WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO?

What will be the alternative vision for a post industrial/capitalist society? The dominant alternative in the 20^th century was Marxism. Today it probably will be a synthesis of Marxist and Anarchist visions enriched by ecological, feminist, regional, ethnic and host of contemporary people’s movement. The technological basis for such a society will be based on mainly harvesting the Sun’s energy biologically. To day Cuba provides a living example of the transition to such a society.

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THE VISION FOR A FOSSIL FUEL FREE SOCIETY

Critics of Capitalism

The events of the past have shown that capitalism, as a system, is the main cause of the present crisis of global warming and other related crises. It is also empirically evident that within capitalism no alternatives will work.

If the burning of fossil fuels causes global warming, then the alternative must be a fossil fuel free society. How does one go about it? As Albert Einstein once said, “You cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that caused it”.

The mindset that caused global warming is capitalism or more generally industrialism. This mindset is a product of the Industrial Revolution, which among other things, believed in conquest of nature. So any solution offered within this system will fail. Hence there cannot be a solution within the capitalist system.

From the very beginning there have been critics of capitalism, both within the Industrial Revolution mindset as well as outside of it. Among the former the most important of course is the Marxist tradition. Although both Marx and Engels had many deep insights into the ecological damage done by capitalism, they were not opposed to industrialism and ‘progress’ as such. While their view may not help us for an alternative vision, their view on who will carry out the change, namely the proletariat, cannot be rejected. It is the victims who have a maximum stake in change and therefore the victims of global warming, the poor and oppressed of the world, through their organisations like trade unions, peasant associations and a wide variety of people’s organisations will play a crucial role in bringing about a transformation.

The Visionaries

For the vision for a fossil fuel free society, we may need to look at other traditions. These visionaries were not some wooly headed people living in a dream world, moving around with long beards and living an undisciplined life without care. They were highly reputed professionals, well established in the mainstream and through their practice found a critique of their fields and established new and alternative disciplines. Their vision does not actually use the words ‘fossil fuel free society’. This is a wider vision of an alternative society, which among other things, will be based on low energy consumption.

Such a tradition would include Thoreau (Walden), Tolstoy (The Kingdom of God is Within You) Kropotkin (Fields, Factories and Workshops), Gandhi (Hind Swaraj), Albert Howard (An Agricultural Testament), Masanobu Fukuoka (One Straw Revolution), Schumacher (Small is Beautiful) and Patrick Geddes (Patrick Geddes in India). Their books mentioned in brackets are extremely important path breaking works. A brief description of these books and authors is provided in the appendix.

Mainstream critics call this tradition as ‘romantic’ and in fact, Tolstoy did say, ’How can there be romance with electricity?’ But probably, a more accurate description of this tradition is ‘Pacifist Anarchism’, though probably except Kropotkin none of them called themselves “anarchist”; but then, Kropotkin was not a pacifist! Anarchism has a large number of different variations and it is difficult to define it. However in general:

1. They are anti state. ‘The State has never been good to poor and never will be”. At best they would consent to having a minimal small state wielding low political power.

2. They believed in freedom, co-operation and mutual aid rather than competition. Their motto: a free association of free people. They believed in small communities federated with other similar communities.

3. As a rule they believed in ‘Respect for Nature’ and not in ‘Conquest of Nature’. Their approach was deeply ecological.

Thoreau, Kropotkin and Tolstoy laid the foundation of a powerful critic of capitalist and industrial society and were the principal visionaries for an alternative anarchist society. Each represented a different perspective. Thoreau emphasized the importance of self-reliance, solitude, contemplation and closeness to nature in transcending the crass existence that is supposedly the lot of most humans. Kropotkin's emphasis was on local organisation, local production, obviating the need for central government. Kropotkin's emphasis is also on agriculture and rural life. Tolstoy speaks of the principle of non-resistance when confronted by violence and advocates non-violence as a solution to nationalist woes.

However it was Gandhi who translated many of these concepts into action first in South Africa and later in India. His influence spread far and wide. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela are some of the important examples of his reach beyond Indian shores. Gandhi was well aware of the writings of Thoreau, Kropotkin and Tolstoy and even corresponded with Tolstoy. He blended his own unique vision in the booklet Hind Swaraj. Swaraj is a kind of Individualist Anarchism. It warrants a Stateless society, as according to Gandhi the overall impact of the State on the people is harmful. He called the State a "soulless machine" which, ultimately, does the greatest harm to mankind. "It is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves." The booklet is a severe condemnation of ‘modern civilisation’. He was equally critical of modern technology and its ‘craze for labour saving machinery’- the impetus behind which is not philanthropy to save labour but greed. He advocated self-sufficient villages based on rural industry. He had an integral and holistic view of agriculture, animal power, industry, education and health care. Today the problems arising from industrialisation and its reliance on fossil fuels have shown his ideas to be far sighted and possibly appropriate for the post fossil fuel age.

Around the same time, there were others who were also expounding similar ideas in specific fields both in theory and practice. In agriculture, it was Sir Albert Howard, the father of organic farming movement, Masanobu Fukuoka of ‘Natural Farming’ fame and Patrick Geddes in town planning. E. F. Schumacher gave a critique of economics and Gross National Product (GNP) and developed concepts of human level small and appropriate technologies.

The Vision

If we take all these authors collectively, their work and ideas offer a powerful critique of industrialism and capitalism and provide an alternate vision. Kropotkin, Gandhi, Howard and Fukuoka also offer a very concrete way of how to go about things. One common thread that runs through all of them is a strong ethical attitude. Kropotkin was called ‘An atheist saint’. Gandhi is famous for his, ‘The earth can provide for everybody’s needs but not for their greed’ and so on. Needless to say, they had countless followers both among working people as well as professionals, social scientists and artists.

So why did they not succeed or why did capitalism triumph in spite of them? A short answer is: they were ahead of their times. The material basis of capitalism i.e. concentrated source of energy resource like coal and oil appeared inexhaustible. The trade union movement was able to wrest some benefits for itself in the midst of this phase. Today several crises of capitalism have come together and are feeding into each other. These are global warming, peak oil, food production peaking, inter-imperialist contradictions escalating, and the anti-imperialists struggles - both at organised level as well as large small scale movements all over the world. The era of industrialism is coming to an end.

