Attitudes for confronting the current Crisis

20/01/2013 Leonardo Boff3 Comentários

No one can be indifferent to the present crisis. Decisions and finding a liberating solution are urgent. To avoid being mistaken, we will present here a few possibilities, and see which is best.

The first attitude is that of the catastrophists: the flight to the depth. They emphasize the chaotic aspect that inheres in every crisis. They see the crisis as a catastrophe, a decomposition and the end of the current order. To them, the current crisis is something abnormal that must be avoided at all cost. They accept only certain adjustments and changes within the same structure. But they make them with so many objections that they undermine any innovative change.

The good pope John XXIII already said about catastrophists, referring to the Church, but applicable to any field: «Real life is not a collection of antiquities. It is not about visiting a museum or an academy of the past. One lives to progress, learning from the experiences of the past, but always going forward».

The generalized crisis does not have to end with a fall into the abyss. As Pierre Furter, a Swiss philosopher and pedagogue who loves Brazil very much, wrote: «To characterize the crisis as a sign of a universal collapse is a subtle and perfidious way that the powerful and privileged avoid changes, by devaluing them beforehand».

The second attitude is that of the conservatives: the flight backwards. They point to the past, looking through the rear view mirror. Instead of taking advantage of the forces contained in the present crisis, they fly to the past and seek old solutions for new problems. That is why they are archaic and ineffective.

A large portion of the political institutions and world economic organisms, such as the IMF, the World Bank, the OMC, the G-20, but also most Churches and religions, seek to solve the grave problems of the world with the same old principles. They favor inertia and slow down innovative solutions.

Leaving things as they are will inevitably lead us to failure, to an unimaginable ecological and humanitarian crisis. Since the old formulas have exhausted their ability to convince and to innovate, they will end up turning the crisis into a tragedy.

The third attitude is of the utopists: the flight ahead. They try to solve the crisis-situation by flying towards the future. They are on the same plane as the conservatives, but facing the opposite direction. Therefore, utopists and conservatives can easily reach agreement.

They are generally headstrong and forget that in history only those revolutions that are made take place. The last slogan is not a new thought. The most audacious critics can also be the most sterile. It is not uncommon for audacious non-conformism to be nothing but evasiveness in facing hard reality.

There are presently all types of futurist utopias around. Many are of an esoteric character, such as those who speak of the alignment of cosmic energies that affect our minds. Others project utopias founded in the dream that biotechnology and nano-technology will solve all our problems and make human life immortal.

A fourth attitude is of the escapists: they flee within. They see the darkening of the horizon and of the fundamental convictions, but ignore the ecological alarms and the cries of the oppressed. They avoid confrontation, preferring not to know, not to hear, not to read and not to question themselves. These people do not want to coexist. They prefer the solitude of the individual, but are generally connected to the Internet and social networks.

Finally, there is a fifth attitude: that of the responsible: they face the here and now. They are those who develop answers, which is why I call them responsible. They are not afraid, nor do they run away, in order to avoid. Rather, they assume the risk of developing new paths. They seek to strengthen the positive forces contained within the crisis, and formulate answers to problems. They do not reject the past simply because it is the past. They learn from the past as the repository of great experience that should not be wasted, but not as an excuse for not undergoing their own experiences.

The responsible define themselves as being in favor of and not simply by being against. Nor do they waste their time in sterile polemics. They work and are profoundly committed to developing a model that corresponds to the needs of the time. They are open to criticism and self-criticism, always ready to learn.

What is most in demand now are politicians, leaders, groups, and others who feel responsible, and who force the passage from the olden times to the new.

Translation: Melina Alfaro: alfaro_melina@yahoo.com.ar,
done at REFUGIO DEL RIO GRANDE, Texas, EE.UU.

Jahresbilanz des Mikrosystems: Knospen in der Wüste

15/01/2013 Leonardo Boff1 comentário

Vom Hl. Augustinus („In jedem Menschen finden sich gleichzeitig ein Adam und ein Christus“) über Abaelard („Sic et non“), Hegel und Marx bis hin zu Leandro Konder wissen wir, dass die Wirklichkeit dialektisch aufgebaut sein muss. Das heißt, sie ist widersprüchlich, denn die Gegensätze heben sich nicht gegenseitig auf, sondern befinden in ständiger Spannung, existieren nebeneinander und erzeugen so eine Dynamik in der Geschichte. Dies ist kein Baufehler, sondern ein Markenzeichen unserer Wirklichkeit. Keiner hat es besser ausgedrückt als der Poverello von Assisi, als er betete: „Wo Hass ist, lass mich Liebe säen, wo Dunkelheit ist, lass mich Licht säen, wo Irrtum herrscht, lass mich die Wahrheit bringen…“ Es geht nicht darum, einen der Pole zu leugnen oder zu annullieren, sondern sich für den einen zu entscheiden, der lichtvoll ist und diesen zu stärken, sodass er den anderen, den negativen, davor bewahren kann, so destruktiv zu sein.

