The course Facing Human Wrongs 2.0: Climate Complexity and Relational Accountability through the University of Victoria directly informs climate action leadership. This is evident right from the land acknowledgement that precedes every class. The acknowledgement, which honors the Guarani Peoples of Brazil, includes four components: recognizing that land is a living entity, acknowledging our ancestors (past, present, and future), acknowledging everything that enables our existence (including historical and present-day violence), and recognition that all beings are related (Andreotti, 2024a). This powerful acknowledgement speaks directly to often unspoken truths: humans, through their actions and disconnect from the Earth and each other, are the drivers of the super wicked problem of climate change. Super wicked refers to the extreme complexity, interconnectedness, and uncertainty inherent in wicked problems, compounded by the urgency of time, delayed action leading to further complexity, and the paradox of those responsible for the problem also providing the solutions yet with the least incentive to act (Andreotti, 2024a; Chan, 2023). Despite the human contribution to this problem, potential strategies require rejection of human-centered solutions while, at the same time, accepting humanity’s role. Recognizing that it is less of a problem for humans to fix but rather requires acknowledgement of their role in this complex problem and the need for humility (Andreotti, 2024e), as human beings are but one tiny part of the Earth’s vast web of relations, both past and future. We are simultaneously complicit and insignificant, a truth which can be difficult to accept. This necessary discomfort is where climate leaders must exist.
Facing Human Wrongs 2.0 specifically informs climate action leadership through highlighting the critical need for leaders to engage in profound, and often difficult, self-reflection. It challenges them to discard normalized yet harmful paradigms, enabling them to build the capacity to confront the complexity of the climate crisis and acknowledge their complicity in it. By embracing honesty, humility, and a decentralized perspective, leaders can foster a transformative approach to addressing this wicked problem.
The premise of this course is that there are four socially sanctioned denials that allow humans, particularly in Western culture, the arrogance to disregard their connection to the land and complicity in the violence that has led to this point in time. Those denials include: denial of systemic violence and complicity in harm; denial of the limits of the planet; denial of entanglement; and denial of the magnitude and complexity of challenges we need to face together (Andreotti, 2024a). The structure of this paper aims to discuss each of these four primary concepts and how confronting and unlearning these denials informs this understanding of climate leadership.
An imperfect but vivid analogy might compare modernity and the socially authorized denials that sustain it to ordering a steak dinner at a fancy restaurant. This meal is conveniently and deliciously prepared for the consumer, who need only sit and enjoy what is placed in front of them. There is no trace of the cow from which this steak was derived. No trace of their excrement. No trace of the slaughterhouse. No trace of the harm inflicted upon both the human and non-human animals in the process of getting it to the plate. The consumer sees only the delicious, finished product, to be enjoyed with pleasure. The more delicious the taste, the higher the demand. The more unseen cows, humans, excrement, and death. It remains hidden. As the planetary resources required to satiate the growing number of global consumers increases, the deforested land and displaced families remain hidden. As we increasingly exceed the boundaries of our planet, the restaurant remains bustling.
This analogy is not meant to suggest that confronting modernity is merely about choosing not to order a steak. Rather, it is about recognizing the profound impact modern lifestyles have on the rest of the interconnected living world and the denials that are required to sustain this disconnect. It is a challenge to sit in the discomfort that comes from acknowledgement of our complicity. It is not about one steak or one solitary choice, but examining what that choice represents. It entails understanding our complicity, how those choices arise, the power dynamics involved, and the implications for others who are affected by our decisions. Socially sanctioned denials allow us to easily make these choices. The first step to addressing this issue is to understand the denial of our complicity in harm.
Denial of Systemic Violence and Complicity in Harm
As illustrated by the previous analogy of ordering a prepared meal, most consumers are shielded from the violence often involved in the products they purchase, granting them greater emotional, social, and political freedom to make such choices. The first of the four main concepts of this course is centered around acknowledgement of the cost of our modern lifestyles with recognition of our complicity as the first step in taking responsibility (Andreotti, 2024b). To move towards a different future, particularly as climate leaders, we need to build the capacity to sit with the difficult and complex truths and our role within them (Andreotti, 2024b).
