The Top of Sisyphus’s Mountain: Camus, COVID-19, and Climate Change

Part I

Like many in this time of pandemic, I have recently read Albert Camus’s The Plague. The above passage is his devastating description of “the death-throes of an innocent child,” and it went on in such gruesome and horrifying detail for pages. I read from my computer screen, alternately gripping the arms of my chair and writhing with the boy, Jacques. When he died, blinking tears from my eyes, I wrote, “Any belief in a morality, a power, outside of ourselves, is an exercise in madness. We are born into an uncaring universe — yet we care.”

To Camus, the death of an innocent child encapsulates the absurdity of the human condition: the idea that there is no purpose in the universe, that a child can die a meaningless death. He concludes that, in spite of this absurdity and although there is no hope for eradicating the plague that resides in human souls, it is the duty of people like him to try.

Nonetheless, he knew that the tale he had to tell could not be one of a final victory. It could be only the record of what had had to be done, and what assuredly would have to be done again in the never-ending fight against terror and its relentless onslaughts, despite their personal afflictions, by all who, while unable to be saints but refusing to bow down to pestilences, strive their utmost to be healers.

This is the Sisyphean task of humanity. Again and again we push our burden up the mountain, and again and again we fail. But, rather than taking a nihilistic view of life, Camus says, “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

Thus, among his friends, including the existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, Camus was perhaps seen as the Pollyanna of the group. Likewise, I am the naïve optimist in my group, more so than Camus.

I am a father, so I have pondered the death of a child. Such an abomination would devastate me, perhaps to the point of turning me into a nihilist. But I hope, I hope, that I might be able to reconcile some of the absurdity that Camus saw in this tragedy. Is it better for Jacques to have lived and died young than never to have lived at all? Did Jacques experience more joy in his life than suffering?

Camus saw an “implacable grandeur of this life.” To me, this grandeur is that we humans, infinitesimal specks in the universe, are infinitely important to each other, intertwined with all life on Earth. The cold universe didn’t blink when Jacques died. But his mother and father did; the doctor, the philosopher, and the priest did; I did.

In this absurdity is immense beauty. We are subsumed by the chaos that governs the universe, yet we continue to roll our boulder up the mountain.

I have an alternative to the myth of Sisyphus. In my tale, there are infinite boulders to roll up the mountain and all humans are saddled with the task of bringing them to the top. We are continually building the mountain, our moral edifice. Some push bigger boulders than others. Some, nefariously, actively destroy the mountain, rolling boulders down the mountain — but these regressives are outnumbered by the builders.

Those of us who build occasionally stumble, take breaks, release our boulders, or even actively demolish. Still, inexorably, if incrementally, the mountain grows — implacable grandeur. Humans are perpetually both continuously at the top of the mountain, and forever short of reaching the top. Absurd, yes, but sublime.

Industrious ants, we build our speck of an anthill in the universe, a primal scream echoing into nothingness, but resounding around us.

Like ants, we are evolutionarily programmed to exist, to persist. Like ants, humans have genetic traits that foster cooperation. Like some ant species, humans also have maladaptive traits — unchecked, these traits, like a plague, can sweep through a colony and destroy it.

As the philosopher and myrmecologist E.O. Wilson points out, unlike ants, humans have a culture built of accumulated knowledge and wisdom. Sartre and the existentialists believed that existence precedes essence, but is that wholly true? Yes, we play a large role in deciding our own fate, in determining the direction society takes. But our essence (our genes and our culture) precedes our existence. Still, who we are as individuals, and who we are as a culture, is a work in progress — thus we roll our boulders.

Evolution is the basis on which our mountain rests. Upon this we have built a vast and solid structure of knowledge. The smartest Greek philosopher did not understand Newton’s law of universal gravitation (Sisyphus’s boulder notwithstanding) — now all grade-schoolers do. Aristotle knew nothing of the mechanisms of evolution — now all of us get it (aside from certain politicians). With advances in medicine, outbreaks of the bubonic plague (and many other diseases) have been effectively eradicated.

As Camus wrote The Plague, the world was nearing the end of World War II, which, along with the first World War, resulted in the deaths of perhaps 100 million people. What Camus didn’t know was that — in spite of those devastating tolls, the invention of nuclear bombs, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Gulf Wars, terrorism, and all the modern gun violence — the world may have already entered into what may be the most peaceful period in human history, going from 5% or more deaths caused by violence in prehistoric times to less than 0.1% today.

Since The Plague was published in 1947, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has dropped from about 60% to fewer than 10% today. The percentage of undernourished people was perhaps 50% in 1947 — today a little more than 10% of people are undernourished (with a disturbing uptick in the last few years). In 1947, about one in five children died before their fifth birthday — today less than one in 25 do.

The knowledge that underlies this progress cannot be unlearned. On it, we build wisdom, morality. In 1948, coincidentally one year after The Plague was published, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, perhaps the most hopeful document humans have ever produced. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

But the declaration does not mention our treatment of the planet. Much of the gains in human well-being have come at the expense of the natural world and the animals we share it with. Although we have made some gains in the past 50 years in terms of air quality and water quality, we are having catastrophic effects on the planet’s biodiversity, and billions of livestock animals live in often squalid conditions. And existentially (in the less esoteric sense), climate change threatens to destroy much of what humans have built. Now more than ever we must work together to fortify the mountain. Increasingly, this includes building an ethic of stewardship of the planet we share with all life.