Wozu diese Überlegung? Sie ist ein Versuch, aufzuzeigen, dass das Böse nie so böse ist, als dass es die Gegenwart des Guten verhindern könne; noch ist das Gute jemals so gut, als dass es die Kraft des Bösen bezwinge. Wir müssen lernen, mit diesen Gegensätzen umzugehen. In einem vorigen Artikel versuchte ich, eine globale, negative Jahresbilanz des Makrosystems zu ziehen, die zum Ausdruck brachte, dass alles immer schlimmer wird. Doch dialektisch gesehen gibt es hier auch eine positive Seite, auf die hinzuweisen wichtig ist. Werfen wir voll Hoffnung einen Blick auf die Bilanz des Mikrosystems, so erkennen wir, dass in der Wüste Blumen blühen. Und dies geschieht überall auf der Erde. Man muss nur an den Weltsozialforen teilnehmen und an Volksbewegungen, die vielerorts stattfinden, um zu erkennen, dass neues Leben erblüht: unter den Opfern des Systems, sogar in Unternehmen und unter Führungskräften, die dem alten Paradigma den Rücken gekehrt und begonnen haben, eine rettende Arche Noah zu bauen.

Wir wollen Anmerkungen zu einigen Punkten dieser Veränderungen machen, welche die Lebensfähigkeit der Erde und unsere Zivilisation bewahren könnten:

Der erste Punkt besteht in der Überwindung der Diktatur der instrumentellen analytischen Vernunft, die die Hauptverantwortung für die Zerstörung der Natur trägt. Dazu muss die emotionelle Logik oder die Logik des Herzens eingebunden werden, die uns in das Geschick des Lebens und der Erde involviert, sodass wir uns um Achtsamkeit und Liebe bemühen und nach dem guten Leben suchen.

Als zweites ist die weltweite Erstarkung der Solidarwirtschaft zu nennen, die der Agro-ökologie, der organischen Landwirtschaft, der Bio-Wirtschaft und der Bio-Entwicklung als Alternativen zum materiellen Wachstum durch das BIP.

Beim dritten Punkt handelt es sich um einen demokratischen Öko-Sozialismus, der neue Produktionsformen vorschlägt, und zwar mit der Natur statt gegen die Natur, und damit einhergehend die notwendige globale Kontrolle.

Der vierte Punkt ist der Bioregionalismus, der sich als Alternative zur vereinheitlichenden Globalisierung anbietet und die Güter und Dienstleistungen jeder einzelnen Region mit ihrer Bevölkerung und ihrer Kultur wertschätzt.

Fünftens haben wir das gute Leben der Ureinwohner der Anden. Es verlangt die Schaffung eines Gleichgewichts zwischen Mensch und Natur durch eine Gemeinschaftsdemokratie und durch den Respekt für die Rechte der Natur und von Mutter Erde. Hier ist auch der Index für das Bruttonationalglück zu nennen, den die Regierung Bhutans eingeführt hat.

Der sechste Punkt ist die gemeinsame Genügsamkeit oder die freiwillige Einfachheit, die die Nahrungssouveränität aller stärkt, das rechte Maß und die Selbstkontrolle über den zwanghaften Wunsch nach Konsum.

Der siebte Punkt ist die sichtbare Führungsrolle der Frauen und der Urvölker, die der Natur ein neues Wohlwollen entgegenbringt und solidarische Produktions- und Konsumweisen fördert.

Der achte Punkt steht für die langsame, aber wachsende Akzeptanz der Kategorien von Achtsamkeit als Voraussetzungen für wahre Nachhaltigkeit. Das bedeutet eine Trennung von der Kategorie der Entwicklung und wird als eine Logik des Lebensnetzes verstanden, das die Verflochtenheit aller mit allen sicherstellt und so das Leben auf Erden erhält.

Der neunte Punkt ist das Durchdringen der Ethik der universellen Verantwortung, denn wir sind alle verantwortlich für unser gemeinsames Geschick, das Unsere und das der Mutter Erde.