The collapse of the capitalist system does not automatically bring a new society. For example in Myanmar (formerly Burma) Burma Shell took its last drop of oil more than sixty years ago leaving an empty ’Shell’ behind. But even today, Burma is in wilderness. Nearer home, capital flew from West Bengal in the 60s and 70s. The Left Front instead of following Cuba’s example, which it admires, is bent on bringing capitalism back at any cost!

Today we face three tasks. First, is to articulate clearly the vision for a fossil fuel free society in its entirety. Then engage with workers unions and other mass organisations to evolve a concrete programme. Unless the ideas are gripped by the masses, they will not, as Mao has said, become a material force. The programme should give a concrete activity at the organised level as well as an ethical base for an individual and a small group to live and act. Thirdly we have to continue the struggle against damages capitalism continues cause, such as big dams, thermal power plants, new mining leases for coal and iron, SEZs and so on. These struggles will be empowered by a positive vision of the future.

What would a Fossil Fuel Free Society look like?

It is neither possible nor desirable to synthesize the views of these great people mentioned above. It is best that we read them in their own words and absorb what we need. Let there be diversity. However they do provide a basis for a few principles and help us to visualize what the future society may look like.

It is of course difficult to predict the future. We can only have dreams and visions about it. One way to begin is by addressing the question: what would we like it to be? And then take the discussion towards what its implications would be for today’s society. A few non negotiable guide lines to build on could be:

1. Human beings are a part of nature; they have to live with it and not off it.

2. Within human societies there should be equity.

3. Resist the scheme of centralised political power being in the hands of a few; particularly that of the state and government. At best, a minimal small state.

4. Small self-managed societies based on the principle of ‘a free association of free people’.

5. The technological base of such a society will be to move towards ecologically sound processes like organic farming, humane use of domesticated animals in farming practices, leather and wood as main raw materials etc. - not at all implying the complete abandon of modern sensibilities, scientific and technological advances.

6. The main agenda for humanity for the next thirty years or so will be to restore the earth’s ecological health   that has been so severely damaged by capitalistic approaches.

7. A holistic approach to health, education, culture and sciences. They should be integrated with the main agenda of the society while maintaining a creative diversity of approaches.

Possible Reorientations

1. Administratively manageable regional reorientation on the basis of ecological/bio-geographic, cultural and linguistic (dialect) considerations such as Telengana, Vidarbha, Malwa, Bundelkhand, Awadh, Bhojpur etc. As an exercise, one can list nearly 100 such regions within the Indian subcontinent.

2. The above could be federated regionally, again, as large bio-geographic regions such as the Deccan, Western Ghats, Gangetic Plains, North-East India etc. These may be further federated within even larger landmasses such as South Asia. There are already precedents in this direction - the SARCC countries, European Union etc. - with cooperative and collaborative endeavours; even though ecological concerns and sustainability may not have been their common starting point.

3. While there will be rural and urban centers, there will be continuity. Rural regions will have urban facilities and urban areas will not be just concrete jungles. It will be something like parts of present day Kerala.

4. Urban Centres: Each of these administratively independent entities would have a few large and small urban centers with a population of 10,000 to 5 lakhs. They will have institutions for academic pursuits, research, sophisticated health services, art and cultural centers, infrastructure facility for small industrial enterprises related to food processing, housing, clothing, building material etc. Much of the industrial activity would be related to recycling and maintenance. One of the main activities would be segregating waste at source and recycling of urban solid waste. The bulk of which, being biodegradable would be made into compost to feed into urban vegetable and fruit growing farms and gardens. Thus the cities would be ‘garden cities’ producing their own vegetables and fruits. Many modern aspects of life will remain, such as phones and internet, operating on efficient use of energy from renewable sources.

5. Bulk of the community would comprise of self-sufficient natural/organic farmers, artisans and skilled personnel providing ancillary services to a farm based economy. Industry and services would be in the areas of health care, education, food processing, animal husbandry, leather work, carpentry, smithy, metal crafts, textiles, tailoring, hair dressing, sports, entertainment the arts etc. School, library and cultural centers would be a facility for all children and adults. They will be geared to the immediate agenda of restoring ecological stability.

6. There would be a major worldwide conservation project to save the flora and fauna that has been on the verge of extinction. This would be done principally through restoration of habitat by releasing more land to forests.

Changes that may occur

Many things that we take today as given may not be there in a fossil fuel free society. Demands have been made in the past and the present by individuals and mass movements for such a change. Taken together, it may be difficult to accept them all; also, there is always a quantum of resistance to change.

1. To begin with, one can see movements, negotiations, campaigns, agitations, demands etc. for smaller less powerful states. On the other hand are continued instances of resistance and opposition to mega states with powerful armies, weaponry, capitalistic economies etc. By implication, there is an opposition to armament industry and weapons of nuclear warfare.

2. Likewise, with fossil fuels depleting, the automobile industry would have to scale down, for, there is really no effective solution for automobiles. Instead, public transport such as buses, trams and railways would gain practical significance. This would be coupled with bicycles, cycle rickshaws, horse and donkey carts etc. One great benefit would be that, air pollution will reduce drastically.

3. Hopefully, alcoholism, use of narcotics and tobacco would become negligible since part of the reason for large-scale addiction is alienation in a capitalist society.

4. With better and healthier food, cleaner environment and a less stressful life; the need for health care services - which is the second largest industry today - would reduce drastically.

5. As a combined effect of farming with organic methods and reduced availability of petrochemicals, the chemical fertiliser and pesticide industry would diminish significantly. Bio-fertilisers and bio-pest controllers will become more popular. On the whole less of even these would be required.

6. Commercial agriculture would be reduced and more land will be released for forestry and community common use. Cotton would be the main non-food crop and sugarcane cultivation will decrease.

7. Petrochemical industry as a whole will be reduced considerably and we will be rid of the menace of plastic bags all across the urban landscape.

