Paradigm Wars – Economics, Globalization and the Nature of Reality

Last night I was over at a friend’s house and we got into a discussion on one of my favorite topics, “What is reality?”

I encounter a lot of people in the West who have an adamantly, unquestioned belief in certain theories of existence, be it scientific or economic that have really only emerged in Western civilizations within the last 2-300 years. Rationalism, however, is mere blip in in the timeline of human existence on this planet.

Having travelled extensively around the world, I have found that the definition of reality and an individual’s relationship to it varies quite drastically from culture to culture. In Brazil, and many other countries, people wholeheartedly accept and believe in the existence of non-embodied deities, spirits and entities. I know an elderly Ecuadorian shaman, who routinely transforms himself into an 10 foot long anaconda – according to numerous members of his extensive household. Though I have not witnessed this phenomenon with my own eyes, it is a little more my style accept that it is out of my experience that than vehemently insist that physical transformation into another organism is impossible.

The Assumptions of Capitalist Economics

One of the most commonly unquestioned assumptions that I encountered in university and again in graduate school is that of the “truth” or “reality” if you will of capitalist economics, as defined by Adam Smith in the “Wealth of Nations“. The existence of an “invisible hand” that will perpetually adjust prices to a point of equilibrium between supply and demand. The supremacy of free trade economics and the inherent goodness of consumption-fueled, growth-oriented economies.

Bollocks.

While a lot of this rhetoric seems to pervade the political arena, and our educational institutions, any deeper, thoughtful and open-minded inquiry will easily reveal that capitalist economics is indeed yet another human constructed paradigm, true free trade has never existed in the modern era, and that excessive consumption is eating up our natural resources and poisoning our planet.

Globalization and the Clash of World Views

“The present global economic system, and the global corporations and bureaucracies that are its driving force, cannot survive without an ever-increasing supply of natural resources: forests, minerals, oil and natural gas, fish, wildlife, freshwater, and arable land, amongst others…

[W]ith the advent of the modern version of global economics, new globalized rules of trade and investment – created and powerfully enforced by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), among other instutitions, – resource lands are being opened to assault by giant global investors and developers at far greater speed, and with far fewer legal obstacles than ever before. This has left poor countries, and indigenous peoples ever-more vulnerable, though they are strongly resisting.” – Jerry Mander, “Globalization and the Assault on Indigenous Resources”, Paradigm Wars.

I was turned onto Paradigm Wars by Victor Menotti, Program Director for the International Forum on Globalization (IFG) during the Pachamama Alliance’s monthly gatherings at Pena Pachamama Alliance in SF’s North Beach. Victor was a friend of Sia Kaxinawa, the representative of Brazil’s Kaxinawa people, and Vice Mayor of Jordao, Acre. I travelled with Sia Kaxinawa and his sons 5 days by river to Kaxinawa territory during a 4 month sabbatical in the Brazilian Amazon.

Founded by long-time activist Jerry Mander, IFG is an eminent think-tank on globalization issues and is actively engaged in global indigenous rights. Included in IFG’s impressive team is another eco-colleague of mine – Randy Hayes, founder of the Rainforest Action Network, who I worked with during SF’s United Nation’s World Environment Day in 2005 and frequently run into at sustainability events in the Bay Area.

Paradigm Wars is a compendium of articles exploring indigenous people’s resistence to economic globalization. Written by activists and academic researchers, including Vandana Shiva, Winona LaDuke, and the staff of Amazon Watch, articles are broken down into 5 sections:

1) Culture Clash

Indigenous world views, traditional knowledge, and relationship to the Earth

2) Globalization: Rules of the Game

The impact of globalization policies on indigenous economies and native sovereignty

3) Diverse Impacts on Indigenous Peoples
The impacts of climate change, genetic pollution and “ecotourism” on indigenous peoples

4) Focus on Extractive Industries
Extractive industries, pristine, resource-rich territories and conflicts with the indigenous people who live there.

5) Turning Points
Indigenous victories in the international political arena

Paradigm Wars reveals the myriad ways that globalization policies have impacted indigenous peoples. A startling example I found was the phenomenon of conservation refugees – tribal peoples who have historically lived in certain regions that are forced to move by do-gooder organizations like Conservation International (CI), The Nature Conversvancy (TNC) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the name of land conservation.

With the global erosion of indigenous cultures, I believe we lose valuable perspectives that human society as a whole, can benefit from. During my sojourn with various indigenous healers in the Amazon Basin, I was impressed with the knowledge and respect the Indians accorded the natural world. Indigenous healers communicate regularly with animal and plant spirits, and attribute their wealth of healing knowledge to come from apprenticeship with certain plant teachers.

Can plants talk? Not verbally, with a mouth, but they communicate through dreams and visions. But because most humans are unable or unwilling to listen to the nonlinguistic communications of other species, we are quick to dismiss them as unintelligent.

Whether or not you believe that nature can communicate with us and actually teach us a thing or to, cultures that respect the land and all its inhabitants will most likely live in better balance with its environment. As our world experiences increasing clashes over disappearing resources like oil and water on a global scale, that might not be a bad paradigm to adopt.

I recommend reading Paradigm Wars and then asking yourself: Which world-view do you choose?

The one that is materialistic, that perceives the Earth as a treasure trove of resources to be exploited and consumed, that values only productivity and assigns no value to intangible qualities of existence like family, health, community, spirit, nor to virgin resources, such as old growth forest, unless, it’s been manufactured into paper?

Or a world-view that includes the whole planet as the Holy Land, where people belong to the land, not vice versa, where the commonly used term “all my relations” refers not only to humans, but creatures with four legs, wings, or fins, where respect is given to animals and plants as teachers that have bestowed humanity with gifts of wisdom and medicine.

Which world view do you think is ultimately the problem?

[tags]Paradigm Wars, International Forum for Globalization, IFG, indigenous rights, globalization, lorna li[/tags]

Share and Enjoy:

Matthew Holdman Says:
September 17th, 2007 at 1:09 am
Marvelous description of what has been gripping our planet for the last 300 years. I only hope more people, myself a devout member, can be rallied to right side, and the right perspective. Jerry Mander has once again uncovered the scary and malevolent truth behind our modern “throw-away” society.
Roger Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Very good article.
I was looking for something else about Sia Kaxinawa because I am organizing a indigenous video/film festival down here in Mato Grosso do Sul, where the indigenous situations is thousand times worse then in amazon.

i was thinking if it wasnt a good idea to bring him here to share his experience as actor ( he performed on a film called Meteoro) and also as an indigenous politician.

i dont really know how deep is his understanding of sustanable development but i am trying to find his contact so we can hava a chat about.

Anyway, thanx for the article… and forgive me for my, probably, bad english grammar.
lorna Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Oi Roger,

I can get you in touch with Sia Kaxinawa’s son Fabiano, if you would like. Contact me directly. Muito obrigada!