The Monkey Trap ... and the problem with civilisation

It's been almost 2 years since my last post, so this is almost like reawakening the dead.

But what better way to come back to life, than with the amazing story of the Monkey Trap.

The story of the Monkey Trap is an illuminating allegory that describes the current state of our civilisation very accurately. And illustrates how we humans have become stuck.

"The hunter sets the trap by putting a banana in a bottle which is secured to the ground. The monkey grabs hold of the banana, but because his hand is bigger with the banana, he can't get his hand out. He is trapped! But he won't let go of the banana, because he doesn't ralise how much in danger he is. The hunter raises his gun and sets his sights...."

Human beings are in the same trap. (But we don't realise it). We love the delights of our consumerist toys. The shiny things like mobile phones and computers. And all this progress is surely a sign that things will always be moving onward and upward.

But if we think about it deeply, we know that our civilisation is crumbling under the huge weight of the rapaciousness of our planetary exploitation, but we are in thrall to it, unable to break free from our desire for the "precious things".

The first stage of our enlightenment is to realise that we are all in this monkey trap. Our current civilisation has failed to realise the enormous predicament that it is in. The vast majority of people imagine that "business as usual" remains an option for the future, and that climate change, unsustainable borrowing, peak oil and gas, and the continued exploitation of our natural resources are merely problems that can be solved with more of the same.

The next stage is to let go of the banana!

Do you think we can do it?