![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.phototimetunnel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Plague-Species.jpg\")
It’s a problem of design, and if the damage is to be stopped humans will have to step up, admit the design of the current system is wrong, and replace it with one that works the opposite way. The curbs and incentives need to be reversed from their present settings so that destructive behaviour is penalised and choosing more ethical pathways is rewarded. This is incredibly hard to achieve as things now stand, because the bad players in the economy have so much wealth they can pay to create the legal and political conditions that benefit themselves and guarantee their interests are always put above those of other people and the best interests of the planet itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same interests also control the means of mass communication, and have developed highly efficient propaganda machinery and techniques designed to maintain their dominance. Given this is the case, it might be assumed that the problem is insoluble and that humanity must collide with the crises it has manufactured. I must admit I often think this seems to be true. The social forces lined up to defend the system that guarantees destruction are so powerful that it is very hard to imagine them ever giving an inch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One interesting perspective is that humans are a plague species and, as such, are subject to inbuilt, genetically programmed self-destruct mechanisms. Years ago I read a book that put forward this theory, and it has haunted me ever since. The book is called Plague Species<\/em>, and it was written by Australian thinker Reg Morrison, who spent most of his working career as a photographer. The book was originally published in the USA as The Spirit in the Gene: Humanity’s Proud Illusion and the Laws of Nature.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I recently had the pleasure of meeting Reg and his partner Pauleen at their home in Sydney, and it is clear that he has not quite finished elaborating his devastating thesis. Basically, he believes that humanity won’t escape the consequences of the trap it has entered as a result of its genetic programming. He predicts that the crisis, when it finally strikes, will treat humans as it treats other plague species, bringing about a rapid and shocking reduction in population. To quote Reg’s book: <\/p>\n\n\n\n “We are pitted against the full weight of the world’s biospheric machinery, and to make matters worse, the carefully tailored mythologies that used to sustain us now handicap us with misconceptions that seem sure to be our downfall. To our peril we cling to the following beliefs:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.phototimetunnel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Reg-and-Pauleen-Morrison.jpg\")
We lack behavioural choice . . . <\/h2>\n\n\n\n