The Foundations of Resistance
Master Class on Strategic Organized Resistance: Class 2
If we are going to talk about strategic organized resistance, we need to have a firm reason why to begin with. Years ago I was involved in progressive advocacy and Democratic electoral campaigns and thought that was the avenue of change. This made me a liberal. A liberal is someone who believes that change can be obtained within the already existing power structures and political system.
What changed? As I got involved in climate and environmental policy action, I worked with people who’d been doing that work much longer than I had. Many of them had a profound influence on me, especially a group of Native people I filmed who were raising awareness about a water pipeline in Nevada. I began to look at the land differently as I got out there and saw what was at stake.
I also read a very powerful book called “End Game” by Derrick Jensen. I realized that our political system was filled with people who have no intention of making fundamental changes to our relationship with the environment and stopping its destruction. Why? The short answer is they can’t. Both our culture and the political system necessitates that destruction. We’ll get into why. But I realized I was under the spell of a big lie, that our way of life, industrial civilization, could ever be sustainable. It’s a hard lie to break from.
In his seminal works Endgame Volumes 1 and 2, Derrick Jensen presents a series of premises that critically examine the foundation and sustainability of modern civilization. These premises serve as a cornerstone for understanding the necessity of radical resistance.
By delving into three central themes—the inherent unsustainability of civilization, the violence embedded within industrial society, and the urgent need for radical change—we will construct a compelling argument that contemporary civilization, driven by relentless consumption and exploitation, is on a destructive trajectory that threatens the planet and all its inhabitants.
I. Why is Industrial Civilization Inherently Unsustainable?
Let’s start with some staggering numbers.
Carbon Emissions and Climate Change:
The burning of fossil fuels accounts for about 75% of annual CO2 emissions. Despite various attempts at technological fixes, the consumption of fossil fuels increases every year.
Global warming, if unchecked, is projected to reach levels by 2100 that would make the Earth uninhabitable for most life forms, with potential atmospheric CO2 levels reaching 1000 parts per million.
Extinction Rates:
Current rates of species extinction are conservatively 1000 times higher than the natural background rate, primarily due to habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, and industrial activities.
Ocean Degradation:
Industrial fishing and activities like deep-sea trawling have devastated marine ecosystems. Every year, trawler ships destroy an area of the seabed twice the size of the United States, scraping up everything from coral to sharks.
The oceans are facing severe acidification due to CO2 absorption, putting an enormous array of marine life at risk and disrupting entire marine ecosystems.
Over the past 50 years, the population of large fish in the ocean has dramatically decreased. According to various scientific studies and environmental reports, it is estimated that up to 90% of large fish populations have vanished due to overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution. This decline includes species such as tuna, marlin, swordfish, and large sharks.
Deforestation:
Fully half of the mature tropical forests have been wiped out globally, with the Philippines losing 90% and Haiti 99% of their forests.
Tropical forests are being destroyed at a rate of 160,000 square kilometers per year. This destruction contributes to the loss of biodiversity, increases carbon emissions, and disrupts global weather patterns.
Deforestation and logging have turned many forests from carbon sinks into carbon emitters, exacerbating global warming and its effects.
Water Scarcity and Pollution:
Industrial agriculture uses roughly ten fossil fuel calories for every calorie of food energy produced, resulting in a net loss of 900%.
Water tables around the world are dropping significantly due to over-extraction for agriculture and industry, leading to desertification and the collapse of local ecosystems.
Over 2 billion people are without access to clean safe drinking water globally.
Pollution causes 40% of human deaths worldwide, primarily due to contaminated water, air, and soil.
Resource Depletion:
Industrial civilization's dependence on nonrenewable resources like fossil fuels, minerals, and metals ensures that these resources will eventually run out. This dependency is unsustainable and leads to widespread environmental degradation.
The rapid decline of oil and gas reserves is leading to increasingly destructive extraction methods, such as tar sands and fracking, which have severe environmental impacts.
Research articles in journals such as Nature Sustainability and Resources, Conservation, and Recycling provide evidence on the diminishing returns of recycling and the thermodynamic and practical limits to perpetual recycling.
Let’s get real: industrial civilization is a disaster, a ticking time bomb that we keep winding up tighter and tighter. The very foundation of our so-called progress is built on a house of cards, destined to collapse under its own weight. Why? Because it’s fundamentally unsustainable. It’s a relentless beast that chews up resources, spits out pollution, and tramples over everything in its path, all in the name of economic growth and technological advancement.