8. The need for power industry would reduce as armament and large governments consume a lot of irrational power. The reduced power need could be met with largely by decentralised power sources such as solar, wind and mini-hydel projects. They could, however be coupled with a small mix of coal and oil energy. Large mega power projects, which are dangerous to ecosystem and are very heavily polluting would gradually vanish.

9. The demand for iron and steel industry would also come down. A lot of recycling of existing but no longer useful iron and steel equipment and machinery will become important.

10. The demand for minerals would also decrease. No major new mining projects would come and some of the existing mines would be exhausted and close down. Mining water through deep tube wells would come down drastically. Water conservation and rain water harvesting will become important.

10. Higher education and research would be aimed at restoring ecological balances. Thus there would be extensive good research in soil fertility, bio pest controllers, forestry, river systems, ecology, air streams etc. Research and development of alternative renewable sources of energy and low energy nano technology would also play a very crucial role. Fundamental research in sciences as well as in humanities would facilitate in the development of these concepts.

Resistance to change

Normally resistance to change among ordinary people diminishes with time, non-availability and with new generation. However this does not happen with people in power. They oppose it with power. What it means is that powerful classes and nations will continue in their old ways. The scramble for depleting resources of oil and minerals will continue to lead to small and big wars. It can also lead to a world war kind of situation, which, this time around, with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons can destroy almost all living beings.  So we cannot slacken in our existing movements of antiwar, antinuclear weapons and energy, opposition to mega dams and polluting power and other industries. Nor should we forget the daily struggle of billions of people just to survive. During the transition period these struggles will be even more painful. We will face job losses, malnutrition, hunger, illnesses, suicides and so on. What we need to do is to strengthen all these struggles and mass organisations like worker unions, peasant associations and other civil society organisations and engage with them on the themes of a fossil fuel free society.

This is one individual’s, that is, my dream. I invite you to join me both in working towards the dismantling of capitalism as well as to dream on your own.
Appendix

 THE VISIONARIES

Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) published in 1854, emphasizes the importance of self-reliance, solitude, contemplation, and closeness to nature in transcending the crass existence that is supposedly the lot of most humans. Walden is neither a novel nor a true autobiography, but a social critique of the Western World, with each chapter heralding some aspect of humanity that needed to be either renounced or praised.

Fields, Factories and Workshops is a landmark anarchist text by Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921), and arguably one of the most influential and positive statements of the anarchist political position. His inspiration has permeated into the 20th and 21st centuries as a lasting vision of a more harmonious way of living for a new world. To a large degree Kropotkin's emphasis is on local organisation, local production obviating the need for centralised governments. Kropotkin's vision is also on agriculture and rural life, making it a contrasting perspective to the largely industrial thinking of communists and socialists. His focus on local production leads to his view that a country should manufacture its own goods and grow its own food, making import and export unnecessary. To these ends he advocated irrigation for boosting local food production ability. Critics say he is rather optimistic in his works, however the problems arising from industrialisation and its reliance on fossil fuels has shown his ideas to be far sighted and possibly appropriate for the post fossil fuel age.

The Kingdom of God is Within You, the non-fiction magnum opus of Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), is the culmination of thirty years of Tolstoy's Christian thinking. It lays out a roadmap for a new organisation of society based on literal Christian interpretations. Tolstoy takes the viewpoint on "Thou shalt not murder" literally and therefore that all governments who wage war are directly affronting the Christian principles that should guide all life. In the book Tolstoy speaks of the principle of non-resistance when confronted by violence, as taught by Jesus. He advocates non-violence as a solution to nationalist woes and as a means for seeing the hypocrisy of the church. These words had profound influence on Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote in his autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth, that this book "overwhelmed" him and "left an abiding impression". Gandhi listed Tolstoy's book, as one of the most important modern influences in his life.

For Indians, Gandhi (1869-1948) and his booklet Hind Swaraj immediately come to mind. It is a manifesto, which is, at once a critique of ‘English civilisation’ (industrial society) and a programme for rebuilding India. The booklet is a severe condemnation of ‘modern civilisation’. He was equally critical of modern technology and its ‘craze for labour saving machinery’, the impetus behind which is not the philanthropy to save labour but greed. He advocated self-sufficient villages based on rural industry. He had an integral and holistic view of agriculture, animal power, industry, education and health care. Today the problems arising from industrialisation and its reliance on fossil fuels have shown his ideas to be far sighted and possibly appropriate for the post-fossil fuel age.

Swaraj is a kind of Individualist Anarchism. It advocates a stateless society, as according to Gandhi the overall impact of the state on the people is harmful. He called the state a "soulless machine" which, ultimately, does the greatest harm to mankind. Adopting Swaraj means implementing a system whereby state machinery is virtually non existent and the real power directly resides in the hands of people. Gandhi said, ‘Power resides in the people, they can use it at any time.’ This philosophy rests inside an individual who has to learn to be master of his own self and spreads upwards to the level of his community which must be dependent only on itself. ‘It is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves.’

Gandhi was undaunted by the task of implementing such a utopian vision in India. He believed that by transforming enough individuals and communities, society at large would change. He said, ‘It may be taunted with the retort that this is all Utopian and, therefore not worth a single thought... Let India live for the true picture, though never realisable in its completeness. We must have a proper picture of what we want before we can have something approaching it.’

An Agricultural Testament by Sir Albert Howard (1873-1947), first published in 1940, is credited by some with launching the organic farming agricultural movement. It focuses on the nature and management of soil fertility, and notably, explores composting. At a time when modern, chemical-based industrialised agriculture was just beginning to radically alter food production, it advocated natural processes rather than man-made inputs as the superior approach to farming. In 1924, he set up the Indore Institute of Plant Industry at Indore in central India. Here he developed the concepts of Nature’s Farming. He argued that since natural ecosystems are stable over long periods of time, in farming too, we should imitate as far as possible the local natural ecosystem. He observed four principles in nature: 1. Mixed cropping is the rule; 2. The soil is always protected from the direct action of sun, rain and wind; 3. The forest manures itself; 4. Crops and livestock look after themselves. Gandhi was aware of his work and visited him in Indore. He rewrote his pamphlet on composting and published it in the Harijan. One of Gandhi’s co-workers, Mira Ben, devoted her life to popularising composting methods in remote Indian villages based on Howard’s work.