Der zehnte Punkt steht für die Wiederaufnahme der spirituellen Dimension, die die Religionen übersteigt und uns erlaubt, uns als ein Teil des Ganzen zu fühlen, die universelle Energie wahrzunehmen, die alles durchdringt und erhält und uns zu Pflegern und Hütern des heiligen Erbes macht, das wir durch das Universum und von Gott erhalten haben.

All diese Initiativen sind mehr als nur Samenkörner. Sie sind schon Triebe, die das mögliche Aufblühen einer neuen Erde erkennen lassen, bewohnt von einer Menschheit, die lernt, Verantwortung zu übernehmen, achtsam zu sein und zu lieben und so die Nachhaltigkeit dieses unseres kleinen Planeten zu stärken.

Siehe auch: Leonardo Boff: „Zukunft für Mutter Erde. Warum wir als Krone der Schöpfung abdanken müssen München, Claudius Verlag 2012

Übersetzt von Bettina Gold-Hartnack

The annual local balance sheet: buds in the desert

14/01/2013 Leonardo BoffDeixe um comentário

From Saint Augustine (“in every man there simultaneously exists an Adam and a Christ”), through Abelard (“Sic et non”), Hegel and Marx, up to Leandro Konder, we know that reality is dialectic. That is, reality iincludes contradictions, because the opposites do not annul each other but are in permanent tension, and coexist, generating dynamism in history. This is not a defect in construction, but the trade mark of reality. No one has expressed it better than the poverello from Assisi, when he prayed: “where there is hatred that I bring love, where there is darkness that I bring light, where there is error that I bring truth…” It is not about denying or annulling one of the poles, but of opting for one, the luminous one, and strengthening it to the point of preventing the other, the negative one, from being so destructive.

Why this reflection? It is an attempt to show that evil is never so evil that it precludes the presence of the good; and that the good is never so good that it suppresses the force of evil. We must learn to deal with these contradictions. In a previous article I attempted to make a global, negative, balance sheet: showing that we are going from bad to worse. But dialectically there is a positive side that is also important to point out. A local balance sheet will show that, filled with hope, we are witnessing the blossoming of flowers in the desert. And this is happening all over the planet. One need only attend the World Social Forums and popular bases in many places to note that new life is springing up among the victims of the system, even in businesses, and the leaders who are abandoning the old paradigm and starting to build a Noah’s Arc.

We should note some points of change that could safeguard the vitality of the Earth and guarantee our civilization.

The first is overcoming the dictatorship of the instrumental analytic reason that is principally responsible for the devastation of nature, by incorporating the emotional or cordial intelligence that involves us with the destiny of life and the Earth, by caring, loving and seeking the good life.

The second is the worldwide strengthening of solidarian economics, agro-ecology, organic agriculture, bio-economics and eco-development, alternatives to material growth through the GNP.

The third is democratic eco-socialism that proposes new forms of production, with nature rather than against nature, and the required accompanying global governance.

The fourth is the bio-regionalism that is arising as an alternative to homogenizing globalization, valuing the goods and services of each region with its population and culture.

The fifth is the good living of the Andean original nations, that involves creating an equilibrium between humans and nature through a community democracy and respect for the rights of nature and Mother Earth, or the Gross Happiness Index of the government of Bhutan.

The sixth is shared sobriety or voluntary simplicity, that strengthens food sovereignty for all, the just measure and self-control over the obsessive desire to consume.

The seventh is the visible leadership of women and the original nations that offers a new benevolence towards nature and more solidarian forms of production and consumption.

The eighth is the slow but growing acceptance of the categories of caring as preconditions for true sustainability. This means separation from the category of development, and is seen as the logic of the web of life that guarantees the interdependency of all with all, thus assuring life on Earth.

The ninth is the penetration of the ethics of universal responsibility, because we are all responsible for the common destiny, our destiny and the destiny of Mother Earth.

The tenth is the retaking of the spiritual dimension, beyond religion, that allows us to feel part of the Whole, to perceive the universal Energy that penetrates and sustains everything, and makes us the caretakers and guardians of the sacred inheritance we received from the universe and from God.

All these initiatives are more than just seeds. There already are shoots that show the possible flowering of a new Earth, with a humanity that is learning to be responsible, to care for and to love, which strengthens the sustainability of this our small planet.

See Leonardo Boff and Mark Hathaway, The Tao of Liberation: Exploring the Ecology of Transformation, (El Tao de la Liberación, explorando la ecología de la transformación, Trotta 2013).

Translation: Melina Alfaro, alfaro_melina@yahoo.com.ar,
done at REFUGIO DEL RIO GRANDE, Texas, EE.UU.

