This reminds me very much of the introduction to the Power Broker where Caro talks about all the ways in which political power has surreptitiously shaped New York, as he goes through the various roads, and bridges and parks that (to a naive eye) just sort of showed up and are there, forming the contours of the city and the state. But to Robert Caro, they are the results of political power--and, in fact, the political power of one unelected man.
I appreciate the sentiment and agree about the importance of both government and politics. To say you don’t like either is to say you just don’t like humanity but I get the impression from the quoted passage that the author doesn’t like humanity either. She only points to humanities’ degradation of the environment. Where is the wonderment at what humanity has built? They’re looking at it from space. Seems like I’d have a bit of wonder about a species that can provide you that perspective.
Yeah, I think this paragraph is both too haughty about humanity and too cynical. Climatic changes really do predate us, and changes in the structure of the cosmos certainly may outdate us. I also question if ‘politics’ is the right word to really blame for the impacts good and bad from human action on the globe.
Human power seems more clear on that front. Intriguing perspective though, on realizing things from another, radically different view.
Have you thought through the consequences of taking political action to right all the wrongs the author perceives. Not just fossil fuels but also mining lithium is evil. How many human beings will survive on a planet that only uses energy from breezes? In fact I would imagine the author opposes the manufacture of concrete and steel so there won't even be wind power. You remind me of that creeping Jesus, David Attenborough, whose Population Matters believes in the elimination of billions of human beings. But he clings onto life decades after he has had more than his fair share of existence.
This reminds me very much of the introduction to the Power Broker where Caro talks about all the ways in which political power has surreptitiously shaped New York, as he goes through the various roads, and bridges and parks that (to a naive eye) just sort of showed up and are there, forming the contours of the city and the state. But to Robert Caro, they are the results of political power--and, in fact, the political power of one unelected man.
I read it as an argument for practicing detachment. To see problems from a different vantage point is powerful.
I appreciate the sentiment and agree about the importance of both government and politics. To say you don’t like either is to say you just don’t like humanity but I get the impression from the quoted passage that the author doesn’t like humanity either. She only points to humanities’ degradation of the environment. Where is the wonderment at what humanity has built? They’re looking at it from space. Seems like I’d have a bit of wonder about a species that can provide you that perspective.
Oh, it's not representative of the rest of the book then. She display a lot of wonder and love for humanity throughout.
Yeah, I think this paragraph is both too haughty about humanity and too cynical. Climatic changes really do predate us, and changes in the structure of the cosmos certainly may outdate us. I also question if ‘politics’ is the right word to really blame for the impacts good and bad from human action on the globe.
Human power seems more clear on that front. Intriguing perspective though, on realizing things from another, radically different view.
Have you thought through the consequences of taking political action to right all the wrongs the author perceives. Not just fossil fuels but also mining lithium is evil. How many human beings will survive on a planet that only uses energy from breezes? In fact I would imagine the author opposes the manufacture of concrete and steel so there won't even be wind power. You remind me of that creeping Jesus, David Attenborough, whose Population Matters believes in the elimination of billions of human beings. But he clings onto life decades after he has had more than his fair share of existence.
You are reading way too much into the passage. Doesn't mean any of those things.