The historical cost of modernity is significant; however, the ongoing cost must be acknowledged as well. As aptly described by Paradies (2020), “an understanding of modernity’s wrongs means not only knowledge of its past impacts but also apprehending how it continues to destroy our present/futures” (p. 439). Attention is often disproportionately given to the history of colonization with minimal acknowledgement of ongoing colonization which supports the ongoing violence to Indigenous peoples (Paradies, 2020). Violence which extends far beyond physical violence, to include systemic violence and oppression of traditional knowledge and ways of being (Paradies, 2020). As aptly described by Vanessa Andreotti (2024), this idea of a modernity as the overarching, universal story, “kills other possibilities of thinking about existence about life, about progress, about development, and even about civilization” (Andreotti, 2024b, 2:35).
Throughout this course, and subsequently in this paper, the terms Global South and Global North are used to depict the unequal power and wealth distributions globally (“Who develops who”, 2024). These terms reflect the political and economic positions of the countries and the impact of colonialism, more so than their precise geographical locations (Heine, 2023). One example of ongoing violence is illustrated in the Global North’s heavy reliance on the Global South for the extraction of their resources and labour (Hickel et al., 2022). Hickel et al. (2022) found that the commonly accepted assertion that the Global North provides aid and support to lower-income countries in the Global South is misleading, to say the least. In reality, the total value of resources and labour extracted from the Global South is 30 times greater than the aid received (Hickel et al., 2022).
One example of this ongoing violence and our collective complicity in it is highlighted by the clothing industry. Garment workers in the Global South, particularly in countries providing the cheapest labour such as Bangladesh, face harsh realities to supply low-cost products to brands and consumers. Millions of predominantly female workers receive such low wages that they are forced to work incredibly long hours and still cannot afford to keep their children living with them, often seeing their families only a few times a year (Morgan, 2015). In addition to the physical and emotional pressures, these workers often endure unsafe conditions.
In their bid to provide the cheapest clothing to brands and retain contracts, clothing manufacturing companies frequently cut corners, resulting in dangerous working environments (Morgan, 2015). For example, in 2013, the deadliest accident in the clothing industry occurred at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, where an eight-story factory collapsed, killing over 1,000 workers who had been forced to remain in the building despite voicing their safety concerns (Morgan, 2015). These workers earned $2 per day (Morgan, 2015). Two dollars. The following year was the fashion industry’s most financially lucrative of all time (Morgan, 2015). This tragic event is unfortunately one of many that underscores the extremely stark contrast between the human cost of fast fashion, the profits enjoyed by the industry, and the ease with which consumers can buy the latest trends. As poignantly remarked by Sheema, a garment worker in Bangladesh, “people have no idea how difficult it is for us to make the clothing. They only buy it and wear it. I believe these clothes are produced by our blood” (Morgan, 2015, 32:49). Sheema’s statement emphasizes the disconnection between consumers and their desire for fast fashion and the severe socioeconomic impacts of the low wages of production. It highlights our collective complicity in upholding the ideals of our lifestyle.
Acknowledging our complicity is difficult because it challenges the core of our understanding of modern society. This concept is exemplified by the story of the house that modernity built. The story unfolds in four parts, beginning with a house constructed on a planet that exceeds its planetary limits. The foundation of this house is separability, which requires the separation of humans from nature, and certain humans from each other (Andreotti, 2024b). The second part focuses on the hidden costs of maintaining this modern house and the violence inflicted on each other and the planet. The third part explores the floors of the house – illustrating who benefits from and who subsidizes this house on a global scale. Finally, the fourth part depicts the house collapsing under the pressures, prompting the critical question: what do we do now?
