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EVAL: Open letter to the Austrian Chancellor

By Karl-Heinz Hinrichs Updated on

EVAL: Open letter to the Austrian Chancellor

Occasion and background of the letter: guest article in the US magazine Time on 11 July 2020

Published in Austria by the newspaper “Der Standard” on 15 July 2020

Dear Chancellor Kurz,

Allow me first to share a little private information: in this debate I have no private, commercial, religious or other interests whatsoever, and I do not belong to any political party. My sole concern is inner and outer peace, and above all a peaceful future for young people. (If you would like further personal information: background information (German))

Your Time guest article containing fundamental statements was published in Austria in the newspaper “Der Standard” on 15 July 2020, and I refer to a number of points in it (German).

  1. Chancellor Kurz: “No radical interventions in the fight against climate change”

    Reply: For around 100 years we humans have been intervening radically in nature, and nature never fought back – but it takes merciless revenge. Revenge is a long-term affair, and it is in full swing. If we still want to prevent the collapse of our civilisation, we must start taking radical measures; cosmetic corrections such as “innovations” and “synthetic fuels” will no longer help us – that is what a large number of reputable scientists say. If you are not prepared to do this, nature will force the most radical changes in behaviour on us within a few years; with the coronavirus we have already had a little practice.

  2. Chancellor Kurz: “Socialist central state and free market economy”

    Reply: What is this Cold War phrasing supposed to mean? I experienced “socialism” at first hand while studying in West Berlin, and I see no relevant political force in Austria demanding a “socialist central state”. This is PR-driven scaremongering which probably goes down well with older citizens but provokes the young.

    The “free market economy” has failed, at least in some sectors, just as “socialism” did in 1989, because it has brought us gigantic problems, for example the destruction of the environment, climate change that threatens peace, an ever-widening gap between rich and poor, and much more. What has not failed: the social market economy after 1945 – but it only really works well if individual market participants do not become too powerful (as at weekly markets and the like). We have a “free market economy” largely steered by corporations, and what that means can currently be seen particularly well in the USA with fracking. Here are some short videos on what the “free market economy” can do:

  3. Chancellor Kurz: “Collective ideas of centralisation, prohibition and paternalism have always failed”

    Reply: In neoliberal circles there is a crusade against “prohibitions”. A humane, civilised society can only exist with prohibitions, because human beings are capable of brutal, ruthless egoism – and all too often willing to practise it – and then only prohibitions help. Of course one can go too far, but that can be openly discussed and limited. Without far-reaching prohibitions, the climate – and with it peace – can no longer be saved.

  4. Chancellor Kurz: “Economic growth is never an end in itself”

    Reply: Our economic growth, as it is currently structured, is irresponsible, because it bears the main blame for things such as urban sprawl and the concreting over of Austria, and the constantly rising air and sea traffic, up until early 2020. Our “economic progress” comes to a considerable extent at the expense of the developing world, of nature and of our young people’s future. See the Footprint platform, Earth Overshoot Day and the like.

  5. Chancellor Kurz: “Innovation as the key in the fight against climate change”

    Reply: Why do you keep repeating the old theses that most experts have refuted? However important innovation may be, serious scientists see the key to success in a massive change in behaviour – in how we use energy, in our diet and so on. With our “prosperity” we have reckoned without our host (nature). Given the enormous time pressure, “synthetic fuels” and “CO2 capture” can never solve the problems on their own.

    Apart from a few areas (medicine, for example), most innovations have always had positive and also massive negative effects. Examples: The aeroplane: remember the bombing victims of Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dynamite: Alfred Nobel enthused about great progress for humanity in building railway tunnels and the like. A few years later, people were being horribly torn apart by shells in the First World War. The internet: alongside its huge advantages, massive disadvantages are gradually becoming visible: threats to democracy, radicalisation through information bubbles, hacker attacks, dark apps, fake news, social bots and much more. And now the 5G network: supposedly humanity’s next great leap forward, and once again massive dangers are being ignored and blanked out.

Chancellor, we are heading for a catastrophe, and with your statements in Time magazine you are, in part of your policy, not the one solving the problem. EVAL is currently building an alliance of 100 small NGOs in Austria that are independent of state funding. At the same time, voters are being informed through talks, social media and the EVAL website. Neither the EVAL movement nor I myself has a monopoly on the “truth”, which is why we, together with scientists, are ready for public dialogues lasting several hours, on an equal footing, about the long-term, fundamental questions of the future. We could then show you some impressive videos and ask for your comments. The problems of changing course are gigantic, and a government that is in power for five years at most can hardly solve them alone, faced with legions of special interests, lobbyists and others who have no interest in the common good.

The latest information: a large group of scientists whom I consider credible and reputable state that of 15 global tipping points in the climate system, 9 have already been crossed. If that is really so, our chances of peace fall considerably.

Future generations and historians, if there are any, will shake their heads: it had all been known for decades, we had the concepts and technologies to change course, but those in power wanted to solve the problems with “innovations” and “synthetic fuels”, among other things, and lacked the courage – or were so caught up in the orbit of the relevant lobbyists – to demand massive changes in behaviour from the population. Only the coronavirus managed that. The consequences of this policy will be clearly documented for the broad electorate by Christmas 2020 at the latest in the EVALuation “War and Peace”, together with concrete proposals for a way out.

If you would like more details (German):

Examples of EVALuations (German):

Yours sincerely, Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Heinz Hinrichs

Founder of the EVAL movement, environmental and peace activist Rössing 311, 8972 Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria Tel.: +43 (0)3687 80997 Mobile: +43 (0)664 1254640 Email: khh@evalww.com Web: www.evalww.com (German) https://www.facebook.com/karlheinz.hinrichs.585 https://twitter.com/EVALKHH WhatsApp +43 (0)664 1254640

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