Abstract
Awareness of impending climate catastrophe has greatly increased over the last 30 years. Increasing awareness, however, has not translated into decreasing but instead increasing greenhouse gas emissions. This paper aims to shed new light on this perplexing and ultimately destructive positive correlation. It does so by applying a new interpretation of Milgram’s Obedience to Authority “electric shock” experiments to the problem of climate catastrophe. This paper reveals that both the Obedience Studies and climate catastrophe share a crucial common denominator: both involve powerful figures utilising manipulative techniques of bureaucratic organisation to push and pull the functionary helpers below them into contributing to preconceived goal achievement. In both cases, for the functionary helpers to achieve the goals of the powerful, all must agree to contribute to the infliction of harm on a powerless group. Nearly all helpers choose to make their harmful contributions because they not only stand to personally benefit, they also suspect that—with so many other links in the chain participating in goal achievement—they can probably do so with total impunity. It is argued that this comparison may help to better understand the complex, self-reinforcing, yet ultimately destructive relationship shared between fossil fuel corporations, the ideological pursuit of economic growth, political impotence, rapacious consumer demand, and impending climate catastrophe.
Highlights
We are bringing about a climate change that we do not want but do not know how to stop.—Dale W
The common denominator between both the Obedience Studies and climate catastrophe is that both involve powerful figures (Milgram/the carbon-capital elite) utilising manipulative techniques of bureaucratic organisation to push and pull their functionary helpers
Observers are often insensitive to the reality that: (1) all the symbols of power—the “Yale”-sponsored experimenter, “Dr” Milgram and his prestigious “Ivy League” institution—bolstered the perception that harming an innocent person was normative “model” behaviour; (2) because “obedient” participants are encouraged to feel they are free to pursue wrongdoing, they are led to suspect that only they will ever know about their immoral decision to prioritise their lesser important desires over the learner’s clearly more important needs; (3) there were many small steps that gradually and imperceptibly lured participants well beyond what felt like a point of no return; and (4) the wider organisational process was structured in a way whereby—similar with every other functionary helper involved—unethical choices always felt easy and ethical ones personally burdensome
Summary
We are bringing about a climate change that we do not want but do not know how to stop. Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).[1] Friedrichs stated that in 2014 the IPCC would release three reports “packed with facts and figures” documenting “what we know about climate change, what we know about the consequences, and how we might deal with them.”. He questioned: “But are we really suffering from a lack of knowledge?”, adding: See http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/26/climate-change-ipcc-scientists Downloaded 5 October 2013. Using the world’s second highest per capita heat-trapping gas polluter, the U.S.A. as an example,[2] awareness of the greenhouse effect has increased from 39% in 1986, to 58% in 1988, to 90% in 2006 Gradually increased from 2003climate and 2012.catastrophe, Similar to CO2 , have nitroustotal oxide continuously increasedcontinued between 1970
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