under construction
- Abandon binaries
- Think in continuums
| Table 2: Openness to Change Continuum | ||||
| Active Opposition
to change |
Resistance
to change |
Passive | Tolerance of slow change | Acceptance of Rapid Change |
| Orthodox | Conservative | Centrist | Liberal | Revolutionary |
How does this relate to climate change and environmentalism? Resilience and adaptive capacity decrease as we move left on the continuum. The converging ecocrises require high resilience and adaptive capacity, so society has a vested interest in working with F populations to develop their resilience. Rapid change is required. Conservatives / Orthodox fear change, particularly rapid change. Conservative resistance to climate change information has delayed the global response to address GHGs. Now the problem is rapidly becoming worse. Conservative resistance to rapid change may become violent.
In the following continuum, I explore tolerance of differences. Equality is only feasible in environments of tolerance and acceptance.
|
Table 3: Tolerance of Differences Continuum |
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Exclusion deliberately opposes a part of society by removing their persons or influence. Enacts violence and hatred through tactics such as:
|
Intolerance
insulates against differences in opinions, practices, or beliefs; discriminates against others; unwilling to offer equality to certain groups. Tactics include
|
Tolerance
is the ability or willingness to put up with differences or opinions that one does not believe in.
|
Acceptance
receives others as adequate into a group; accommodates difference, even if there is initial discomfort; engages in unifying dialogue to find common ground.
|
Inclusion
deliberately involves and syncretizes all parts of society by integrating a different persons, concepts or practises.
|
Within Fundamentalist groups, tolerance is viewed as weakness. Fundamentalisms clearly define the in-group and develop aggressive tactics to exclude the out-group. Where there is a high value on purity, tolerance is viewed as evil.
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See Reference page for details on citations.