Greta in review

Greta may not use the word socialism, but her fiery words are encouraging millions of people to take to the streets to question the priorities of the political status quo.

And given that Greta is from Sweden it is perhaps understandable why she doesn’t automatically look towards socialism as providing any answers to the climate crisis, especially given the utterly useless political role played by the Social Democrat’s in Sweden in fighting to prevent climate chaos. As Greta put in, during a speech she gave in Berlin at the Goldene Kamera Film and TV Awards, “We live in a strange world…“Where politicians say it’s too expensive to save the world, while spending trillions of euros subsidizing fossil fuels.

“We live in a strange world, where no one dares to look beyond our current political systems even though it’s clear that the answers we seek will not be found within the politics of today.”

Considering that in this instance Greta was speaking to an audience of celebrities, it is hardly shocking that she would try to encourage them to use their influence to “raise awareness about this global crisis.”

But Greta does not talk about spreading knowledge only, as she believes their influence should be used to “help turn individuals into movements. You can help us wake up our leaders – and let them know that our house is on fire.”

Echoing these sentiments, in a speech delivered to the do-nothings inhabiting the European Parliament, she called for a new type of thinking, what she called cathedral thinking which will involve acting now to “lay the foundations” for a new political future “when we may not know all the details about how to shape the ceiling.”

And a week later, speaking in London at an Extinction Rebellion Rally she was explicit in stating that…“…for way too long the politicians and the people in power have gotten away with not doing anything at all to fight the climate crisis and the ecological crisis. But we will make sure that they do not get away with it any longer.”

Indeed, on the same day of this protest, Greta was invited to address political liars in the Houses of Parliament, whereupon she highlighted the fact that our world’s “future was sold so that a small number of people could make unimaginable amounts of money.” As she continued: “You lied to us. You gave us false hope.”

After attacking them for their lack of action in tackling climate change, she said:

“The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do….. The hardest because our current economics are still totally dependent on burning fossil fuels...”

Excerpt from: ‘Greta Thunberg in Review’.

Counterpunch.org