on an ABC radio Big Ideas episode featuring Jem Bendell and his book Breaking Together: A Freedom-Loving Response to Collapse

(If you’re interested in listening to what grabbed me, a piece from about 30:38 is where I got interested – and particularly the bit from about 43:23 where Bendell starts talking about resilience, relinquishment, restoration, reconciliation and reclamation.)

It took me down a bit of a rabbit hole – exploring “if collapse is inevitable, why should we bother to try?”.

However, along the way some of the reasons why “collapse is inevitable” didn’t sit well with my years exploring solutions innovation. Things like:

• “There’s not enough lithium in the world to make enough batteries” – when there are commercial propositions underway to make batteries using materials from salt to sand.
• “There isn’t enough copper to create a global renewable-powered grid” – when the core value proposition of renewable energy is localised grid-independent installations. Plus recent developments in Circular Economy innovation indicate radically better materials reuse is already underway.
• “Conversion to battery electric car fleets” will be destructive – though figures indicate that what’s flourishing is growth in micro-mobility devices (ebikes and scooters) rather than cars.

But engaging too heavily in the “is transformation possible?” debate is – in a way – just another rabbit hole.

Massive damage has been done and continues to be done – from forest destruction and ocean plastics to groundwater depletion and PFAS contamination. And despite potential differences of opinion about the capacity of human industrial and economic systems to innovate fast enough to avoid complete collapse, I am in full support of Bendell’s 5 R’s:

“resilience, relinquishment, restoration, reconciliation and reclamation“

Why? Because these attitudes/approaches/principles are fundamental enablers for a regenerative, nature-positive, community-positive world anyway.

And the idea that disruptive global innovation “is all up to the government” is so distracting and downright dumb that it might as well be fossil industry propaganda.

Here’s an overview of Bendell’s 5Rs – see what you think:

1. Resilience – taking time to develop deep flexibility and inner strength – “…the capacity to remake ourselves through a crisis, drawing on what we most value … community, care, rights, solidarity, meaning…”
   — Breaking Together, 2023

2. Relinquishment – working out what to let go of – “releasing our grip on [current] ways of life, ideas of progress and identities… economic myths, toxic identities, and destructive habits…”
   — Breaking Together, 2023

3. Restoration – restoring “the skills and relationships… [that are] … old ways we need to remember… traditional knowledge, community practices and relational ways of being…”
   — Breaking Together, 2023

4. Reconciliation – “being with the pain of what is lost and broken … [facing] the grief and existential fears…. and make peace with limits and loss to centre our active compassion…”
   — Breaking Together, 2023

5. Reclamation – “taking back our lives, our dignity, our community and our connection with nature … reclaiming meaning-making, local control… and relational depth from the alienation of … global capitalism…”
   — Breaking Together, 2023

Fundamentally, the human race is An Inconvenient Species – and has been for thousands upon thousands of years. Traits like sociopathy and narcissism are genetic – operating alongside the neurodiversity that drives our inventors and innovators. Historians tell us that slavery has been with us since we shifted from hunter-gathering to farming and there was survival value in hierarchical groups run on power and control.

The social systems we operate within are biologically evolved to self-sustain – so we’ve probably been in a war between control and community throughout our existence as a species.

Regeneration happens locally

To me, powerful regenerative solutions happen in local communities, when people of good will and commitment get together in groups to take positive constructive LOCAL action designed with systems awareness.

To me, regeneration involves ancient wisdom AND some global know how AND a willingness to preference “local regenerative action today” over “the authorities should…” and “other people shouldn’t”.