Reserved for subscribers
CHRONIC. “X or perish” formulas abound. They are misleading since in reality they leave no choice, and demobilize.
By Sophie Chassat*
© JOSEPH EID / AFP
Published on
HASwill we all “perish”? In any case, this is a term that is used more and more frequently to present to us one of the branches of the alternative that is offered to us. Slow down or perish : title of the recent book by the economist of degrowth Timothée Parrique. “Cooperate or perish”: formula pronounced this November 7 on the occasion of COP27 by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. “Change or perish”: a look at the European future of Nicole Gnesotto, vice-president of the Jacques-Delors Institute…
The semantic inflation of the term in the context of threatening alternatives challenges on several levels. First of all, “to perish” comes to signal a violent, unhappy or premature death. This verb brings with it a whole halo of tragic evocations: perish in…
I subscribe
Exclusive offers: -50% the first year