Why Environmentalist Should Embrace Michael Moore’s New Film Planet of the Humans
Michael Moore is known for his provocative movies which ask us to see the corruption and moral bankruptcy staring at us in our capitalist system. His films generally hold that capitalism will morally bankrupt those who play by its rules. I disagree with this notion. Capitalism does not lead to moral bankruptcy. Rather morality is sacrificed by choice. As an environmentalist, I believe the choice of sacrificing the morals and values of the environmental movement is something we must constantly be vigilant about. We must accept the consequences of our decisions may not always turn out as intended. Pause, brake, and head in a new direction when we go astray rather than continue down the same path. We must also hold our leaders to high moral standards of humility, integrity, decency, and kindness.
After years of turning the camera outward exposing the morally bankrupt version of capitalism (i.e. maximizing shareholder returns), in Planet of the Humans the camera is turned inwardly on the environmental movement which Michael, and the movie’s director Jeff Gibbs, are deeply a part of and support. This must have been a hard movie to create and release knowing the damage it could do to the environmental movement. Yes, I am giving them both the benefit of the doubt that they are aware of the potential damage and setback this movie can cause the environmental movement.
Yet, it is a story that must be told. The question of the movie is: how can we continue to use the same capitalist system to attain our lofty goals of creating a sustainable future on this planet? Capitalist systems are efficient at scale and size and are built around resource consumption. This makes a perfect system for continued destruction of the planet, and, perhaps, not the right system for a sustainable future.
It is the elephant in the room and one I wrestle with in my work as corporate sustainability manager. As a sustainability manager, we use the same script used by capitalists to get our message across. We use their language (i.e. triple bottom line, environmental profit/loss). We use their marketing tools. We use their money. We make ideas sound simple and perfect because that is what resonates with people, even though we all know there are no perfect solutions to the complex sustainability challenges we face. We know simplifying our message dilutes the challenge itself and leads to unintentional consequences. We know reducing GHG emissions is not the end all and be all of climate change solutions. We know climate change is not the only sustainability challenge facing this world, but it is easy to use as the face of a broader movement because climate change affects us all. We know this. Let us not run from how we try to use the capitalist system to achieve our goals but embrace it without losing sight of where we want to go. We have dived into matrix to change it from within. Remember our purpose is to change the system not to accept it as is.
Nothing less than perfection of results where humans live in symbiosis with our planet is acceptable. This is our mission. We may take detours on our path to this goal, but we must always reflect whether we are making our way back from the detour or heading down the wrong way. Let us continually push the boundaries of our thinking and ensure our path is aligned with our goal. Planet of the Humans merely asks us to question this. It asks us to pause and reflect to make sure our aim is still true. We will continue our march forward. However, let us not fool ourselves to think that our path is so righteous as to be incorruptible. We are human, and we err. We can, however, recognize our errors and correct them. Let us occasionally, stop, pause and ensure our aim is still true to our mission.
Let us remember there is no single, perfect solution to the complex sustainability challenges we face. This means we should not industrialize solutions. Diversity is the name of the game. In nature diversity is efficient. It maximizes the ability of the planet to sustain life and not let one aspect become dominant. Nature allows for experimentation, allowing the best ideas to survive, while others disappear. Sound familiar? This is what capitalism is supposed to be. An efficient system of allocating resources to the best ideas in a level playing field with incorruptible rules. Competition within capitalism should create diversity of ideas leading to the improvement of the human condition. Capitalism has improved the human condition for some but has failed others. Where it failed, I believe, is due to the sacrifice of morals to the almighty dollar. Yes, unfortunately, the current capitalist system is easily corruptible and not built for diversity. It is built for scale and efficient maximization of profit, not efficient maximization of human ideas and the general betterment of the human condition.
Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs are right to question whether capitalism’s encroachment within the environmental movement risks destroying the morals and values upon which it was built. They are not making the point that renewable energy sources are bad. They are making the point that renewables have their limits. With our shift to renewable energy, we are trying to substitute our massive use of energy from one source to another. Yet, our need for energy use is still massive! While shifting to renewable energy, shouldn’t we ponder our need for such huge amounts of energy instead? Can we do more with less energy?
These are the questions the environmental movement must continually ask ourselves (one that I’m also very much a part of). If the light of the movie is shining too bright in your eyes (like me) then let us recognize our errors and forgive ourselves if it may seem like we compromised too much.
First, I think as an environmental movement we need to forgive ourselves for seeking money to achieve our goals. Yes, many sustainable solutions, such as renewable energy, require large capital investments. Who has the capital? Well, it is the people who are responsible for destroying the planet in the first place. Some of these capitalists have, hopefully, seen the light and are seeking to shift towards a more sustainable pathway with a less profit driven motive, but rather a motive driven by humility and diversity of ideas. This is good and should be commended, but we must not let them stop the shift and continually remind them profit is not the name of the game in a sustainable future.
Second, our renewable energy solutions and other potential sustainable solutions are brilliant feats of engineering skill built to mimic nature. Unfortunately, they are not as efficient as nature (yet), and, therefore, not the final solution. Some of our current solutions require machinery made partly from metals and rare earth minerals, some of which can be toxic, and are built using fossil fuels. Let us recognize this and seek out a better way to create sustainable solutions. Let us call these the “first generation” of sustainable solutions and are proof of concept. However, let us recognize they do not reach our intended goal. Let us continue the work to make better solutions.
Third, we need to forgive ourselves for simplifying our sustainability message to the masses. Not everyone is an expert in sustainability. It will take time to make the language of sustainability ubiquitous. Yet, we still need to get our message across. Most people just want to hear, problem and then solution. People do not want to hear — let us tell you about a major complex problem, and here is a big complex solution. People will not pay attention to that message. Let us recognize that we use the same marketing gimmicks as any chief marketing officer, or “Mad Men”, if you will. We did this with the goal of making sustainability accessible and part of people’s daily talk. We want people to know there are more sustainable and less sustainable choices. This is beginning to happen.
However, let us recognize that our message can be interpreted as “we can have our cake and eat it too.” This is false and misleading. We will need to rethink our addiction to things and make hard choices. There are limits to this planet and its resources. We simplified our messages, offered seemingly simple solutions to make people aware there is a more sustainable pathway to our future. As people become more aware that there are no perfect simple solutions, but hard choices to complex problems, we will need new language, not based in marketing gimmicks, to help people through this transition. Otherwise disillusionment will take over.
Fourth, there is a merger of the environmental movement with capitalism. Large profit driven companies see new markets and new product opportunities by reducing their impacts on our planet. This a great step in the right direction. Let us embrace it and congratulate ourselves on our achievement. Our work is not finished. We must not let capitalism run away with our achievement and risk the diversity of solutions we seek. Companies will need to think about their own limits to growth and market share. Global dominance is not sustainable for humans or the planet.
Planet of the Humans asks us to reflect on the environmental movement in a deeply profound way. In trying to change the way people think, have we compromised our values and politicized a movement that should be apolitical? This movement is inclusive and never exclusive. Are we allowing the industrialization of simple solutions to our complex problems? Where are our brakes to our own methods? Do we not preach that one problem with the capitalist system is a lack of brakes?
If we allow the capitalization and industrialization of the environmental movement, it becomes the same system which we are fighting against. A system that breeds inequality, concentrates wealth into the hands of the few, and usurps everyone’s right to belong on this planet as equals. Sustainability is a conservative movement. We seek to conserve and democratize the resources of this planet. By doing so we seek to improve people’s lives and ensure we have a long future on this planet. A future in which humans thrive and continue to do great things.