As members within this system of modernity, our sense of worth and meaning is derived from the values upheld by this house. Acknowledging our collectively complicity in the hidden costs and violence that supports it, is painful and difficult. It can instill fear of losing value or meaning (“Innocence-seeking passengers ”, 2024). The strategy of imagining these painful truths and complexities as literal shit has been proposed (Andreotti, 2024b). This represents the waste that is generated by our lifestyle because it exists, even if we do not have to see or deal with it. It can be easier and more compelling to look away and pretend it is not real. The challenge is to not look away but to confront it both individually and collectively, allowing it to become compost for regenerative ideas and futures (Andreotti, 2024b). First, however, we must acknowledge its existence and sit with the shit.
There are countless examples of what society often perceives as positive developments, such as cheap clothing, which are not beneficial for everyone and, in fact, come at a significant cost. Recognizing these hidden costs is essential for fostering a more just and sustainable future. As climate leaders, we need to acknowledge these costs and somehow find the ability and desire to collectively sit with these truths and complexities, which can be likened to composting the waste, the shit, of our lifestyles together, as “a different future can only emerge from the new soil of this composted shit” (Andreotti, 2024b, 12:08). By weaving the present into a different future together, and expanding our capacity for difficult conversations, we can begin to work towards sustainable and equitable solutions.
Denial of the Limits of the Planet
As highlighted by the steak dinner analogy, we are often shielded from seeing how food reaches our plates, not only in restaurants but in food production overall. In reality, our modern diets are unsustainable.
That steak dinner is an example of the unsustainability. Agriculture is responsible for 90% of deforestation (FAO, 2020), with beef production through grazing land and cropland for livestock feed comprising a significant portion (Ritchie & Roser, 2024). Beef, specifically, stands out as the food with the greatest negative impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and land use (Mbow et al., 2022). Unsurprisingly, high-income countries consume higher rates of animal-based food, such as beef, and contribute more than triple the food-based emissions than lower-income countries (Tandon, 2021). If the standard American diet were adopted globally, it would require an additional planet to provide the land to produce it (Mbow et al., 2022).
Beyond the climate change impacts of agriculture through emissions and deforestation, there are additional harms. Deforestation leads to irreversible loss of biodiversity and causes social, physical and economic harms (Ometto et al., 2022), disproportionately impacting Indigenous peoples, women, and children (Boyd, 2019). This is not to say that that one decision, such as a meal in a restaurant, is the problem. The analogy, albeit an imperfect and oversimplified example, is used to highlight the interconnectedness and unsustainability of our collective choices.
The second concept of this course focuses on the unsustainability of modern systems. The denial of planetary limits is possible because of a deliberate disconnection from nature which allows those of us in positions to benefit from inequitable systems to deny the wickedness of the problem and seek out easy answers that reinforce the status quo (Andreotti, 2024c). As climate leaders, it is imperative for us to recognize and avoid falling into these easy patterns.
The concept of planetary boundaries describes a set of nine global environmental limits within which humanity can safely operate to avoid causing uncertain and irreversible changes to Earth’s critical systems (Richardson et al., 2023). All these boundaries are significantly affected by human activities, with six of the nine already surpassing the safe zone for humanity to live within (Richardson et al., 2023). Our detachment from the natural world, which sustains life, fosters a sense of exceptionalism and selective connection. This detachment renders us less conscious of the unsustainability and violence underpinning modernity, as we experience an idealized version of the world (Andreotti, 2024c). By making the violence, oppression, and garbage of our lifestyles invisible, it is easier to deny our dependence upon it.
Vanessa Machado de Oliveira (2021), in Hospicing Modernity, recounts a visit to a home in rural Peru that lacked toilets. Instead, a bucket was provided which the host would take to dispose of when it was full of waste. Vanessa felt embarrassed and protested as the bucket was taken from her but, nonetheless, the full bucket was taken every morning. This action was driven not only by kindness but also by necessity. The host knew her guest lacked the knowledge of what to do with it — a consequence of the separation imposed by modernity. In our sanitized world, waste is flushed out of sight without a second thought to where it goes, how it is composted, or any sense of responsibility to deal with it. The understanding of how to properly dispose of waste and its potential use in nature, for regeneration, has been lost. Just as for most of us in modern systems, food shows up on shelves and in restaurants, water flows freely out of the tap, and waste is flushed and forgotten and replaced with a fresh bowl. It is only when forced to deal with our literal and figurative shit, that we can understand and make room for it.
