Plague of Locusts
How a “growth economy” changes us
I learned a fun fact recently. Locusts are not a species unto themselves. They are just grasshoppers that are born as locusts. This is due to certain environmental triggers that cause the same genes that typically result in a solitary green grasshopper being born into instead a (usually) brown and yellow, swarming locust to be born. I’m no entomologist so I’ll leave the details of the how and why to them, but it’s an interesting fact nonetheless.
So a non-destructive solitary insect with minimal environmental impact has within its genetic code the potential to become a plague of locusts that can consume all vegetation in entire regions of the planet. The only thing to do (or not do, rather) is to let the plague play out. Locusts glutton themselves on every green plant that they come into contact with until there’s nothing left. Then they die en masse from starvation. The eggs left behind are born again as grasshoppers. The land recovers. Seeds grow and green plants once again thrive. The cycle repeats.
This is yet another example of the cycle of creation and destruction. The locusts are not intrinsically evil. They are a necessary part of the ecosystem. Their destructive behavior plays an important role in the redistribution of nutrients and minerals. They are nature’s mechanism that achieves the same effect as crop rotation. We humans don’t like them and call them evil, a plague, simply because we can’t entirely control them. They take away our food security, unless you’re into eating insects. They impact our profits. They may take away nutrients from my land and redistribute it to someone else’s land.
Silly humans thinking that they own any land.
Modern humanity is a plague, just like these locusts. We consume with no thought or care as to the destruction that we wreak. Due to certain environmental and social triggers, we have changed from the once stewards of this planet into an all-consuming horde.
So what of the human locust plague? What environmental role do we play? What good could possibly come from the rampant destruction caused by our wanton consumption? I don’t have a good answer. I believe there is no objective or absolute good or evil, there are only cycles of creation and destruction. This age of human influence on our world is simply on the destruction side of the cycle.
Like a tick that has gorged itself on the blood of its host, not knowing when to stop and let go, it bursts. Humans are victims of their own success as a species. Our host, planet Earth, will continue on, changed by our actions but not broken or destroyed. Earth does not need us.
The consequences of our consumption are beginning to be felt. An age of woe and misery and suffering and death is upon us. We have created the hell that our religions were supposed to redeem and save us from. Go to sleep believing that you will be saved from this hell and go to heaven when you die. I dare not try to take this comforting belief away from you.
Yet there are those of us who don’t share that belief. We can’t count on a heavenly afterlife to redeem us. We wish to see heaven on Earth. That was our birthright according to Genesis. However, like Moses, I won’t live to see this Promised Land. It was my lot in life to be born in this age of destruction.
However, humans are not like locusts in that we are intelligent. We remember not just our own individual past, but the past 3000+ years of written history. We can understand the systems that govern our lives. We can foresee the consequences and change our behaviors if only we had the will to do so. No single person has all of the answers, but collectively we do.
The single largest barrier that I see to transforming this hell into a heaven is our collective belief in the “growth economy”. We invest our money and expect more money in return. Return on investment is our sole guiding star in the modern world. Individuals, businesses, and governments are judged solely on how successful they are at generating a profit. Those that don’t are deemed failures and are not allowed to exist further (well with the notable exceptions of the “too big to fail” banks and the US auto industry). Heaven forbid that we invest our money and get, not money, but happy, healthy, well-adjusted, whole human beings in return.
I’m not saying it never happens. There are non-profits, universities, research centers, hospitals, and religious organizations that don’t necessarily return money for the investment. We have sent billions of taxpayer money into space to crash land onto various planets and moons, or simply float off into oblivion, with only data returned for our troubles.
What I am saying is that the overwhelming focus and primary driver of modern human efforts has been on economic growth, with everything else left as an after-thought. I’m saying that we need to shift our priorities. I’m saying that not everything fits nicely into the capitalistic paradigm that bottom-line profit is all. We can’t and shouldn’t expect our financial portfolios to continue growing in net value.
Just one glaring example; pharmaceuticals, medical devices and supplies should not be researched and developed for profit. Once developed and produced, they should be distributed for the benefit of all.
“How do we pay for the research, development, production, and distribution of these medical wonders then?” the capitalist asks. Pay for it out of the profits of big oil, big tech, and the sports and entertainment industries. Trust me, they make enough.
“But that’s my money!” says the shareholders of those industries.
Yes, it is your money and you will receive a return on your investment. It just won’t look like numbers increasing in your bank account.
It will look like medicine when you need it.
It will look like happy, healthy, and well-fed neighbors, friends, family, co-workers, citizens.
It will look like a society not on the verge of collapse.
It will look like a brighter future for your children and grandchildren.
It will look like a species worthy of leaving this planet and solar system, exploring the galaxy and universe, leaving a positive lasting legacy beyond our home world.
Eh, what am I saying? Retiring on a golf course, consuming copious amounts of red meat and alcohol, taking all of the medicine that I can (I can afford it! Too bad poor suckers!) to keep my cadaverous body alive as long as possible so that I have nothing to leave behind to my children, while playing video games and watching super hero movies, cheering on my favorite sports teams, blaming everyone with a slightly different political and religious view than me for all of the ills of the world, and hording all of the guns and ammo that I can because “I’ve got to protect MY stuff from THEM!”… Yeah all of that is way more important.
I am a locust, after all. I was born this way.
