On April 15, 1912 the ocean liner Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, drowning 1517 passengers. On this centenary of the disaster there are memorials taking place in Belfast where the supposedly “unsinkable” steamship was built, from Southhampton England, its port of departure, and in New York, its intended destination. Church bells are also ringing in Halifax Nova Scotia from whence ships sailed to recover bodies from the icy waters of the North Atlantic and where 150 of those who perished were laid to rest.
News of the Titanic disaster was broadcast nearly globally in less than two days, and is one of the earliest example of a “viral” global news event. It also sparked a regulatory revolution that has led to many improvements in safety on board ships, though they did not prevent the Costa Concordia from running around on January 13, 2012 killing 30 people, due to human error. In the past 100 years, the Titanic has spawned hundred of books, thousands, and a “block buster” 1998 movie by James Cameron that made the tragedy real to a new generation of people.
Our fascination with the Titanic derives in part from its serving as a metaphor and symbol; it is an icon for a ship on a different voyage, one that we now are all passengers on. The Titanic symbolizes human civilization since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 17th century. The voyage began with philosophers, such as Descartes and Francis Bacon heralding the dawning of a New Age in which the secrets of Nature would be unlocked by science and technology allowing us to exert our control over the natural world, to better satisfy human needs and desires. Their faith in the capacity of human reason to discover the Laws of Nature in order to Subdue Nature to our Will, turned out, as we all know, to be well-founded.
The Enlightenment’s faith in scientific reason brought us Issac Newton, the steam engine, constitutional democracy, international trade, factories and mass production, bicycles, electricity, corporations, railroads, cotton gins, the end of slavery, telegraph, photography, internal combustion engines, airplanes, motion pictures, automobiles, radios, telephones, plastic, refrigerators, submarines, vacuum tubes, oral contraception, transistors, helicopters, computers, fax machines, audio tape recording, nylon, nuclear weapons, Space Shuttles, DVDs, and IPads. Those of us fortunate enough to have been born in the latter part of the 20th century into one of the more prosperous and developed countries, have enjoyed the benefits, comforts, and capacities that far exceed those available a century ago to even the wealthiest passengers aboard the Titanic.These benefits and new capacities came about largely because of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, and our belief in Reason’s power to discover the Laws of Nature. But the fruits of Reason were widely diffused in society by Corporations operating within a Capitalist Economic System. The industrial civilization which has been created by this combination of factors, is mighty and impressive, so much so, that many believe it is “unsinkable.” Some of the passengers expect that this voyage of discovery and invention will continue to lift humanity, and when they peer into the far future, see that we will one day have the ability to leave the Earth in Space Ships and become Wayfarers in the Universe, going where no one has gone before.
But there are also some passengers, among whom I count myself, who fear that we are at the present time heading towards a catastrophe. There are icebergs on the horizon whose shapes are beginning to become visible through the fog and dark of night: global climate disruption, species extinction, terrorism, deforestation, drought, famine, economic collapse, global epidemic, mass starvation, genocidal conflict, conflict over diminishing land and water resources, ecosystem collapse, over population, peak oil, and nuclear war. Those of us who see these ominous shapes on the horizon are trying to urgently warn to other passengers of the danger of our situation by pointing to these looming shapes on the horizon.
But most of the other passengers are not paying much attention to us. They are going about their businesses on the ship, working to make money so that they can acquire more of the gadgets and goodies that the ship’s shopping mall deck has on offer. Down below, the passengers in third class are trying to make their way to the upper decks to join in the conspicuous consumption carnival. Up on the bridge, the captain seems to be vaguely apprehensive about what dangers may ahead, but he is skinny and kind of weak and does not have the power steer the ship onto a new course, especially given that there is a group of lunatics on the bridge who seem intent on grabbing the wheel and turning the ship directly into the path of the icebergs. Other passengers are sleeping, or drinking, or having sex; just enjoying themselves.
There are also some people in the ship’s chapel. Some are praying for a Savior to arrive, while others are talking about the possibility of a “paradigm shift” to a new global consciousness. These latter folks see the dangers that lie ahead if we continue on our present course. They try to practice living in a more sustainable fashion by planting urban gardens, and bringing canvas bags to the local farmer’s market, which they go to on their bicycles or in their new hybrid vehicles. They also host “webinars” and organize conferences in which they discuss finding “inner peace” through yoga and meditation, and then spread the gospel of the New Earth that is possible through sales of books and DVDs. It is comforting to be around these types because they remain optimistic that a New Age of global peace, justice, and abundance is still possible if we only “Occupy Ourselves.”
Other passengers, aware of the impending calamity, are already heading towards the lifeboats. They are moving out of the cities, creating sustainable communities, and re-learning the skills necessary to live off of the land, the skills that our ancestors once had, but which Modern Humans, have forgotten. When the catastrophe hits, these people think they will have their own arks, and will be counted among the survivors.
Some other passengers are trying to do science and to invent new technologies that will help us avert disaster. They are making packaging out of mushrooms; cooking food on solar ovens, erecting windmills, and building baby incubators out of spare automobile parts. It is not clear that any of these inventions will actually avert the Collapse of Industrial Civilization, but at least they are doing some practical things that may one day change the ways we relate to human society and to the natural environment. They are not willing to abandon their faith in Human Progress through Science and Technology; they are trying to apply scientific reason to the problems and threats that we are now facing. But even as they work, the ship sails on; the bridge controls are dysfunctional, there are not enough lifeboats, and the icebergs are still floating on the horizon.
Still others are sending messages over the Internet (like this one) out to anyone who might happen to be listening for a distress signal: ”C, Q, D, --- C, Q, D.....C. Q, D.....”
But no one is out there listening who is coming to rescue us;
We are the ones we are waiting for;
And many of us will be going down with the ship.....
