by Tarik Bouriachi
Parents who, like me, were born in the 80s/90s, have witnessed the rise of knowledge but especially the spread of increasingly catastrophic news about the harmful consequences of our lifestyles on our environment. We, who had as context the triumph of techno-liberal utopia that some called the end of history, have been more or less complicit witnesses to a deadly forward flight and its collateral consequences on the environment, biodiversity, and the accentuation of social inequalities.
In fact, it’s not surprising to note that 78% of parents think their children will live less well than them due to the consequences of climate change. This eco-anxiety has direct and concrete consequences on our children, of whom 83% think we have failed to take care of the planet. It’s a bit like there’s a form of transmission of fear that becomes anticipatory anxiety
Faced with this new form of psychological distress, two antagonistic attitudes emerge: the collapsosophical attitude – which refers to a vision of accepting collapse and living with it – and the collapsophobic attitude, which cultivates denial and passivity. Thus, these young people, harsh with their governments whose inaction they consider a betrayal, sometimes respond with depressive fatalism, partly illustrated by the 75% abstention rate of 18-24 year-olds in the last legislative election in France[4]; but also through the expression of an irrepressible need to fight to make their voices heard, particularly through recourse to courts and civil disobedience, and what this entails in terms of repression and sometimes deaths[5].
These attitudes are also the manifestation of a differentiated relationship to utopia. Indeed, a survey[6] conducted on the French relationship to utopias shows that ecological utopia is largely favored by 51% of respondents (compared to 39% for identity-security utopia, and 10% for techno-liberal utopia). This study also shows an overrepresentation of young people (61% versus 51%) among those who declare adherence to ecological utopia.
As parents, we have the responsibility to guide our children towards constructive optimism that emphasizes the advantageous aspects of a situation without dwelling on the inconveniences and to focus on individual and collective opportunities rather than obstacles. One of the tools to do this is pedagogy, which by essence refers « implicitly or explicitly, to an ideal society that education would precisely have the mission to bring about »[7] but also because it gives meaning and direction to attempts to transform the real world.
This approach to pedagogy can have very concrete manifestations such as nature walks, cooking seasonal products, gardening, or promoting DIY and repair. It’s also about putting into perspective the sometimes technical and fragmentary information that comes from the internet, or creating spaces for discussion and collaboration between peers where positive interpersonality is associated with greater attention to others and strengthens bonds.
[1] Eco-anxiety: analysis of a contemporary anxiety, Eddy Fougier, Jean Jaurès Foundation, 2021 [2] Study published in the scientific journal The Lancet Planetary Health based on a survey of 10,000 young people, aged 16 to 25, from 10 countries (Australia, Brazil, France, Finland, India, Nigeria, Philippines, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States) [3] Ashlee Cunsolo and Neville Ellis, « Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss », Nat. Clim. Change, vol. 8, 2018 [4] https://www.la-croix.com/France/Legislatives-2022-linquietant-decrochage-jeunes-2022-06-18-1201220683 [5] In 2018, at least 164 environmental defenders died fighting against mining, forestry, or agro-industrial projects, according to the annual report of the NGO Global Witness. [6] The Observatory Society and Consumption (Obsoco) surveyed 2,000 French people aged 18 to 70 about their relationship to utopias based on several scenarios. [7] Pedagogy as the foundation of an ethical utopia – François Galichet 2016 https://www.cairn.info/revue-imaginaire-et-inconscient-2006-1-page-101.htm