Masanobu Fukuoka, (1913-2008), author of The One-Straw Revolution, The Road Back to Nature and The Natural Way Of Farming, is one of the pioneers of no-till grain cultivation. Fukuoka practiced a system of farming he refers to as ‘natural farming’. Although some of his practices are specific to Japan, the governing philosophy of his method has successfully been applied around the world. In India, natural farming is often referred to as ‘Rishi Kheti’. The essence of Fukuoka's method is to reproduce natural conditions as closely as possible. "Natural farming is not just for growing crops, it is for the cultivation and perfection of human beings."

Small Is Beautiful by E. F. Schumacher (1911-1977), originally published in 1973 is a collection of essays that brought Schumacher's ideas to a wider audience, at a critical time in history. Schumacher's work coincided with the growth of ecological concerns and with the birth of environmentalism and he became a hero to many in the environmental movement. In the first chapter - The Problem of Production, Schumacher points out that our economy is unsustainable. The natural resources (especially fossil fuels), are treated as expendable incomes, when in fact they should be treated as capital, since they are not renewable and thus subject to eventual depletion. He further points out that, similarly, the capacity of nature to resist pollution is limited as well. Schumacher's philosophy is a philosophy of enoughness, appreciating both human needs and limitations, and appropriate use of technology. It grew out of his study of village-based economics, which he later termed ‘Buddhist Economics.’ He faults conventional economic thinking for failing to consider the most appropriate scale for an activity, blasts notions that ‘growth is good’, and that ‘bigger is better’, and questions the appropriateness of using mass production in developing countries; promoting instead, ‘production by the masses’. Schumacher was one of the first economists to question the appropriateness of using Gross National Product (GNP) to measure human well being, emphasising that ‘the aim ought to be to obtain the maximum amount of well being with the minimum amount of consumption.’

Patrick Geddes in India is a collection of excerpts of writings of Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) while he was in India. He was a Scottish town planner and was in India between 1915 and 1919. In Geddes’s words “Town-planning is not mere town planning, not even work planning.  If it is to be successful, it must be, folk planning. Geddes advocates tree planting – especially fruit yielding trees and vegetable gardens as integral to town planning.  ‘I insist that an enormous proportion of the diseases of children and of men and women-would disappear if there were a substantial increase of fresh vegetables and fruits in their diet.  Further, everyone knows that the most destructive of the diseases of India are diseases of the alimentary canal and that these diseases are communicated in two ways, by dust and by polluted water.  These planting proposals would greatly diminish both the dispersal of dust and the pollution of water.’

There are three central themes in Geddes work.  First is ‘Respect for Nature’.  His approach is deeply ecological emphasising a city’s relationship to its water resources, the promotion of parks and trees, the importance of recycling, and the lessening of dependence on the resources of the hinterland.  The second theme is ‘Respect for Democracy’.  He insisted that the residents of a city must help design plans made for them.  The third theme is ‘Respect for tradition, ‘appreciation of all that is best in the old domestic architecture of Indian cities and of renewing it when it has fallen away’.

See also

http://t-vijayendra.blogspot.com/2011/04/references-and-resources.html

NEGATIVE ENTROPY AND SUSTAINABILITY technology choice for a fossil fuel free society

The most fundamental technological basis of a fossil fuel free society is harvesting the Sun’s energy biologically. The theoretical issues of entropy and negative entropy are presented here. Only the example of agriculture will be taken up, though other areas such as energy, housing, transport etc. are equally important.

It is not as if in a fossil fuel free society other sources of energy will not be used at all. Harnessing direct heat from the Sun itself is a different process, that is, it is not harvested biologically. Use of hydropower in the form of water mills or use of gravity in directing water flows is another example. Even metals and fossil fuels may be in use in a limited way.

When people talk of fossil fuel free society or sustainability, often terms like eco-friendly technologies, appropriate technologies using human and animal power and so on are used. Critics often infer to this as talking of going back to nature, being primitive, unscientific and as impossibility. This article attempts to provide logic for eco-friendly, appropriate technologies using human and animal power.

Entropy

In many processes in modern technology, for example, in the conversion of energy from one form to another, the net availability of energy decreases. This decrease of available energy is called entropy. ‘Entropy is a measure of that part of the thermal energy of a closed system that is not available for conversion into mechanical work. The law of entropy is known as the second law of thermodynamics. The second law holds that the entropy of the Universe invariably increases with every transfer of energy event. There is always some amount of energy that is transformed into an unusable or unavailable form of energy.’ It is on this principle that engines work. All such processes have efficiencies less than one. That is, the net output energy is always less than input. As a rule entropy, that is, the unusable or unavailable form of energy is increasing. We are moving from organization to disorganization or from order to disorder. The entropy of a closed system tends to get higher as time progresses because disorganization increases. The law of entropy is considered to be a basic law of nature and the Universe.

 

Negative Entropy

However, living things appear to behave in a different manner. All living things attempt to modify their environment for their own needs, by creating what for them is order. In 1943, Erwin Schrödinger, Nobel Laureate in Physics, used the concept of ‘negative entropy’ in his book ‘What is life?’

This book was written for the layman. Today it ranks among the most influential books of scientific writing of twentieth century. It was one of the spurs to the birth of molecular biology and the subsequent discovery of the structure of DNA. It attracted many scientists to biology.

The creation of order is one definition of negative entropy. One of the definitions of life might be the ability of life form to create order. A living system imports negative entropy and stores it. Life feeds on negative entropy!  Rocks or other inanimate objects do not possess this property called negative entropy. Death might be defined as the inability of a living thing to continue to create negative entropy for its use. As long as a life form exists, it creates negative entropy, which we observe as the creation of order.

What is the source of negative entropy? The Sun’s energy is highly organized and carried by photons. Our Biosphere absorbs this energy and then releases it back to the Universe -the global balance of energy is zero. The black body radiation of the Sun at a temperature of 5800 degrees Kelvin is absorbed by the Biosphere and the black body radiation from the Biosphere and Earth at 280 degrees Kelvin flows to the Universe, which is at a temperature of 3 degrees Kelvin.

