World Bank calls on countries to take urgent steps to protect 'natural capital'

[cprise]

35. Please save the Chicago economics 101

for someone without a clue. I'm surprised you would be inept enough to try that here. 'Tragedy of the commons' doesn't square with centuries of industrial pollution starting with the proprietors' own land. Here in the northeast, there is ample evidence that economic valuation / private property doesn't prevent environmental destruction. Investors and executives are not looking for long term sustainability and they don't live near the factories.

If it weren't for public trusts and national parks, this country would be in far worse shape than it is today. For Tragedy of the commons to hold up to scrutiny, the primary state of private property today would have to be original habitat such as forests and prairie (a far cry from reality).

As for my 'rant', what this World Bank representative is saying is certainly no better.

[quote]We either work to solve it within the system that exists or we accept the continued decline of global ecosystems while we dreaming of "what could be if only". [/quote]
No, there are more choices than that. The existing system is a class of corrupt despots who are not held accountable for pretty much anything. So you can come up with whatever amount of nice official language you want, they will just use it to delay for another decade (to give the "new system" a chance to prove itself). The trappings of capitalism have segued to the status of a religion, with the invested "true believers" reduced to praying for miracles. They don't ever want to change from an extractive mode, because they're used to being rich and insist on their relative wealth being the only thing that matters.

Yes, OK, another rant...

Kristopher, the only thing that will get us out of the ecological crisis is a change in how we relate to each other as people. Do not continue to expect a group of people who cannot be allowed to fail to suddenly take on responsibility. They shirk personal and corporate responsibility... they sure as heck won't take to social responsibility. Just as they expect the average citizen to take the brunt of an economic crisis brought on by their hubris, they instinctually think the same way about environmental crises.

Any movement of "reform" within our current system of government that is effective enough to restore accountability (without which environmentalism is moribund) would necessarily be so devastating to the Financial sector that everyone would be calling it revolutionary with nary a scare quote in sight.


PS - Carbon taxes seem like a great deterrent, but tax breaks are de rigueur in today's political economy. It would take a Constitutional amendment stating that government cannot make exceptions to the tax code for the carbon tax to have a prayer of making a dent in emissions.