Episode 86 - What Cannot Be Dissolved is the Real

This week’s podcast is an expansion on a voice letter I sent to Dougald Hine this week, which is part of our years-long ongoing conversation about how people can show up for one another in the strange times in which we find ourselves. My tone might sound different compared to other pieces but I have decided to leave it unsweetened. Forgive my rant, or perhaps just rant along.Leaving aside the slew of land-expropriation news from elsewhere, in my country right now, rich landowners are seeking to turf-off everyone from even being able to walk freely on ancient paths on ‘their’ land. Meanwhile the guardians of national parks in America were laid-off this week, and soon we will watch as every last piece of Earth that can be parcelled and sold is grabbed by the richest and most powerful. It is a travesty.Without access to land, ordinary people begin to doubt that they are part of nature, and cease to be able to care about it, thus a vicious cycle ensues. This has been the shadow side of ‘progress’ for many hundreds of years here in the UK, as we were the first country to industrialise.1 Without consideration for the public good, an environment of individual kleptomania has been normalised. If Earth is the creation of The Great Mystery, we are beholden to the Creator to care for it. If Earth is ‘just’ a wonderful planet, we are still beholden to each other and to our descendants to care for it.It should not be seen as radical to say ‘slow down’ to all this carving up. My long-term small ‘A’ anarchism and my intermittent small ‘C’ conservatism2 go hand in hand in saying, ‘Let us keep what is good for those who come after us. Let us consider needs other than just our own in our decision-making.’ Too hard to swallow? How about, ‘Consider the future needs of your own children, grandchildren and those of the people you love!’When I am at my lowest ebb with what goes on in the world, I wonder, do those who hoard all the wealth, land, power and goods not love anything but money, ownership, power and goods? It is not my mission to depress myself or others, so follow me on a line of thought today that leads to practical resistance to both instrumentalist machine-thinking and the idea that success in acquisition is the best measure of human flourishing.This podcast was first published here on Substack on 17th February 2025 with full transcript, footnotes, links and images. You can subscribe here for free to access all previous articles and podcasts from Uncivil Savant. I greatly appreciate all tips, paid and founding subscriptions which help me keep my writing and research freely available to all. Get full access to Uncivil Savant at carolineross.substack.com/subscribe