How does life steal energy from the Sun? This is done through a process called photosynthesis. In this process the green matter (chlorophyll) in plants converts the Sun’s energy to usable energy for the plant growth. Herbivores and carnivores sustain and reproduce themselves by using the Sun’s energy through plants. This process is not available to non-living things.

Thus, biological processes creating negative entropy, unlike the mechanical processes, produce more energy than they take. The efficiency is always greater than one. Typically it is about 2.5 (this does not violate the law of conservation of energy - the rest comes from the Sun). That is for one unit of energy (calories) input, say in a ‘primitive’ sustainable farm in the form of human and animal energy; we get two calories of consumable energy output! How do we get this more output from less input? As we said above, we are not counting the input from the Sun – either for mechanized or traditional agriculture.

Compare this with American ‘agribusiness’, which in 1976 took 5 calories of fertilizers, tractor fuel and depreciation, human labour and chemical sprays to produce one calorie of food and an incredible extra 20 calories of energy – all from fossil fuels - to clean, package, transport and cook the food ready for eating in the city. Thus the primitive self-sufficient peasant life is about 50 times more efficient than industrialised food production. The reason being, primitive agriculture uses mainly biological or life processes which have normally efficiencies greater than one whereas industrial processes mainly use non-biological input and processes. (‘The Road to Alto', by Robin Jenkins, Pluto Press, 1979).

Cuban Example

In Cuba, organic farming has been carried out on a large scale. The science of agro-ecology has been highly developed and many scientists in Cuba are turning to this field because this appears to be very important for the future of our Planet. Below is an example of such a research which is relevant to this discussion.

(BOX)

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Integrated agro-ecological systems as a way forward for Cuban agriculture

A three-year experiment was carried out to study different agro-ecological livestock- crop systems under different soils and climates, without irrigation and using on-farm resources for animal and plant nutrition. Five farms, four in the process of conversion and the fifth with twelve years of establishment were studied. Eight sustainability indicators (reforestation, total species, food products, labour intensity, production of organic fertilisers, yields, energy efficiency and milk production) were defined. These relate to the main productive and environmental problems faced by the livestock sector due to the specialised agricultural model that has prevailed in Cuba over the last few years. These indicators were measured, represented on a radial graph and evaluated through an analytical description and multivariate analysis.

Biodiversity increased after the establishment of integrated systems. Starting from specialised milk production systems, diversification allowed for between 30 and 40 more products. The integrated systems increased the energy efficiency from 3 to 10 joules produced per joule of input. Labour intensity decreased yearly after a greater initial labour demand required for establishing the system. Production of high quality organic fertiliser (2 to 4 tonnes/ha) was a major resource to cover the crop nutrient requirements. Productivity increased by up to 9.7 tonnes/ha including both animal and crop production. There was some fluctuation between animal and crop production, but the final result was higher system productivity.

The results of the study show that integrated ecological livestock-crop systems can provide sufficient capacity and potential to sustain intensive production based on available natural resource management alternatives.

(From Fernando-Funes-Monzote and Marta Monzote, Pastures and Forage Research Institute (IIPF), POBox4029, CP10400, Havana, Cuba. Email: mgahona@ip.etecsa.cu)

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Sustainability

 

Much of the discussion on sustainability is about planet earth’s ability to support life at the present rate of exploitation by man. The main problem is the use of fossil fuels as the main source of energy. This ‘dead’ source of energy can only increase entropy.

Historically civilizations broke down when the bias towards negative entropy was replaced by a bias towards positive entropy. That is what is happening today. Capitalism has a tendency to increase ‘constant capital’ that is machinery, and reduce ‘variable capital’ that is labour. In our terminology the share of entropy generating technology keeps on increasing at the cost of negative entropy processes. This applies to sources of energy, such as fossil fuel as against biological fuel such as wood, charcoal, agro-waste etc. as well as products such as plastic furniture against wood furniture and so on. Today’s main crisis, namely climate change and global warming is primarily a result of these entropy-generating processes. If we continue with this, not only the present civilization is doomed, probably the very existence of the human specie is doomed.

Among civilisations only China and India created sustainable agricultural surpluses over centuries and survived continuously until recently. This they did by retaining the fertility of the soil over centuries. This was done by using a mix of crops, crop rotation and using compost. The Indian artisan, weaver, cobbler and potter mainly used biological inputs in terms of raw material and labour processes. Today these civilizations also are taking the same road of capitalism and are facing similar prospects.

Technology Choice

So for sustainability, the technology choice should be such that we maximize biological processes in our technology. This implies organic farming and a host of appropriate technologies that people have been talking about. This does not mean we are going back or that we are being primitive and unscientific.

Science does not mean using the laws of science to ‘conquer’ nature or ’exploit’ it. Such a meaning acquired importance mainly in the industrial era where the logic of capitalism needed more and more production. These together define the ‘development’ models and ‘growth’ models that are responsible for much of resource depletion and environmental degradation and global warming. These are essentially unsustainable models.

Science, historically, meant understanding the laws of nature and living in harmony with it. Agriculture calendars were prepared on such knowledge and people organised their agricultural activities on the basis of these calendars. People learned to live with floods and benefited from the fresh soil that was brought with it, instead of ‘controlling’ floods with building dams and embankments. Life on earth has been sustained by harvesting the fusion reactor in the Sun rather than building a fission reactor on earth itself! Biological sciences are more complex than material sciences. Maximising biological processes in our technology implies more and better science as well as using sensible achievements of previous generations. This also implies sustainable models of near zero growth.

There are other aspects of using biological processes that cannot be measured so easily. A tree gives fruits, leaves, fuel, timber, provides shade, shelter to birds and a host of insects. It also absorbs carbon dioxide and gives out oxygen. It lets the rainwater reach the earth gently and slowly. When it dies all of it goes back to nature through the activities of insects and fungi and saprophytic flora.

There are aesthetic aspects too. Many of us admire handicrafts that are made from natural raw materials. In all our social and religious functions and marriages most of us prefer decorations and clothes made from natural material.

