The following is from a feature article by Hiroshi Furuta and Yutaka Asaka in WiLL, a monthly magazine now on sale, titled "Slashing 'Das Kapital' of the Anthropocene! The following is a unique feature of a conversation between Hiroshi Furuta and Yutaka Asaka in the monthly magazine WiLL.
It is a must-read not only for the Japanese people but for people all over the world.
"De-growth" is all yours.
Asaka
Mr. Saito, however, is more radical and "dangerous."
He says that even the SDGs is "the opium of our time.
「The SDGs are just an alibi to distract us from the crisis at hand. Marx once criticized "religion" as "the opium of the masses" to alleviate the suffering caused by the painful reality of capitalism. The SDGs are a modern version of the "opium of the masses." 」
Therefore, the "Anthropocene" cannot be overcome unless people voluntarily abandon capitalism and shift to a "village society" that has given up on economic growth-or, in Saito's words, "degrowth communism.
For example, he is proposing to use micro-hydroelectric power generation to provide electricity.
Furuta
Is that even possible?
Asaka
There is no way it can be done in a modern society of 7 billion people.
Even if we do a simple calculation, the amount of energy we can get from heavy oil is about 10 million times different from the amount of energy we can get from micro-hydroelectric power generation with a drop of 40 centimeters.
Or is he saying that to live with less energy, stop using air conditioning, stop watching TV, stop listening to music, and stop using trains?
Furuta
He wants us to go back to the savage?
He means the popular "solo camping" (laughs).
Asaka
Mr. Saito doesn't understand how rich people are today.
We are probably much more affluent than the feudal lords of the Edo period.
With the advancement of freezing technology, sashimi in supermarkets must be tastier than what the feudal lords used to eat.
We would not have to worry about food, clothing, and shelter and would be able to travel abroad.
We can also enjoy music and movies in the palm of our hand.
Furuta
Mr. Saito writes that this kind of affluent life is an "imperial lifestyle.
He also says that this lifestyle is based on the exploitation of the "Global South.
The "Global South" is a reworking of the "North-South problem," which was said to have rich countries in the north and emerging countries south of the earth.
But as Asaka-san explained, the lives of the emerging countries are also being raised.
Asaka
Marx believed that even if you say "such a society is desirable," it will not be realized unless the conditions are met.
Mr. Saito, however, developed a crude theory that completely ignored reality.
'Das Kapital' of the Anthropocene is said to be "the most advanced study of Marx," but I feel a great deal of discomfort.
This article continues.