First off, let’s talk about our insane dependence on nonrenewable resources. We’re ripping up the Earth to get at fossil fuels, minerals, and metals like there’s no tomorrow. Newsflash: these resources are finite! We’re not just running a tab we can’t pay; we’re maxing out the planet’s credit cards. Mining operations devastate landscapes, poison water sources, and obliterate ecosystems. Sure, recycling sounds nice, but let’s face it, the amount we can recycle doesn’t even come close to the massive volume we consume. It’s like trying to refill a swimming pool with a teaspoon. It just doesn’t add up.
Then there’s the environmental carnage. Industrial activities leave an ecological footprint so big, it’s more like a crater. Deforestation, pollution, habitat destruction – it’s all part of the package. Industrial agriculture turns fertile soil into lifeless dirt, dousing it with chemical fertilizers and pesticides that poison our water and kill off wildlife. This isn’t progress; it’s ecological suicide. We’re bulldozing the very systems that sustain life on Earth, all for the sake of a few more years of “growth.”
And don’t even get me started on the socio-economic structures. The pursuit of endless economic growth is a cancer, spreading inequality and environmental ruin. The rich get richer while the poor are left to deal with the fallout. Communities, especially in the Global South, are being sacrificed on the altar of industrial expansion. They’re displaced, exploited, and left to suffer the environmental consequences of our greed. It’s not just unsustainable; it’s immoral. We can’t slap a few solar panels on our rooftops and call it a day. This system is rotten to the core.
Speaking of solar panels, the idea that technology will save us is a pipe dream. Renewable energy? Let’s not kid ourselves. Building and maintaining this infrastructure still involves massive resource extraction and environmental damage. Wind turbines and solar farms are not immune to the laws of physics and the limits of our planet. They still require metals, minerals, and land – all of which are in finite supply. And let’s not ignore the fact that the intermittency and storage issues of renewables mean we need even more resources to build the necessary backup systems.
In short, industrial civilization is a runaway train heading straight for a cliff. We can’t just tweak a few things and hope for the best. We need a complete overhaul of our relationship with the planet and each other. This means ditching the destructive quest for growth and building a society that values sustainability, equity, and harmony with nature. Until we do, we’re just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The clock is ticking, and we’re running out of time.
II. The Violence Embedded in Industrial Society
Derrick Jensen argues in End Game that civilization is generally composed of cities that cannot sustain themselves on their own land bases, and therefore must go out and take resources from others, whether by coercion or violence, in order to continue.
Industrial society is built on violence, pure and simple. We like to pretend we're all civilized and advanced, but beneath the glossy surface of our modern world lies a brutal reality. From the environmental carnage to the exploitation of labor, and the colonization of lands of traditional people, industrial society is a bloodthirsty beast that thrives on coercion, destruction, and domination.
First off, let's talk about environmental violence. Every single day, we commit atrocities against the planet. We strip forests bare, leaving barren wastelands where vibrant ecosystems once thrived. We poison rivers and oceans with our toxic waste, killing off marine life and contaminating the water we depend on. We pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, cooking the planet and triggering climate catastrophes. This isn't progress; it's ecocide. And for what? So we can have the latest gadgets, the biggest cars, and endless piles of cheap crap we don't even need. We're slaughtering the Earth for trinkets and baubles, and it’s disgusting.
But it doesn’t stop there. The violence of industrial society extends to its exploitation of human labor. Sweatshops, child labor, inhumane working conditions – these aren't relics of the past; they're the backbone of our global economy. The clothes on our backs, the devices in our hands, the food on our plates – all too often, these come from the suffering and exploitation of countless workers. People are treated as disposable cogs in the machine, their lives and well-being sacrificed for profit margins and shareholder value. This isn’t just unfair; it’s barbaric. We’re complicit in a system that treats human beings like garbage, all so we can enjoy our comfortable lifestyles.
And let's not forget the systemic inequality and social oppression that industrial society perpetuates. The rich and powerful hoard resources and wealth, while the marginalized and oppressed are left to fend for scraps. Communities of color, indigenous peoples, and the poor bear the brunt of industrial society's violence. They're the ones living next to toxic waste dumps, working the most dangerous jobs, and suffering the most from environmental degradation. This isn't accidental; it's by design. Industrial society thrives on inequality and oppression, maintaining its power through division and subjugation.
The violence is so ingrained in our system that we barely even notice it anymore. We've normalized the destruction and exploitation, shrugging it off as the cost of doing business. But this violence is not natural or inevitable. It’s a choice we make, every single day, to prioritize profit and convenience over justice and sustainability. We’ve built a society that depends on the constant infliction of harm, and it’s high time we faced up to that fact.