In sports too we can see this. Bike enthusiasts love the thrill of speed and traversing rough terrain. But horse riding can also give similar thrill and cover even rougher terrains. And the latter is more sustainable.

 

In Conclusion

Life on earth was sustainable before the industrial revolution and deforestation because the entropy of the Biosphere was decreasing continuously. This was so due to the fact that human beings were still mainly dependent on biological processes for their survival and growth. Stable and sustainable civilization like the Chinese and the Indian, were built on such technologies. The present crisis of climate change, which is leading to the extinction of life on earth, is due to the fact that in the last 200 years, non-biological, entropy increasing technologies have become dominant.

Apart from technology there is much else that is wrong with capitalism. It is mainly irrational production and consumption. Some estimate it to be as much as 90 % of all activities in terms of money. These include the military industrial complex and medico industrial complex, much of the extractive industry, almost all of fossil fuel industry, irrational use of agriculture to support tobacco, alcohol and narcotic industry and so on.

There is a strong correlation between capitalist irrational production and consumption and entropy generating technologies. Of course sustainable technologies will have some non-living things such as metals in hand-tools and some capitalist production such as tobacco can be biological in origin. Hence the promotion of technologies that have high content of negative entropy/biological processes and elimination of irrationalities of capitalist production and consumption can ensure a sustainable future.

See also

http://t-vijayendra.blogspot.com/2011/04/references-and-resources.html

CUBA WITHOUT ISMS road to a fossil fuel free society

Cuba is where “Peak Oil” hit in 1989 - in an artificial manner - because in the world as a whole, there was no shortage of oil. Only the Soviet system had begun to collapse and Cuba stopped receiving petroleum from the Soviets. This was its only source because of the US embargo. Cuba was put to its greatest test and it passed with flying colours! The year 1989, ushered in the ‘Special Period’ in Cuba, a scenario that has hit the rest of the world now. The world, however, is not as prepared to meet it as Cuba was. In the case of Cuba we can see the whole experience of Peak oil, economic crisis and recovery. Even with regards to global warming, which has become a major crisis now, Cuba has achieved all the goals of reducing its carbon emissions. Thus Cuba has lessons for all on how to meet the present challenge.

The word ‘isms’ represents a group of words ending in ‘ism’, like colonialism, neo colonialism, capitalism, socialism, communism and anarchism. Although these words will be used in the text, the idea is that the existing meaning of these words should not bog down the reader. While the Cuban government calls itself ‘A Socialist State’, these words have different implications in different historical contexts. The experience of Cuba is too important to ignore and one should be prepared to learn without these pre-conceived notions.

The special period in Cuba is like a real time model; large enough to prove its viability. However it is never easy to repeat what some one else has done. North Korea too faced the same problem as Cuba did in 1989 but did not take the path of Cuba.  Today Zimbabwe is facing the worst economic crisis and one cannot say how the country will deal with the set backs.

The story of Cuba

Cuba is an archipelago, that is, it is a group of islands situated in the Caribbean Sea between the two Americas. There are two main islands-Isle of Cuba and the Isle of Youth and some 1600 small islands, with a total area of about 1,11,000 square kilometres.  It has a population of about 1.1 crore (2001) and a density of 100 persons per square kilometer. It is a tropical country like Kerala in Southern India with a rainfall of 1300 mm (52 inches) per year. The main food crops are rice, corn, cassava, beans, plantains and citrus fruits.

Colonialism in Latin America and in Cuba

Modern colonialism in Latin America began with the voyages of Christopher Columbus and Vasco Da Gama in the closing years of the 15^th century. Columbus who actually started for India reached Cuba in 1492. While the Americas were rapidly colonised in the 16^th century with genocide and mass killing of the bison population, colonialism did not succeed in India except in Goa. It took another 250 years for the East India Company to get the Diwani (Rights to collect revenues and taxes) of Bengal in 1765. Another particularity is that local languages were almost completely replaced by Spanish. Spanish is the common language of Lain America (except in Brazil, Haiti and West Indies) and its literary tradition has played a uniting role in the region. The Latin American intellectual therefore often reads the same books, and is influenced by the same thinkers and writers. This difference is crucial to understand why the Latin American countries, and in particular Cuba, in spite of the paucity of resources, has made such rapid advances in social, political, educational and professional spheres. To mention in passing, it also explains partially the difference between Goa and rest of India.

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the island was inhabited by Native American peoples known as the Taíno and Ciboney. The Taíno were farmers and the Ciboney were hunters and gatherers. The Spanish colonialists made Cuba the headquarters of their empire. They brought nearly five hundred thousand slaves from Africa as farm labourers, destroyed the traditional subsistence economy and created sugar plantations with slave labour.

Independence and Neo Colonialism

By the 19^th century, the USA had grown in power and was contending to expand its influence in South America. The USA fought with Spain and supported independence movements. These ‘independent’ countries actually became neo colonies of the US with the US capitalism taking over most of the business in these countries. Most of it was mining and plantation. Cuba too faced this and there were attempts to liberate itself throughout the first half of the 20^th century. It ultimately saw success in 1959 with the Fidel Castro coming into power.

Revolution and its achievement

Fidel Castro became the prime minister of Cuba in February 1959. In its first year the new revolutionary government expropriated private property with little or no compensation; nationalised public utilities; tightened controls on the private sector; and closed down the mafia-controlled gambling industry. Some of these measures were undertaken by Fidel Castro's government in the name of the programme outlined in the Manifesto of the Sierra Maestra. The government nationalised private property totaling about $25 billion US dollars, out of which American property made up only over US $1.0 billion. Cuba faced opposition from the USA and a trade embargo. Cuba turned to the Soviet Union which helped it to develop. It bought sugar from Cuba at a high price and gave it oil, machinery and food at a cheap price. Even before Castro’s coming to power, Cuba already had a well developed economy. With Soviet help and its own revolutionary programme it made rapid strides in education, health and invested in programmes for the general well being of its people. It also defended itself against efforts by the US to destabilize the government, assassinate its leaders and even invade territory.