Bilancio annuale dello micro: germogli nel deserto

14/01/2013 Leonardo BoffDeixe um comentário

Da San Agostino (“in ogni uomo c’è simultaneamente un Adamo e un Cristo”) passando per Abelardo (“sic et non”), per Hegel e Marx fino ad arrivare a Leandro Konder, sappiamo che la realtà è dialettica. Vale a dire è contradittoria perche gli opposti non si annullano ma si tensionano e convivono permanentemente generando dinamismo nella Storia. Questo non e un difetto di fabbricazione ma la marca registrata del reale. Nessuno lo ha espresso meglio che il poveretto di Assisi nel pregare: “dove ci sia odio che io porti amore, dove ci siano tenebre che io porti la luce, dove ci sia errore che porte la verità…” non si tratta di negare o di annulare uno dei poli, ma di optare per uno, quello luminoso, e rinforzarlo fino al punto di impedire che l’altro, negativo, sia così tanto destruttivo.

A che viene questa riflessione? Con questa si vuole esprimere che il male non è mai così male che impedisce la presenza del bene; e che il bene non è mai così buono da sopprimere la forza del male. Dobbiamo imparare a negoziare con queste contraddizioni. In un articolo precedente cercai di fare un bilancio del macro, negativo: così come stiamo andiamo di male in peggio.

Ma dialetticamente c’è un lato positivo che è importante rialzare. Un bilancio del micro che ci rivela che stiamo assistendo, con speranza, al germogliare dei fiori nel deserto. E questo accade ovunque nel pianeta. Basta frequentare i Fori Sociali Mondiali e le basi popolari di molte parti per notare che c’è vita nuova che si sta aprendo nel mezzo delle vittime del sistema e anche negozi e dirigenti che stanno abbandonando il vecchio paradigma e si mettono a costruire una Arca di Noe salvatrice.

Segniamo qui qualche punti di mutazione che potranno salvaguardare la vitalità della Terra e garantire nostra civilizzazione.

Il primo è la superazione della dittatura della ragione strumentale analitica, principale responsabile per la devastazione della natura, attraverso l’incorporazione dell’intelligenza emozionale o cordiale, che ci porta a implicarsi con il destino della vita e della Terra, avendo cura, amando e cercando il vivere bene.

Il secondo è il rafforzamento mondiale dell’economia solidale, dell’agroecologia, la agricoltura biologica, la bioeconomia e l’ecosviluppo, alternative alla crescita materiale via PIL.

Il terzo è l’ecosocialismo democratico che propone una nuova forma di produzione con la natura e non contro di lei e una necessaria gobernance globale.

Il quarto è il bioregionalismo che si presenta come alternativa a la globalizzazione omogeinizzatrice, valutando i beni e i servizi di ogni regione con la sua popolazione e la sua cultura.

Il quinto è il vivere bene dei popoli andini che suppone la costruzione del equilibrio tra gli esseri umani e la naturalezza a base di una democrazia comunitaria e il rispetto dei diritti della natura e della Madre Terra o l’Indice di Felicità Interna Lorda (FIL) del governo de Bhutan.

Il sesto è la sobrietà condivisa o la semplicità volontaria che rinforzano la sovranità alimentaria di tutti, la giusta misura e l’autocontrollo del desiderio ossessivo di consumare.

Il settimo è il visibile protagonismo delle donne e dei popoli originari che presentano una nuova benevolenza verso la naturalezza e forme più solide di produzione e di consumo.

L’ottavo è la lenta ma crescente accoglienza delle categorie di cura come condizione previa per una sostenibilità reale. Questa sta staccandosi della categoria di sviluppo ed è vista come la logica della rete della vita che garantisce le interdipendenze di tutti con tutti assicurando la vita sulla Terra.

Il nono è la penetrazione dell’etica universale della responsabilità, perché siamo tutti responsabili per il comune destino, il nostro e quello della Madre Terra.

Il decimo è il recupero della dimensione spirituale, al di là delle religioni, che ci permette di sentirsi parte del tutto, percepire l’Energia universale che permea ogni cosa e da sostegno a tutto e ci fa guardiani e custodi della sacra eredità ricevuta da l’universo e da Dio .

Tutte queste iniziative sono più che semi. Sono germogli che stanno già mostrando la possibile fioritura di una nuova Terra con una umanità che sta imparando a essere responsabile, ad avere cura e ad amare, cose che rafforzano la sostenibilità di questo piccolo pianeta nostro.