We can’t just slap a few Band-Aids on this gaping wound and call it a day. We need a fundamental reckoning with the violent foundations of industrial society. This means dismantling the systems of exploitation and domination, and building something radically different in their place. A society that values life over profit, that prioritizes ecological balance over endless growth, that seeks justice and equity for all its members. Until we confront and uproot the violence at the heart of our industrial world, we’re doomed to repeat the same destructive patterns, over and over again.
III. The Urgent Need for Radical Change
When then would you say enough is enough? The time for half-measures and incremental reforms is long gone. We are staring down the barrel of an ecological and social catastrophe, and what do we get from our so-called leaders? Platitudes and token gestures. The world is burning, and they’re offering us watering cans. It’s time to wake up and face the harsh truth: we need radical change, and we need it now. This isn’t a future problem; it’s a right-now crisis, and every moment we waste brings us closer to the brink.
Climate change is accelerating at a terrifying pace. We’re seeing unprecedented wildfires, devastating hurricanes, and catastrophic floods. Entire ecosystems are collapsing, species are vanishing, and yet, our response is pathetically inadequate.
Recycling and driving a Prius aren’t going to cut it.
We need a complete overhaul of how we live and interact with the planet. That means shutting down the fossil fuel industry, ending deforestation, and transitioning to a truly sustainable way of life. Anything less is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
And then there’s the social injustice. The gap between the rich and the poor is a gaping chasm that’s only getting wider. Billionaires are flying to space while millions can’t afford basic healthcare or housing. This grotesque inequality is a ticking time bomb, and it’s exploding in the form of social unrest and political instability. We need to dismantle the systems that concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few and build a society that values and uplifts every single person. This isn’t about charity; it’s about justice.
The political system? Don’t get me started. Our so-called democracy is a farce, a rigged game where corporate interests and moneyed elites call the shots. The politicians are puppets, the media is complicit, and the people are left disenfranchised and disillusioned. We need a political revolution that puts power back in the hands of the people, that values transparency and accountability over backroom deals and corruption. This means grassroots organizing, direct action, and building new institutions that serve the common good, not the privileged few.
Technology? Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking it’s going to save us. Techno-fixes like geoengineering and carbon capture aren’t even Band-Aids on a gaping wound. They distract us from the root of the problem: our unsustainable way of life. We need to rethink our reliance on technology as a panacea and start focusing on systemic change.
This isn’t just about preventing disaster; it’s about creating a better world. A world where we live in harmony with nature, where resources are shared equitably, and where everyone has a voice. This vision requires courage and imagination, and yes, it requires radical change. Incremental tweaks and business-as-usual approaches are a death sentence. We need bold action, and we need it now.
Radical Change Means Resistance
Now, let’s be clear: radical change isn’t going to come from polite conversations and mild reforms. It means resistance—real, active, and sometimes confrontational resistance. Radical change means standing up against the systems of power that are driving us to the brink and saying, “No more!” It means disrupting business-as-usual, challenging the status quo, and refusing to accept the incremental crumbs thrown our way. Resistance is not just a tactic; it's a necessity.
As I mentioned, liberals believe in working within the system, tweaking policies here and there, and believing that with enough small changes, we can steer the ship back on course. While their intentions may be good, their methods are woefully insufficient for the scale of the crisis we face.
Radicals, on the other hand, understand that the system itself is fundamentally flawed and must be dismantled and rebuilt. Radicals recognize that the roots of our problems run deep into the very fabric of our economic, political, and social structures. They know that true change requires confronting and dismantling these structures, not merely patching them up. Being a radical means embracing the urgency of now, taking bold and decisive action, and being unafraid to challenge the entrenched powers head-on.
In the face of an existential crisis, we need more than liberalism's cautious optimism. We need radicalism’s fierce determination. It’s time to channel our anger, our frustration, and our hope into a movement that can bring about the radical change we desperately need. It's time to resist.
Next Up: Strategy
We’ve established why radical resistance is an absolute necessity. Okay, but then what do we do?
In Class 3, we will jump right into how we develop a resistance strategy. We’ll cover
How to evaluate the current socio-political and environmental landscape to identify critical areas for intervention.
The importance of having clear, attainable goals that require effort and promote autonomy.
We’ll also discuss the types of resistance such as:
Passive Resistance: Non-violent methods such as protests, boycotts, and civil disobedience.
Active Resistance: More direct actions including sabotage, disruption of infrastructure, and other tactics that actively hinder destructive systems.