The translated lyrics to a prayer song for difficult times, Cuerpo Inmenso, (it is strongly recommended to listen to the song while reading the lyrics) embody what it means to embrace the denials we hold and the impact those denials have on the great metabolic body that is our planet:
a big metabolic body
with broken bones
in between the silence I notice
how we are addicted to the power
and to the pleasure
of denying that my abundance
is the cause of so much scarcity
In order to heal the wound
we must cry the grief
of a world that burns
of a life-way that leaves us empty
In order to heal the wound
that so deeply hurts
we must move in song
we must care deeply for each other
It is not about right or left
It is about the depth that is stored in the roots
in the hands that weave,
in the hands that hold
those that sow the corn seeds
and the plantain, the beans, the potato,
the hands that sow the resistance, the resilience,
the winds, the waters, the bloods.
our mother earth
with broken bones
and in between the silences I notice
that we are addicted to the power
and to the pleasure
of denying that my arrogance
is the cause of so much scarcity (Cuerpo Immenso, 2023)
As climate leaders we need to recognize our complicity and reject these harmful patterns. This recognition of our involvement can be at direct odds with a subconscious tendency to feel removed from the causes of the problem simply because we are working to improve conditions. This concept, known as purity-seeking, involves living in a way that allows us to absolve ourselves of any implication in the climate crisis, thereby, granting us a false sense of moral superiority (“The problem with purity”, 2024).
Shotwell (2016) aptly states, “we [people who benefit from globalized inequality] are not, ever, pure. We’re complicit, implicated, tied into things we abjure” (p. 6). For example, choosing more plant-based meals over a steak is a positive and important choice. However, this action does not absolve individuals from their systemic responsibility, nor does it elevate or remove them from collective complicity. Rather, we need to be aware of our own role in the complex mess we are in by rejecting the self-congratulatory absolution that comes with easy fixes which allow us to make small changes but ultimately reinforce our sense of exceptionalism and leave our privileged position intact. Recognizing the limits of the planet and sitting with our collective overconsumption and waste recognizes the need for meaningful and transformative change. Not safe solutions that appease our consciences. To truly address the climate crisis in a meaningful way, we must confront our denial of being deeply entangled and interconnected with the natural world.
Denial of Entanglement
To revisit the steak dinner analogy, the sense of separability that enables us to deny the unsustainability of our choices, actions, and culture also leaves us with an “unfillable sense of emptiness within ourselves” (Andreotti, 2024d, 00:15). This emptiness drives us to consume more and indulge in habits and traditions to temporarily fill the void. This is why a meal at a restaurant, a new outfit, or a pair of shoes can be so appealing, even when we know they are not the most responsible or ethical choices.
The third concept of the course explores the fractured sense of self that results from the illusion of separation from the interconnected living systems of the planet. This perception fosters a deeper reliance on cultural norms that further reinforces this sense of separation. Climate leaders must be willing to unlearn and embrace new ways of understanding our place within the planet and become comfortable with great uncertainty.
Many Indigenous peoples believe that the illusion of separability from nature, which humans are conditioned to accept, creates a profound sense of worthlessness (“All my relations”, 2024). This sense of worthlessness becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, driving people to seek value through consumption and social status. This further separates us from nature and leads to judging others’ worth based on these terms, causing the emergence of hierarchies among humans and between humans and other species (“All my relations”, 2024). These values and hierarchies are arbitrary, rooted in the false notion of our separateness from nature and, in essence, the denial of who and what we are. From the time we are born, we are watching and learning from those around us. Learning how to be. We learn how to speak, what to eat, our understanding of the world. Our formal education starts when we are just a few years old and shapes our understanding of our position in the world. Modern educational curriculum often centers on a narrow concept of human value, particularly favoring market-oriented skills, which in turn denies the broader essence of what it means to be human and, in many ways, falsely defining the purpose of our lives (Donald, 2019). Many of us have spent a lifetime learning to forget we are connected to, and dependent upon, our natural world. This throws us into a feedback loop fueled by consumption which decreases our awareness of our complicity in harm and violence and suppresses our responsibility to work towards healing it (“All my relations”, 2024).
