Tragedy of Common Sense

The Easter Islands is probably the best example of an isolated community; it is to date the record of the most isolated inhabited island in the world.  It was inhabited by the Rapanui people, living in harmony… oh no, wait, living in total disharmony with the island.  

Let me explain; the Rapanui believed that their dead ancestors will provide them with food, shelter and prosperity, etc (in our system the Neo-Classical Economics is the one that solemnly promises these things).  The Rapanui believed if they built big giant Moai’s the ancestor will hear them and listen to their needs.  A Moai is a figure carved out of stone, with a big brow and serious face.  Moai’s originally faced inland, after war between clans the faces where scattered and turned.  

The Easter Island was home to subtropical moist broadleaf forest; a beautifully rich seabird inhabitance and some land birds.  Yip, like earth, the Eastern Island had abundant resources.  And like today, the Rapanui het a certain cultural motivation that was focused only on building bigger and better Moai’s (today we are motivate by technology, economic growth, iPads, a huge bank account, Western defined ‘success’, bigger and more, etc).  You might look back on the Rapanui, snigger at their obsession with big faces and think our current motivation for a growing economy is nobler.  Don’t be ignorant – growth is growth; whether you would like a bigger, more serious and more impressive Moai or whether you want a bigger BMW, a bigger house, a Jacuzzi, a second PC, a Wii, a $10 million bonus or eat until you are obese … fundamentally there is no difference?

Where did this system bring them?  

They were over taken by war (sound familiar?), deforestation (sound familiar?), 

 unstable ecosystem (sound familiar?), extinction of species (sound familiar?),  overpopulation (sound familiar?), even cannibalism… until they themselves became extinct…

And today?  How does the Eastern Islands look today?  It is a deserted desert island with eerie looking faces looking out to sea, maybe for help.  The once proud Moai, now seemingly weeping.

Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.  The Neo-Classical is fundamentally the same as building bigger and bigger Moai’s and the Earth can expect the same results.

Wait a minute, there one community that is more isolated than the Easter Island… Planet Earth.