Why would we want to do anything unsustainably in the first place? What are the motives and incentives that make us do things unsustainably?


I talk about conceptual space, the world perceived through interpretations. In conceptual space labels are placed, values are set, names are given. Especially, threats are perceived and their size. If we map concepts we could map conceptual space. In conceptual space Mickey Mouse is real ( we pay money to see him, it and money is real, right?) and in that mental world (go see MATRIX for an illustration of this) we perceive threats. If I believe that for my survival I have to have a job, go to work, earn money, be a good citizen (If I don’t, I will be thrown out of society, and I cannot survive on my own as man is a tribe animal). If I believe this, then I will act towards survival first, sustainability second.

To put it another way, humans are going around believing that they must act unsustainably in order to survive. They are living in a kind of mental (Matrix again) man-made world that is not in tune with the natural world. But we know this.