The Nothing Manifesto
We need a Revolution of Nothing
It is a paradox that the more humanity achieves, the more it Does, the further we come closer to extinction. It is all a result of our over-activity. Ambition, greed, consumption, construction, competition with other humans all result in increased economic activity, increased destruction of nature and increased CO2.
Our “solutions” to the climate crisis and ecological emergency couldn’t be any more psychotic and hypocritical: a Green New Deal promises to create jobs and “growth” while apparently putting Earth first, something which is not only an oxymoron but simply a lie made up to lure investors and calm down the public.
Humans are tired. The Earth is tired. The only solution for us and for the climate is to simply do less
De-growth
Concentrating only on the sectors of the economy crucial to our survival, such as the production of food. Embracing circular economic principles to make our economic machine much more efficient and less costly, while reducing CO2 emissions. De growth may slow down economies, but it will reward humans with better quality of life, replenish resources, and heal nature. GDP is an inferior measure that needs to be replaced by GNH (Gross National Happiness). We work to live, not live to work.
De-consumption
Consuming out of need, not out of need to stuff ourselves. Consuming from the heart, not out of anxiety. With less consumption, humans will also have fewer expenses. This means they will need smaller salaries to be happy. If universal income is rolled out, a “salary” will become unimportant for most people.
De-population
We are the only species without a predator. We have the responsibility to control our own population, while we run out of land to grow crops. While birth rates are expected to drop eventually and population will plateau, this won’t come soon enough. De-population is an emergency in tackling climate change.
Re-wilding
Active efforts are now needed to begin to increase the coverage of wild forest and habitats across Earth, as a CO2 mitigation strategy and to slow down the 6th Mass Extinction. Re-wilding, reforestation, and in many cases simply leaving Earth alone to heal itself needs to take place on a global scale. An International Reforestation and Re-wilding Treaty (IRRT) needs to be signed.
Re-connection
Our educational institutions need to instil new values and priorities for humans: rather than prepare people to become “corporate predators”, help people reconnect with themselves, nature, family, society and their own responsibility to respect other humans and the earth rather than engage in a money chase at whatever cost to other humans and to nature. We need to steer our children and the citizens of tomorrow towards a complete values shift.
Re-distribution
If only wealth was more evenly distributed, there would be less struggle, less competition, less social inequality. Inequality feeds more inequality. If we break the cycle we can shift away from the struggle between the have and the have-nots, and towards a society that focuses on collective well-being rather than selfish individual pursuit of profit. Our governments, our media, have been hijacked by the corporation. The political system has failed us and it is fighting to maintain the status quo that feeds it: inequality, exploitation of humans and natural resources, and growth that accelerates climate change.
International Nothing Day
Perhaps the most important holiday humans could create. A day when humans are encouraged to do absolutely nothing. To contemplate what being lazy feels like, to wean themselves off the addiction of “goals”, find meaning in simple pleasures away from consumption, and focus on themselves or their family. The International Nothing Day is urgent. Burnout, anxiety and mental disease are now affecting large swathes of our population and no one is talking about it enough because of the stigma. We need to be proud of doing nothing again. During International Nothing Day telephone companies across the world would encourage people to turn off their mobile phones. Governments would tell us to pick up an old hobby we neglected for years, or even better, stay in bed all day and contemplate how sitting still can itself be an achievement.
The Less-on of Less is the greatest lesson humanity has yet to learn
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