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“Cheap coal” and the logic of sacrifice

“Cheap coal” and the logic of sacrifice

Last updated on: April 2, 2009 at 1:20 pm by Iafrate Michael

“Cheap coal” and the logic of sacrifice 2009-04-02T13:20:22-05:00 Iafrate Michael

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They charge us [Christians] on two points: that we do not sacrifice and that we do not believe in the same gods as the State.

– Athenagoras, A Plea Regarding Christians 13, c. A.D. 177

It is because other so-called gods do not right the wrongs of this world that they expose themselves as not gods.
– George Pixley

I’m honestly growing weary of Blackadder’s constant capitalist faith statements here at Vox Nova which blatantly ignore the real lives of actual people. His latest involves astonishingly absurd statements about the costs of coal, given to us through his parroting of quotes from the apparently equally ignorant physicist Freeman Dyson. Having just returned from my second annual Appalachian Studies Association conference — a gathering of activists, academics, educators, musicians and artists — and having heard first hand the stories of real people involved in the issues Blackadder dares to pontificate about, I feel the need to comment.

The New York Times Magazine article BA quotes says of Dyson, “Dyson has great affection for coal and for one big reason: It is so inexpensive that most of the world can afford it.” No where, apparently, do Dyson or BA consider why coal is “inexpensive” or what the true, hidden costs of coal mining might be for human persons and the ecosystems in which it takes place.

I won’t speculate on Dyson’s actual knowledge of such things. Surely he’s no idiot and knows how coal is mined and the human costs that come with it. (I wonder, though, who writes his paychecks and whether or not this has anything to do with the glaring omissions in his “scientific” opinions about the “importance” of coal?)

Blackadder, on the other hand, I will give the benefit of the doubt and assume that he simply has no idea what he’s talking about. Should he wish to inquire into the true costs of coal, I would point him and other interested persons to any number of websites and articles:

Smithsonian
Salon
Mountain Justice
United Mountain Defense
Appalachian Voices
Beehive Collective – True Cost of Coal Project
NYT – Appalachia’s Agony
Theresa Burriss on Appalachia and “Clean Coal”
TheDirtyLie.com
Sludge Safety Project
NPR – Removing Mountains

Dyson’s comment that “Greens are people who never had to worry about their grocery bills” is quickly shown to be a load of s**t if you take a look at reality, as reflected in these links as well as my experience of knowing actual people involved in green and mining justice activism in Appalachia.

As a Catholic, perhaps Blackadder might be particularly sensitive to the witness of Apppalachian Christians who are working directly with those affected by the practices of the “inexpensive” coal industry:

Christians for the Mountains
Catholic Committee of Appalachia

The latter, of course, has been involved in the writing process of the Appalachian Catholic Bishops’ pastoral letters on the region. As a contributor to a blog ostensibly interested in the promotion of Catholic social teaching (and not the views of capitalist ideologues) Blackadder could educate himself by reading their 1975 statement This Land is Home to Me. He might note how little has changed since the bishops proclaimed this document over thirty years ago.

Indeed, Dyson’s optimism about the role of coal in the united states and in the world is hardly new. The view that coal is the “interim kindling of progress” has been the message of the industry since its beginnings. Anyone with actual knowledge of coal-dominated regions has heard this line before.

Of course, I have no doubt that Blackadder has at least a vague knowledge of such realities, as he admits “No doubt there are externalities associated with the use of coal.” But he goes on, “but we are talking about literally billions of people moving from poverty to well being. Is anyone really going to argue that the social externalities of using coal outweigh this? On what grounds?”

This suggests to me that no matter how much evidence he is presented with, BA will buy another well-worn line that such human and ecologial costs are “worth it in the long run.” Some people are simply meant to benefit from other people’s sacrifice, and the people and land of central Appalachia and other resource-producing regions are simply “national sacrifice areas” that are to serve the lifestyle and well-being of the nation as a whole.

Let me be blunt. Underneath BA’s economic views and those of his capitalist heroes lie an insidious sacrificial logic: some people must be sacrificed in order to achieve progress, safety, and/or comfort. Katerina is right to criticize this consequentialist logic for what it is. But not only is it “not helpful,” it is profoundly immoral because it is a logic that necessarily deals death. Truly, BA’s logic here and in many of his posts, is the core, animating logic of the culture of death in its many forms: abortion, war, economic injustice.

Those of us who call ourselves Christians and who meditate on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ know that in this Paschal Mystery our God not only makes known God’s absolute “NO” to such sacrificial logic, but actually puts an end to it. The cross of the victim Jesus has put an end to sacrifice, and those of us baptized into his death join a Body that echoes the Father’s profound “NO” to the logic of sacrifice. And this is no mere “spiritual” reality on which we meditate apart from our material practices. As Christians we are to say no to such sacrificial logic concretely, among other ways by saying no to any suggestion that groups of people should become the sacrifices upon which “progress” is based.

Blackadder also seems to want his readers to be impressed with the fact that Dyson presents himself as a “believer,” quoting Dyson’s summary of Christianity: “The main point of Christianity is that it is a religion for sinners.” As we Christians are about to enter Holy Week and will hopefully meditate intentionally on Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, I would be infinitely more impressed with Dyson and with Blackadder if they took this week to try to recognize the real “main point” of Christianity: solidarity with the crucified victims of this world and active resistance against the logic of sacrifice that generates such victims.

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