The Modern's Amnesia in Two Registers

Commentary on the Moderns’ Amnesia

Context: Eduardo Galeano's Perspective

  • Galeano’s Quote: Eduardo Galeano critically observes Western societies, characterizing their "triumphant euphoria" as a profound state of historical amnesia. He believes this amnesia makes them oblivious to the immense past violence, suffering, and systemic exploitation that underpinned their development. Galeano describes his personal commitment as being "obsessed with remembering" these forgotten histories in a "land condemned to amnesia," highlighting a societal failure to acknowledge its foundational injustices.

  • Key Point: Galeano forcefully argues that "Underdevelopment is an integral part of the history of world capitalism’s development." This perspective posits that the wealth and prosperity of developed nations were not achieved in isolation but were directly built through the colonialism, resource extraction, and exploitation of labor and land in what are now considered underdeveloped regions. This process created a global hierarchy where the prosperity of one region is inextricably linked to the impoverishment of another.

Concept of Amnesia in the Ecomodernist Manifesto

  1. Two Registers of Amnesia

    • (1) Ignorance of modernization’s violence and inequity: The Ecomodernist Manifesto, in its pursuit of technological solutions for global challenges, tends to overlook or downplay the historical record of violence, dispossession, and profound social inequities that have often accompanied processes of modernization and industrialization, particularly in colonial and post-colonial contexts. This includes the displacement of Indigenous populations, the exploitation of resources, and the imposition of economic systems that benefit a few at the expense of many.

    • (2) Neglect of historical struggles against inequality and violence: This dimension of amnesia refers to the manifesto's failure to recognize or even actively oppose the multitude of social movements, resistance efforts, and political struggles undertaken by marginalized communities throughout history to challenge and overcome systemic inequality and violence. This directly contrasts with Galeano's emphasis on remembering and learning from such struggles.

Ecomodernist Manifesto Highlights

  1. Ecomodernist Vision: The Ecomodernist Manifesto champions a future where technological innovation and modern industrial processes are seen as the primary drivers for achieving universal human development and comprehensive environmental protection. However, a significant critique is that this vision frequently overlooks or whitewashes the historical injustices and the inherently uneven distribution of benefits and burdens that have characterized technological progress. The manifesto uses abstract rhetoric of "humanity" or the "Anthropocene" to suggest universal benefit, yet in practice, its proposed solutions and outcomes tend to disproportionately benefit specific, often already privileged, communities and nations.

  2. Critique: The manifesto is criticized for ignoring the profound disparities in human progress and the disproportionate environmental burdens borne by different populations, especially Indigenous communities and the Global South. A stark illustration of this is the concept of the US’s cumulative 4 trillion carbon debt, which represents the historical emissions and environmental impact primarily generated by developed nations, leaving a significant ecological debt to be managed by the entire planet, with developing nations often suffering the most immediate consequences.

Racialization of Examples in the Manifesto

  1. Selective Examples: The manifesto exhibits a pattern of selective storytelling by citing positive environmental examples, such as the reforestation of New England, without acknowledging the preceding and ongoing colonial violence and dispossession inflicted upon Native American communities, whose sustainable land management practices were often disrupted or destroyed. Conversely, when discussing negative examples, such as reliance on firewood in developing regions, it often fails to address cases of colonial displacement that originally forced these communities into such resource-dependent situations, thereby obscuring the root causes of environmental degradation.

  2. Galeano's View: In line with Galeano's broader critique, these selective narratives reinforce the idea that modernization, despite its claims of universal benefit and progress, primarily serves the economic and political interests of elite groups. By doing so, it frequently intensifies existing social inequities and creates new forms of marginalization, rather than alleviating them.

Modernization and Gender Issues

  1. Feminist Critique: Ecomodernists often credit modernization and industrialization with leading to women's liberation, citing advancements in education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. However, a robust feminist critique argues that this perspective largely ignores the enduring struggles waged by feminist movements and the complex ways in which capitalism, intertwined with modernization, can exacerbate existing patriarchal structures. Capitalism often creates new mechanisms for the control and exploitation of women's labor, both paid and unpaid, and reinforces gendered divisions of labor, limiting true liberation.

Implications of Amnesia

  1. Preserving Inequality: The commentary argues that this pervasive historical amnesia, particularly among privileged groups, serves a critical function: it allows them to maintain the existing social, economic, and environmental status quo without confronting the systemic injustices that uphold it. By promising convenient and technologically-driven progress, it circumvents the more difficult but necessary struggles for genuine justice and equity. This aligns with Sara Ahmed's concept of "privilege as an energy-saving device," where acknowledging past wrongs would require significant effort, redistribution, and uncomfortable self-reflection, making denial the path of least resistance.

Conclusion

  • The authors ultimately conclude that unless ecomodernism critically engages with and comprehensively addresses historical injustices and their ongoing legacies, its future-oriented vision will inadvertently perpetuate existing patterns of privilege, exploitation, and inequality. Without this foundational reckoning, the promises of true liberation and justice for all stakeholders, particularly the marginalized, will remain unfulfilled, reinforcing the very systems it claims to transcend.