Effort and Comfort

The crisis in our relationship with our natural environment is much more than a problem of excess of CO2. The many signs of present decay such as climate change, collapse of ecosystems, loss of biodiversity are drastic symptoms that call for a deep transformation in the way we live together and a reassessment of our human priorities.

This book proposes a new approach to our relationship with nature (the universe) that goes beyond conventional ecology as a sound way of managing natural resources. Humankind is not an exception presiding over the rest of creation that it may exploit at will. No, we belong to nature, to the land. In this belonging lies the solution to our crisis.

First, this manifesto examines the pathology in our relationships with nature and with one another: It describes 4 major ways we use to escape from our confrontation with nature, namely through: 1) denial by violence (mobility, speed, virtuality), 2) destruction by domination (energy, technology), 3) accumulation by exploitation (extraction, inequality) and 4) uprooting by isolation (market economy, advertising, disconnection).

Then it shows how we can find the solutions, both practical and metaphysical. While the universe is aiming at greater differentiation, subjectivity, communion and depth, our society does exactly the opposite: it aims at standardisation, indifference, competition and materialism. It is why we can find all the solutions we need in nature. When we allow nature to become our teacher of righteousness, we only need to listen and adapt to her.