Solidarity and realism: two crucial virtues, and both of them, it seems, will be as fundamental to the 21st century as they were to the 20th. But though the meaning of solidarity – with the poor, the vulnerable, the downtrodden – is essentially unchanged, and as precious as ever, realism in the face of climate change is far more problematic.
For one thing, realism has a well-earned negative reputation. Its founders meant their focus on ‘national interests’ in anything but a small-minded way, but their intentions, like so much else, were thrown overboard during the long grind of the Cold War. Realism became little more than ideology, and the ‘national interest’ a cover for the short-term interests of the élites, whatever they happened to be. If you’re anything like me, you came to hate the word.