Employment and Trade Unions

In Cuba, the National Labour Code legislation comprehensively guarantees workers’ rights. It guarantees workers the right to belong to a trade union and the state has the responsibility of finding work for every one over the age of 17 including those with disabilities who are able and willing to enter employment.

Cuba has a work force of 40,00,000 of whom 98% belong to a trade union. Women make up 43% of the trade union membership and account for 58.9% of officials at the regional level. In addition, 2,50,000 pensioners are also trade union members.

In order to form a trade union, no permission from the government is required. Membership is not obligatory and members pay 1% of their earnings each month. In each enterprise there is only one union to represent the workforce.

During the special period, the trade union movement organised workers’ parliaments in work places around the country. They gave 1,67,000 suggestions on how to meet the crisis. A large number of these suggestions were incorporated into the government’s plans.

Education

Cuba has a long history in education. The University of Havana was founded in 1728.  In 1957 just before the Castro regime came into power, Cuba’s literacy level according to the United Nations data was fourth in the region at almost 80% - higher than of Spain.

Immediately after the revolution, the government declared a 4 month closure of colleges. The “time off” was meant to be utilized for conducting literacy classes for adults. About 1,20,000 voluntary ‘teachers’ went out into the hinterlands, and over 7,00,000 people learned to read and write. Thus in one year Cuba attained a very high rate of literacy. Today, school attendance is compulsory from ages six to the end of basic secondary education (normally at age 15) and all students regardless of age or gender wear specified colour school uniforms as per grade levels. Higher education is provided by universities and higher pedagogical and polytechnic institutes. The Cuban Ministry of Higher Education also operates a scheme of distance education; providing an opportunity for agricultural workers in rural areas to attend regular afternoon and evening courses. Education has a strong political and ideological emphasis and students progressing to higher education are expected to have a commitment to the goals of the Cuban government. Cuba has also provided state subsidised education to a limited number of foreign nationals at the Latin American School of Medicine.

Health

Historically Cuba has ranked high in the number of medical personnel; making significant contributions to world health since the 19th century. Cubans benefit from free health care services. Primary care is available throughout the island and infant and maternal mortality rates compare favorably with those in developed nations.

Post revolution, in the 1960s, Cuba initially experienced an overall worsening in health conditions - in terms of disease and infant mortality rates - when half its 6,000 doctors left the country. Recovery occurred by the 1980s. The Communist government asserted that universal healthcare was to be a priority in state planning. Accordingly, appropriate measures were taken in rural areas. However, following the end of Soviet subsidies in 1991 and tightening of the US embargo in 1992, medical care too suffered from severe material shortages.

Cuba has the highest doctor-to-population ratio in the world and has sent thousands of doctors to more than 40 countries around the world. According to the UN, the life expectancy in Cuba is 78.3 years (76.2 for males and 80.4 for females). This ranks Cuba 37th in the world and 3rd in the Americas, behind only Canada and Chile, and just ahead of the United States. Infant mortality in Cuba declined from 32 (infant deaths per 1,000 live births) in 1957, to 10 in 1990-95. Infant mortality in 2000-2005 was 6.1 per 1,000 live births (compared to 6.8 in the USA).

Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Special Period

Before 1989, Cuba was a model Green Revolution farm economy based on huge production units of state-owned farms and dependent on vast quantities of imported oil, chemicals and machinery to produce export crops. Under agreements with the former Soviet Union, Cuba had been an oil-driven country, and 98 percent of all its petroleum had come from the Soviet bloc.  At the end of 1991, only 6 of the promised 13 m tons were received, and the short fall in oil began to severely affect the nation’s economy.

While oil was critical, other losses were also important, as 85 percent of all Cuba’s trade was with the Soviets. Cuba exported 66 percent of all sugar and 98 percent of its citrus fruit to the Soviet bloc, and imported from them 66 percent of its food, 86 percent of all raw materials, and 80 percent of machinery and spare parts. Consequently, when support from the Soviet bloc was withdrawn, factories closed, food scarcity became widespread.

The collapse of the Soviet bloc and the tightened US trade embargo exposed the vulnerability of Cuba’s Green Revolution and export oriented economy model. Cuba plunged into the worst food crisis in its history.

In early 1990, a survival economy was put in place as 1,00,000 tons of wheat normally obtained through barter arrangements failed to arrive and the government had to use scarce hard currency to import grain from Canada. The price of food went up and bread had to be rationed. Between 1989 and 1992, overall food consumption was said to have decreased by 20 percent in calories and 27 percent in protein. To make matters worse, Cuba’s efforts to reverse the trend of rural-urban migration over the past decades failed to curtail the increasing tide of rural migrants to the cities, especially to Havana. Shortages of food and medicine and gasoline were driving people to the capital.

Cuba was faced with a dual challenge of doubling food production with half the previous inputs and with some 74 percent of its population living in cities.  Yet by 1997, Cubans were eating almost as well as they did before 1989, with negligible food and agrochemical imports. Instead, Cuba concentrated on creating a more self-reliant agriculture. A combination of higher crop prices paid to farmers, agro ecological technology, smaller production units and most importantly urban agriculture.

The Cuban response

The way Cuba responded is an inspiration to the rest of the world. It began with a nation-wide call to increase food production by restructuring agriculture. It involved converting from conventional large-scale, high input monoculture systems to smaller scale, organic and semi-organic farming systems. The focus was on using low cost and environmentally safe inputs and relocating production closer to consumption, in order to cut down on transportation costs. Urban agriculture played a significant part in this effort.

A spontaneous decentralised movement had arisen in the cities. People responded enthusiastically to the government initiative. By 1994, more than 8,000 city farms were created in Havana alone. Front lawns of municipal buildings were dug up to grow vegetables.  Offices and schools cultivated their own food. Many of the gardeners were retired men in their fifties and sixties and urban women played a much larger role in agriculture than their rural counterparts. By 1998, an estimated 5,41,000 tons of food were produced in Havana for local consumption.  Food quality also improved as people had access to a greater variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Urban gardens continued to grow and some neighbourhoods were producing as much as 30 percent of their own food. The growth of urban agriculture was largely due to the State’s commitment to make unused urban and suburban land and resources available to aspiring urban farmers. The issue of land grants in the city converted hundreds of vacant spaces into food producing plots and new planning laws placed the highest land use priority on food production. Another key to success was opening farmers markets and legalising direct sales from farmers to consumers.  Deregulation of prices combined with high demand for fresh produce in the cities allowed urban farmers to generate two to three times as much income as the rural professionals.

