Noble is the creator of the critically acclaimed Metanoia films

"Outstanding work [...].

The kitsch footage and whimsical animation was a perfect counterpoint to the alarming, even apocalyptic subject matter. I also like the fact that the film retains a positive outlook despite the exceedingly dire prognosis. Please extend my congratulations to Dean and Nafeez.

I read a book a few years ago by Ronald Wright entitled "A Short History of Progress". Examining the collapse of past civilizations, including Easter island, Sumer, Rome and the Mayans, he concluded that "Civilization is a Pyramid Scheme".

As each society began to collapse, elites did not recognize the error of their ways and change course -- even though they had ample opportunity to do so -- instead, they engaged in increasingly extravagant consumption, more wars, and more repression of domestic populations. The same pattern is evident today.

In each of these cases, the "apocalypse" was averted because "civilization" was able to migrate to new territories. Today, however, there are no such escape routes. So Fukuyama was right, in a sense, about the "end of history", just not in the way he envisioned.

Most of us here are aware of the Alex Jonesian worldview -- that the world is run by a secret cabal which desires to create a "world government" without borders based on (horrors!) environmental sustainability.

The problem with Jones' theory, in a word, is that there is no evidence to support it. As David Graeber has documented, "globalization" is not premised on the elimination of borders, but rather their militarization. It is only capital that is transnational. So that while we do indeed see a marked increase in supra-national institutions, creating a de facto "world government", we also see people increasingly confined within militarized nation states. If there wasn't a border between Mexico and the United States, Nike would have no reason to move production.

Moreover, there is no evidence that elites are pursuing some sort of radical environmentalism. Quite the contrary, they are literally subsidizing the obliteration of the natural world. The oceans will become a gigantic dead zone within a few decades, yet they can't even pass a ban on BlueFin Tuna.

So much for omnipotence.

Jones is unable to acknowledge or come to grips with this reality because it contradicts his belief that "freedom" is based on nationalism and capitalism. If the environmental crisis was real, it would require systemic changes that are distinctly at odds with libertarian notions of "individual freedom".

We see the same sort of "in the box" thinking with Ronald Wright and other mainstream environmentalists.

In his closing remarks, Wright states that "The reform that is needed is not anti-capitalist, anti-American, or even deep environmentalist; it is simply the transition from short-term to long-term thinking."

Again, this is a common view amongst "mainstream" environmentalists, and can be attributed to denial and/or the desire to remain "respectable" in bourgeois society. The problem is that "Long term thinking" is simply not possible in a system that demands perpetual growth, immediate returns on investment and -- most importantly -- rigidly hierarchical structures that dispossess the vast majority. In other words, capitalism.

This fatal error is repeated in most documentaries and books dealing with the environment. While lip service is paid to localism and democracy, the overriding theme is that "we're all equally responsible", and that we need to alter our consumer choices. Structural or root problems are almost completely ignored.

"The Crisis of Civilization" takes the opposite approach, rightly addressing the root rather than the branch. It successfully links the various crises facing humanity to an unsustainable system, and advocates for decentralized, participatory models."

SOURCE: truthaction.org

THE CRISIS OF CIVILIZATION : Full Movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMgOTQ7D_lk&list=FLg8oq6NqbldVOWxmyRxfjZg&index=1&feature=plpp_video