Capitalism, Green or Otherwise, Is ''Ecological Suicide''

[marmar]

Capitalism, Green or Otherwise, Is ''Ecological Suicide''

Tuesday, 21 July 2015 00:00
By David Klein, Truthout | Book Review

Green Capitalism: The God that Failed, by Richard Smith,

World Economics Association eBooks, April 30, 2015

The climate crisis is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. At the current rate of global greenhouse gas emissions, warming of the planet will shoot past two degrees Celsius by mid-century and reach 4°C to 6°C beyond pre-industrial averages by 2100. The magnitude of the impending catastrophe was eloquently described by Hans Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, when he said, "the difference between two and four degrees is human civilization …" Adding to that, the biosphere faces massive pollution, resource depletion, species extinctions, ocean acidification, among other looming dangers.

But can we save ourselves? In his new book, Green Capitalism: The God that Failed, Richard Smith argues compellingly that "sustainable production is certainly possible but not under capitalism" and even more forcefully, "capitalism and saving the planet are fundamentally and irreconcilably at odds." To this central question, Smith brings an impressive command of economics and an engaging conversational style of writing. He explains and illustrates with devastating clarity the key mechanisms of capitalism that force it to grow unendingly, and these explanations are supported with a broad array of examples of corporate and national economic practices from around the world.

Green Capitalism: The God that Failed is a compilation of previously published complementary essays. The first of the five chapters reviews the writings of Adam Smith and the historical transition to capitalism in Europe. Chapter 1 explains how, right from the start, market competition led to rapid innovation, which in turn led to expansion of the market, a cycle that has continued ever since. Capitalist economics, therefore, had ecological implications from its inception, distinct from all earlier periods.

Ecological implications, however, are ignored by mainstream economists. In this respect, Smith reports that, "introductory macroeconomic textbooks used by most US economics departments is revealing of the profession's lack of contact with reality." Mainstream economists, from Milton Friedman to Paul Krugman, recognize the necessity of unending economic expansion with rising consumerism. Without that, capitalism would collapse. According to Krugman, "...while it will be a shame if Americans continue to compete over who can own the most toys, the worst thing of all would be if the competition comes to a sudden halt." ....................(more)

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/31959-book-review-green-capitalism-the-god-that-failed

[Nuclear Unicorn]

1. The centrally planned economies don't exactly cover themselves in glory.

If we keep corporation and state separate like we do church and state -- and for the same reason -- the government can maintain an oversight role. But once the government becomes the producer it has no incentive to obey rules it finds inconvenient and no one will be able to compel it to do so.

[clarice]

3. +1000.nt

[hatrack]

4. Capitalism and state socialism both contain their own contradictions . . .

It may be that state socialism's simply proved fatal first

[PETRUS]

5. Thoughts.

Governments can be more or less democratically responsive (i.e., if business is privately owned and capital is heavily concentrated and the government answers primarily to that constituency, there aren't proper incentives either.).

"Socialism" needn't mean state owned enterprise.

Re: "centrally planned economies don't exactly cover themselves in glory": There's definitely more than one way to get things wrong, so to speak.

[The2ndWheel]

2. We've made species extinct or depleted resources before capitalism

It's really our cleverness, success, and the like that is at the root. The ability to get around limits. Tool use. Harnessing fire. Farming. The basics. The things that make economics possible.