The government also encouraged gardeners through an extensive support system including extension service personnel, and horticultural groups that offered assistance and advice. Seed houses throughout the city sold seeds, gardening tools, compost and distributed biofertilisers and other biological control agents at low costs. New biological soil inputs and organic gardening techniques were developed and perfected by Cuba’s agricultural research sector, which had already begun exploring organic alternatives to chemical controls. This enabled Cuba’s urban farms to become completely organic.  In fact, a new law prohibited the use of any pesticides for agricultural purposes anywhere within city limits.

The introduction of a diversified market-based system for food distribution spurred increased agricultural productivity. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that between 1994 and 1998, Cuba tripled the production of tubers and plantains; doubled the production of vegetables, which further doubled again in 1999. Potatoes increased from 1,88,000 tonnes in 1994 to 3,30,000 tonnes in 1998; while beans increased by 60 percent and citrus by 110 percent from 1994 to 1999. Anecdotal information suggests that thousands of families left cities and large towns to make their livelihood from the land. Other information indicates that thousands of unemployed – including rural migrants – have found employment in urban agriculture.

Transport

When oil supply stopped in 1990, transportation ground to a near halt. There were no cars running; public conveyance collapsed; and the streets were empty. People walked. Around 1993, Cuba imported 2,00,000 Chinese bicycles.

To begin with, trucks were converted to buses by simply welding steps to the back. A skeletal frame of rods and a canopy were added. The concept was refined into the Cuba’s mass transit bus the ‘Camellone’ (The Camel). Built on a long chassis vehicle, it can accommodate 250 persons. For shorter distances there were cycle and auto rickshaws. In smaller towns, horse drawn or even mule drawn ‘cabs’ were to be spotted. Car-pooling and ride sharing is common in Cuba. There are designated government officials in yellow uniforms who have the right to pull over even government vehicles and seat people in need of transport.

Cuba as a fossil fuel free society

Cuba, it would appear, is well on its way to being a fossil fuel free society. Its agriculture is primarily organic; it has rationalised its transport; and it has achieved emission standards well below the prescribed limit. Cuba also shows that a fossil fuel free society does not mean going primitive. Cuba is a modern society with access to modern science, education, health care and culture.

However, one should remember, it is still in transition. Cuba maintains the second largest army in Latin America. This, it has to, because of the presence of the USA in its backyard. A genuine fossil free society will be achieved only in a world without wars, without armies, without nuclear weapons, in short a world without borders.

From all the indications available, it is unlikely that the powerful nations will take this path without going through another war. All the investments in the capitalist world are flowing to armament industry instead of going into alternative sources of energy or organic farming! In such a scenario, Cuba still has to be on its toes to survive and is far from reaching its full potential.

Reasons for Cuba’s success

In the 20^th century four great revolutions occurred: The Russian, the Chinese the Vietnamese and the Cuban. Each one of them inspired millions of people all over the world in their struggle against imperialism, against injustice and against inequality. Even today, the revolutionary movement continues to learn important lessons from these revolutions. However while the Russian, the Chinese and the Vietnamese revolution moved significantly away from their socialist agenda, Cuba after 50 years still seems to continue to succeed and inspire not only the revolutionary and the socialist movement, but also a whole range of people who are involved in the environmental and green movements and who are looking towards a post fossil fuel society. What could be the reasons for this?

The main credit of course goes to the Cuban people, their organisations, their professionals and the leadership. They withstood almost half a century of hostility by the biggest imperial power next door. The hostility included not only trade embargo but also a series of attempts to assassinate their leaders, coups and even invasions. On hindsight, this hostility may appear to be a blessing in disguise. It kept the country on its toes and never allowed it to get rich and corrupt. Cuba also had a policy of allowing all those who wanted to emigrate to the US to go. This may have also helped.

There are other reasons too that explain the uniqueness of Cuba and acknowledging these can help us understand the lessons one can learn from Cuba. These are historical; political; economic; and the high level of achievements in education and health sectors.

Latin America and Cuba experienced colonialism way back in the 16^th century. Thus they were exposed to scientific and technological advances in Europe that much earlier. They got their freedom in 1898, unlike Asia and Africa where it came after the Second World War. They had free elections in 1940.

Cuba had Latin America's highest per capita consumption/use rates for meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios. Gross domestic product per capita had been approximately equal to Italy and significantly higher than that of Japan. Cuban workers enjoyed some of the highest wages in the world. Cuba attracted more immigrants primarily from Europe as a percentage of population than the US. The United Nations acknowledged Cuba for its large middle class. And finally, Cuba already had a good base in education and healthcare.

Lessons from Cuba

Cuba can provide us with a real time model for the future notwithstanding the fact that no model is ever fully or exactly replicable. There were special and unique historical and political reasons that helped Cuba to face the crisis and come out of it with flying colours.

Since many countries in Latin America share the colonial and post colonial history with Cuba. There is a greater appreciation for Cuba there. And learning lessons form it will be relatively that much easier.

For rest of the world; wherever regions share or identify with some of Cuba’s features there is a greater chance of implementing these lessons. The most significant being, social awareness of exploitation and oppression; struggle for equity; tradition of democracy in society and in political parties; high level of literacy and education; awareness of environment degradation; global warming, peak oil and its consequences; understanding the current global economic crisis and initiatives exploring alternatives to it.

In India, the West coast, particularly Kerala, coastal Karnataka and Goa have some of features similar to Cuba and may be they will be able to face the current crisis better. West Bengal, in spite of CPI (M)’s present unfortunate policies, may eventually emerge to play a significant role. But no one can predict the future with a decent degree of accuracy - it always has a store of surprises.

See also

http://t-vijayendra.blogspot.com/2011/04/references-and-resources.html