I believe that humans simply want happy, fulfilling lives. Camus rightly lamented the meaningless death of a child. But there is hope in the idea that we have prevented over 100 million such deaths (more than the toll of both world wars) in just the past few decades. We have a long climb ahead, but there is hope.

The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance…

Part II

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.
-Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

What should life on Earth look like? What kind of world are humans capable of creating? What does it look like at the top of the mountain?

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is another eminently hopeful document. By 2030, it seeks to end poverty and hunger, ensure healthy lives and quality education for all, achieve gender equality, reduce economic inequality, promote full employment, make healthy and sustainable cities and settlements, protect and restore the environment, and take urgent action on climate change.

In 2020, humans have shown that we are capable of radical and, for many, heroic efforts to stem the tide of a global pandemic. If we could put similar energy into combating climate change and implementing the SDGs, imagine the world we could inhabit by 2050.

Abundant and cheap renewable energy powers, heats, and cools our homes, buildings, and factories. Quiet and pollution-free electric vehicles also utilize this carbon-free energy. Biofuels power our airplanes and some industrial processes. Many forests have been restored, sucking carbon out of the air. And carbon capture and storage technology has come to fruition. The global climate has stabilized at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Large swaths of ecosystems have been preserved and restored. Human-caused species extinction has ended, and in some cases has been reversed. Human-wilderness zones, where humans live and extract sustainably, are ubiquitous. Oceans, lakes, rivers, and wetlands have been cleaned and restored.

Organic agriculture is the norm, and is supplemented by vertical farms in warehouses and other buildings. Livestock farming has ended, as meat, eggs, and dairy are either lab-grown or produced from plants. Food is plentiful and cheap.

Cities are designed for livability and sustainability. Greenways, open space, and green roofs bring nature in. City centers focus on walkability. Throughout the city, walking and biking is encouraged. Urban gardens and vertical farms provide local food. Water is conserved and recycled. There is zero waste. Affordable housing predominates, and homelessness is nonexistent. Happier, healthier people mean police are more involved with positive interaction with the community, rather than punitive enforcement.

All products are produced with a zero-waste life cycle, with all materials (including packaging) either recycled, composted, or consumed. Plastics are made from plants and are biodegradable. Landfills are obsolete.

Businesses and corporations are beholden not just to shareholders and owners, but to employees, customers, and the environment. All global trade is fair trade. Many tasks are automated, and production is highly efficient. All of society shares in the increased profits that are the result of cheap energy, automation, new technology, and efficiency. There is universal basic income, ensuring that everyone can afford their basic needs. All who want work are employed, but people average closer to 20 hours per week, freeing them up to work on other pursuits and spend more time with family and friends. Creativity and innovation are highly valued.

Free, universal education is prioritized, and encouraged throughout our lives. Teachers are highly rewarded. Students are more involved with their own learning. Learning is interactive and intertwined with the community. Education includes personalized plans based on one’s learning styles, and goes beyond traditional STEAM subjects to include emotional learning, empathy, and community interaction.

With healthy, happy, and well-educated populations, the need for correctional institutions is severely curtailed. Those that remain focus on rehabilitation, education, and a return to the broader society. These facilities are safe, clean, and uplifting.

Globally, between-country inequality has been diminished. Developed countries have invested heavily in developing countries. Poverty and hunger have been eradicated. Education is universal. Birthrates have declined, leveling the global population at under 10 billion. Conflict, both within and between countries, has mostly been eliminated. Conflicts that do arise are generally settled peacefully in a robust and widely trusted global International Court of Justice. Military forces are more often deployed for natural disasters and infrastructure projects than peacekeeping missions. Nations have increasingly come together to work on research, innovation, policy, and exploration, including establishing a colony on Mars.

Women have achieved full equality with men. Sexism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and ableism have severely declined. Children are cherished and valued. Old folks are revered and well taken care of.

Governments truly work for the benefit of the people and the environment. Money does not buy influence or elections. Voter suppression and gerrymandering have been quashed. True democracy reigns, faith in government is high, and voter turnout is elevated. Taxes are generally viewed as one’s appropriate contribution to, and investment in, the common good.

Because everyone’s basic needs are met and all have endless opportunities to thrive through education, work, and play, people are generally fulfilled and healthy. Preventive health care has added to people’s well-being. Additionally, medical advances have made great strides in eliminating cancer, reducing heart disease, ending Alzheimer’s and diabetes, and combating other diseases. Potential pandemics are quickly eliminated. The focus of the medical and pharmaceutical community is no longer profit, but healthy outcomes. Modern medicine can’t prevent all deaths, but it has ensured that very few unnecessary deaths occur. The meaningless death of a child is very rare indeed.

Such is the view atop Sisyphus’s mountain. Camus may have found this utopian vision to be excessively optimistic (and so it may be), but certainly he would have rolled up his sleeves and begun pushing his boulder up the hill.