New hope, new actions
A book on active hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, reviewed in Missioni Consolata Magazine
(by Angela Dogliotti)
In the face of the world’s processes of destruction, resilience and action are needed. Everyone can make a unique and meaningful contribution.
“The constant trait of its commitment […] is the awareness that cultural, political and spiritual work to strengthen the resilience and capacity for action of individuals and groups is the only way to cope with the catastrophe of the processes of destruction taking place in the world.”
So writes Giovanni Scotto, editor of the Italian edition of “Active Hope,” about Joanna Macy, author of the book along with Chris Johnstone.
A nonviolent activist since the 1970s, Macy invites us to transform our relationships into a “web of life,” through “work that reconnects” human beings and the world, to overcome the widespread sense of disconnection that lies at the root of contemporary crises.
“Active hope” is the backbone of the journey, because cultivating it ”means becoming participants in achieving what we most want.” But how do we get involved? The three parts of the book explain it to us.
The Great Turning Point
In the first part, titled The Great Turning Point, the author analyzes the crisis of modernity through three narratives: that of “business as usual,” in which everything “is fine as it is,” “nothing can be changed,” the goal is “to get ahead”; that of the environmental and social collapse to which the world of business as usual is leading us; and finally, that of the “great turning point,” which narrates the emergence of creative responses capable of initiating the transition from the industrial society of growth to one that nurtures life.
There is no doubt that the infinite growth pursued by liberalist capitalism has produced the disasters we are witnessing today. Global consumption of fossil fuels increased 20-fold in the 20th century. Industry, modern agriculture, population growth, and Western lifestyles have increased water use sixfold and increased droughts from 15 to 30 percent of the earth’s landmass.
According to the UN Millennium project, extreme poverty and hunger could be erased by 2030 with $160 billion a year, while global military spending in 2022 alone was $2,240 billion.
It is clear, then, that the collapse of the planet also stems from policy choices geared toward weapons instead of resource use against inequality and climate change.
Change requires becoming aware of the choices made and the alternatives that exist.
In major change processes, things happen only at the margins at first, but then new ideas and behaviors spread until they reach a critical mass and a tipping point.
In the narrative of the great turning point Macy shows that the action of changing ourselves, increasing compassion and empathy, and the action of changing the world are both essential and mutually reinforcing…
(Consolata Missions, March 11, 2024)