In the context of climate leadership, it is crucial to embrace diverse pedagogies, epistemologies, and ontologies – in other words, all ways of learning, knowing, and being. This openness requires us to unlearn some of our deeply rooted knowledge and face the uncertainty that arises from these questions. As beautifully expressed by Dr. Bayo Akamolafe, “In order to find your way, you must become lost” (Maté et al., 2021). That is not to say there is no room for existing knowledge and rationality, there is. But we must make room for more than just that. If we fail to recognize the need for a holistic understanding of the complex problems we face and humanity’s place within them, we will repeat past mistakes and perpetuate destruction (Maté et al., 2021). We must be guided by humility, recognizing that arrogance has no place in this effort. It requires letting go of the search for absolute certainty and the need to control, and instead embracing uncertainty (“Depth capabilities”, 2024). We will try and fail, and then fail again. That is OK. As we learn from the failures of our ancestors, our future ancestors will learn from ours. To again quote Dr. Akamolafe, “we will need to pass failure down […]. A paradigm shift is demanded. Solutions, no. Cosmic failure. Cosmic humility. Modesty” (Maté et al., 2021, 59:30).
The fractured sense of self that results from disconnect from nature drives consumer behavior, reinforcing our perceived separability. Embracing a holistic understanding of our interconnectedness with nature and learning from diverse perspectives are essential steps toward true climate leadership. Only by shedding our illusions of separateness and embracing humility and great uncertainty can we hope to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and pave the way for a sustainable future. A task not accomplished overnight or in isolation but rather with acknowledgement that complexity of the problem requires lifelong learning and collaboration.
Denial of the Magnitude and Complexity of Challenges We Need to Face Together
Returning one last time to the steak dinner analogy: choosing a more sustainable option over the steak, even if is less tasty, is commendable. However, this alone is not the answer. Simple, isolated actions do not absolve us of our complicity in the current crisis, nor do they eliminate the need for ongoing, sustained efforts to understand the complexity of the systems we are part of and benefit from. Avoiding this responsibility – particularly for those of us in Western society who benefit socially, politically, and economical from colonialism – allows us to remain in denial and miss the opportunity to grow and evolve our understanding (“Responsibility-avoiding passengers”, 2024).
The final concept of the course emphasizes the importance of recognizing the complexity of our challenges. It underscores that these issues cannot be solved in isolation or with simple solutions but require a lifelong commitment to learning, and unlearning, coupled with collaboration with past, present, and future generations. To accomplish that, it requires climate leaders, and all of us, to walk the path towards eldering.
Addressing the denial of the magnitude of complexity of our current challenges and our need for collective togetherness, requires embracing the concept of eldering. Eldering, in essence, involves aging with intention and humility. Ahenakew (2022), describes it as “owning up and showing up differently in the world”. This philosophy means approaching life with a commitment to accumulate wisdom, embrace responsibility, and become responsible ancestors for all living beings (Ahenakew, 2022). Eldering stands in stark contrast to the allure of modernity, which glorifies individualism and youthfulness, often fostering a desperate pursuit of perpetual youth and devaluing of aging. Unlike modernity’s view of aging as a loss of value, eldering recognizes the value of growth that comes with accepting the inevitability of aging and death. It emphasizes balancing the growing older of the physical body with the expansion of holistic capacities (Ahenakew, 2022). A simplified explanation of these holistic capacities is to think of them as follows: the capacity to be present with the complex reality of things versus an idealized, palatable version; the capacity to take responsibility without excuses; the capacity to enact legacy-free (ego-free) service versus transactional altruism; and the capacity to offer guidance without interference (Ahenakew, 2022). It is through expanding these capacities, that individuals can navigate the complexities of life and aging with grace and wisdom, aiming to contribute positively to collective growth and understanding.
