Yet, the resources of Earth are finite humans cannot exploit and expand indefinitely. The incessant need for capitalism to circulate capital and expand has been described as “an accelerating treadmill” that must consume increased labor and resources to survive (Robbins et al., 2014). They can do so by reducing reinvestment into labor and the environment. For capitalists to accumulate more profits, they must keep capital circulating.
#PLUTOCRACY VS CAPITALISM DRIVER#
Ecosocialists disagree with the latter by declaring capitalism the principal driver of ecological collapse.Īn integral reason Ecosocialists maintain this argument is capitalism’s requisite for infinite economic growth. This is not a controversial point: the more fundamental disagreement is if capitalism is predisposed to environmental destruction, or if this linkage can be decoupled. As the capitalist system has expanded, emissions have risen. Historically, industrial capitalism has been causally linked with earth-warming carbon emissions (fig. I argue that socialism is the only form of political economy that can maintain democracy and ecological stability simultaneously. Yet, I contend that capitalism, even when regulated and manipulated by market schemes, is wholly incompatible with planetary health. Free market liberals assert that these schemes can preserve the environment while perpetuating the capitalist system (Pearson, 2010). Some “green” market solutions include cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, green consumption, and the development of clean technologies by benevolent billionaires in the private sector - just to name a few. Green capitalism is the idea that the market is the best means to combat climate change. A fascinating proposition to address this crisis has emerged out of neoliberal thought: green capitalism. Scholars, scientists and policymakers have debated this question for decades. But, how will humans avert this planetary catastrophe and their own extinction? Obviously, the climate crisis can no longer be ignored. Widespread starvation and thirst will ensue. While the coasts will suffer from stronger storms, the interior areas of the globe will likely endure incessant droughts, threatening water supply and agriculture. Extreme weather events will become more frequent, taking lives, and requiring expensive relief and rebuilding. Sea levels will rise, swallowing most major cities across the globe - creating mass population displacement. The implications of this are myriad and devastating. Essentially, the release of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere traps heat, thus warming the planet. A near total consensus has been reached amongst scientists: climate change threatens life on Earth, and it is caused by human actions (FitzRoy & Papyrakis, 2010).
0 kommentar(er)
