Hilfiker: Speth Sojourners Review

This is a brief review of James Gustave Speth's The Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Corssing from Crisis to Sustainability that I published in Sojourners magazine, Sep - Oct 2009, pp 49-51. For a PDF version click here.

Review of The Bridge at the End of the World

Honest hope for our future is difficult to find. To look clear-eyed at climate change and multiple other environmental crises, at global poverty and increasing inequality, at militarism, at capitalism’s domination of the economy, and at the increasing failure of democracy to reflect our deepest values—to look without blinking at these intertwined threats and still offer not only hope but also possibilities for transformation is a gift we must not let pass. James Gustave Speth’s The Bridge at the End of the World is such a gift.

Speth is a long-time environmental leader and activist. If you still need convincing of the dire environmental threat, his first-chapter summary should do the trick: climate change, species loss, desertification, human toxicity from pollution, and on and on. Further, he readily acknowledges that (his own) traditional environmental movement’s incrementalism and one-at-a-time strategies are no longer adequate. The book’s hope is precisely that he recognizes the extraordinary magnitude of the ecological task but places it in its proper context of Western consumerism, global poverty, free-market economics, and the extraordinary power of money and the corporation to corrupt American democracy. While the enormity of the challenge may feel overwhelming, I find hope in Speth’s clarity about the need for radical change in deeply interrelated fundamentals and his invitation to join an already existing movement to raise human consciousness.

Americans must live drastically simpler lives. We simply cannot continue to exploit the earth’s resources as we have. Fortunately, there’s solid evidence that beyond a certain minimum standard of living, material increases do not make us happier. In fact, high levels of anxiety and depression seem to follow our consumerist lifestyle. We’re primed for a spiritual revolution.

Global poverty intensifies the environmental threat. It’s now in the deepest interest of the affluent nations to make certain every person on the globe has enough to eat, shelter, basic education, and adequate health care. Our need for simplification dovetails perfectly with their need for material well-being.

Given the enormous political and advertising power of the corporation and its dependence upon over-consumption by the affluent, challenging consumerism and global poverty will require substantial changes in corporate structure. The corporation’s legal status as a “natural person” must be strictly limited; owners (shareholders) must be held accountable for corporate actions; management must become responsible for social values (eg the environment), not just profit and share price; and corporate involvement in politics must be strictly limited. While this will be difficult, Speth reviews many already existing models for change: employee-owned corporations, corporations owned by local government, participation by employees and consumers on corporate boards, and so on.

Capitalism’s dependence on indefinite exponential growth is incompatible with life; in a living organism we would call it “cancer.” Our economy has reached (and, in some cases, exceeded) many of the earth’s natural limits to growth, so a “no-growth” economy must be developed. This will require vast changes in corporate structure and the financial system. Fortunately, models for these changes are also in place. It is possible to have “development” (improvement in levels of well-being) without growth (increased use of natural resources) if all resources are recycled and sustainability becomes a primary corporate goal.

The changes required are profound. They will only happen if citizens work together for our common good … which is what government is for. But American government has been dominated by the power of money and the corporations. Saving our planet is, therefore, dependent upon reforming government. The most straightforward way is through public financing of campaigns and strict limits on corporate lobbying.

In ordinary time, such radical changes do not happen in a democracy. But these are not ordinary times. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the financial meltdown, and the current economic recession are the foreshocks revealing a deep crisis in our nation. In these circumstances (as during the Great Depression) the opportunity for radical structural change appears.

The Bridge at the End of the World is not written specifically to a Christian (or even religious) audience, but its recognition of the profound growth in human consciousness that’s necessary in the coming decades make it required spiritual reading for our time. Certainly, we must not stop our particular campaigns for environmental sanity or global justice, but we must also recognize that living the Sermon on the Mount is no longer a rarefied spiritual goal for the exceptional; it’s become a baseline necessity for all of us.




Return to Miscellaneous	This is a brief review of James Gustave Speth's The Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Corssing from Crisis to Sustainability that I published in Sojourners magazine, Sep - Oct 2009, pp 49-51. For a PDF version click here. Review of The Bridge at the End of the World Honest hope for our future is difficult to find. To look clear-eyed at climate change and multiple other environmental crises, at global poverty and increasing inequality, at militarism, at capitalism’s domination of the economy, and at the increasing failure of democracy to reflect our deepest values—to look without blinking at these intertwined threats and still offer not only hope but also possibilities for transformation is a gift we must not let pass. James Gustave Speth’s The Bridge at the End of the World is such a gift. Speth is a long-time environmental leader and activist. If you still need convincing of the dire environmental threat, his first-chapter summary should do the trick: climate change, species loss, desertification, human toxicity from pollution, and on and on. Further, he readily acknowledges that (his own) traditional environmental movement’s incrementalism and one-at-a-time strategies are no longer adequate. The book’s hope is precisely that he recognizes the extraordinary magnitude of the ecological task but places it in its proper context of Western consumerism, global poverty, free-market economics, and the extraordinary power of money and the corporation to corrupt American democracy. While the enormity of the challenge may feel overwhelming, I find hope in Speth’s clarity about the need for radical change in deeply interrelated fundamentals and his invitation to join an already existing movement to raise human consciousness. Americans must live drastically simpler lives. We simply cannot continue to exploit the earth’s resources as we have. Fortunately, there’s solid evidence that beyond a certain minimum standard of living, material increases do not make us happier. In fact, high levels of anxiety and depression seem to follow our consumerist lifestyle. We’re primed for a spiritual revolution. Global poverty intensifies the environmental threat. It’s now in the deepest interest of the affluent nations to make certain every person on the globe has enough to eat, shelter, basic education, and adequate health care. Our need for simplification dovetails perfectly with their need for material well-being. Given the enormous political and advertising power of the corporation and its dependence upon over-consumption by the affluent, challenging consumerism and global poverty will require substantial changes in corporate structure. The corporation’s legal status as a “natural person” must be strictly limited; owners (shareholders) must be held accountable for corporate actions; management must become responsible for social values (eg the environment), not just profit and share price; and corporate involvement in politics must be strictly limited. While this will be difficult, Speth reviews many already existing models for change: employee-owned corporations, corporations owned by local government, participation by employees and consumers on corporate boards, and so on. Capitalism’s dependence on indefinite exponential growth is incompatible with life; in a living organism we would call it “cancer.” Our economy has reached (and, in some cases, exceeded) many of the earth’s natural limits to growth, so a “no-growth” economy must be developed. This will require vast changes in corporate structure and the financial system. Fortunately, models for these changes are also in place. It is possible to have “development” (improvement in levels of well-being) without growth (increased use of natural resources) if all resources are recycled and sustainability becomes a primary corporate goal. The changes required are profound. They will only happen if citizens work together for our common good … which is what government is for. But American government has been dominated by the power of money and the corporations. Saving our planet is, therefore, dependent upon reforming government. The most straightforward way is through public financing of campaigns and strict limits on corporate lobbying. In ordinary time, such radical changes do not happen in a democracy. But these are not ordinary times. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the financial meltdown, and the current economic recession are the foreshocks revealing a deep crisis in our nation. In these circumstances (as during the Great Depression) the opportunity for radical structural change appears. The Bridge at the End of the World is not written specifically to a Christian (or even religious) audience, but its recognition of the profound growth in human consciousness that’s necessary in the coming decades make it required spiritual reading for our time. Certainly, we must not stop our particular campaigns for environmental sanity or global justice, but we must also recognize that living the Sermon on the Mount is no longer a rarefied spiritual goal for the exceptional; it’s become a baseline necessity for all of us. David Hilfiker © Sojourners 2009