To find our way through this, requires understanding collaboration in a way many of us have not considered through unlearning our deep-rooted sense of individualism and exceptionalism. Chief Ninawa Huni Kui speaks of a Pledge of Generations, which highlights the need for collaboration and commitment across generations, species, and nature (Huni Kui, n.d.). There is a need to be guided by a new compass, one that centers on maturity, discernment, responsibility, and sobriety (Huni Kui, n.d.), echoing the values of holistic capacities. Using this compass requires the courage and patience to try to walk on a path that lies in between the unexamined trust that everything is going to be fine if we keep on our current course and the nihilistic belief that all is lost.
The pledge eloquently articulated by Chief Ninawa Huni Kui (n.d.) outlines how we should navigate using this new compass:
I pledge to learn to age well and die well, fulfilling our responsibilities to each other, and especially to future generations of all species, and to accept that the generations that follow us will challenge us just as we challenged those that came before ours….I pledge to learn to be the elder that you will need (without seeking recognition or legacy), including by synthesizing my own learning (especially so that you can learn from my mistakes), and to practice knowing when to just listen, when to intervene, when to offer guidance, and when to step back and let you make your own mistakes (p. 20).
For climate leaders, this journey begins with a commitment to awareness and self-reflection. Much of our learning starts at birth, shaped by societal structures, resulting in many of our beliefs and behaviors being deeply rooted and unconscious. These ingrained patterns often hinder our ability to build generative relationships (“Anti-Assholism Memo,” 2021). To interrupt these patterns, we must first become aware of them. This requires us to critically reflect on our assumptions, our knowledge, and our judgments and question where they come from. Through this reflective process, we can unlearn what collectively holds us back and cultivate the capacity for new, potentially transformative, learning “(Anti-Assholism Memo,” 2021).
We are in the midst of a super wicked challenge that demands collaboration, humility, and intention. This requires us to de-center ourselves, work collectively, and commit to long-term learning and unlearning. It necessitates a paradigm shift that values walking the path toward eldering – embracing our part in something much bigger and more important than ourselves. Climate leaders must embody this by de-centering ourselves, emphasizing that eternal youth, accumulation, and unexamined values are not legacies worth leaving. They should, in fact, challenge the flawed notion of individual legacies at all, focusing instead on being good ancestors for past, present, and future generations. By showing grace and acknowledging that we do not have all the answers, we can work towards a path that is not about any of us as individuals. Walking this path as it leads towards being a good ancestor for all species requires us to be hyper-reflexive to our own thoughts, interpretations, actions, and motivations.
Conclusion: Letting go of Denial as Leaders in Climate Action
Facing Human Wrongs 2.0 exposes the socially acceptable denials that are rewarded by modernity and the idea of progress that perpetuates an inequitable, harmful, and failing reality. This discussion informs climate action leadership by highlighting patterns of thought and education that need to be interrupted and examined to understand our complicity in, and the complexity of, the problem which requires constant deep-reflection, honesty, humility, and the de-centering of ourselves.
The course is organized around four main concepts in the form of denials that must be faced. The first denial to be addressed is our complicity in systemic violence and the hidden, ongoing costs of modern lifestyles, highlighting the need for climate leaders to build the capacity to confront difficult truths. The second concept involves recognizing the unsustainability of modern systems and the denial of planetary limits, emphasizing the necessity for climate leaders to avoid simplistic solutions and work towards transformative change. Thirdly, the denial of entanglement highlights the illusion of separability that modernity is built upon, stressing the need for climate leaders to adopt a holistic view of our interconnectedness with nature to avoid past mistakes and imagine sustainable futures. The final concept underscores the magnitude of complexity that requires collective action, with climate leaders being challenged to embrace the concept of eldering, fostering intergenerational collaboration and continuous self-reflection to navigate and address the climate crisis.
This course has been profoundly valuable. It does not claim to provide all the answers to such complex problems, but rather provides invitations to begin and continue the work needed to be a part of imagining a different present and future while acknowledging and honouring the past that has led us here.
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