Is Capitalism Responsible For Environmental Destruction? A short thought exercise!
Capitalism is a system of private ownership of capital. That means in this system one can own a forest and do whatever they like to the forest.
Capitalism is also a system that requires self-interest to meet our needs because we all know if we aren't going to, then no-one else is, right?
Further, paired with our capitalism is the ability to have capital (often in the form of money) 'work for us'. A key benefit touted by wealthy capitalists!
So, now with the ground-rules set.
Sad Story Time:
Let's say there is a forest that could be sustainably harvested indefinitely for a monetary gain of 100k(post expenses) a year! This could be done using effective forest management techniques; keeping biodiversity at a peak; leaving habitat for all other beings that live in the forest; with the added benefit of the forest as a carbon sink to reduce our impact on the environment (and make this thing called oxygen).
Or, the forest could be clear-cut for a cool $2M profit. Well, today 'economically speaking' we chose the latter (over, and over again as we destroy all our forests). Because, we are able to take that 2M invest it, at let's say, a meager 6% interest; at 6% that would give us 120k. That is 20k more a year than sustainable harvesting would provide and we have direct access to 2M cash! Boom! We cut, drop, and laugh our way to the bank!
A much wiser (economic) decision.
This same theory applies to farmland where we have now lost 1/3 of our arable lands to this short-sighted economic approach.
This could be said of every degrading natural resource on the planet!
If that money were unable to earn interest or be held for immediate returns, then holding an asset that can guarantee 100k a year profit would be a much wiser decision. Economically as well as environmentally. This same process applies to all natural resources and is a root cause of our environmental destruction. Because of interest, it makes sense (economically) to clear-cut as "money today is ALWAYS more valuable than money tomorrow." (TVM)
If capitalism didn't give us a false sense of ownership to clear cut a forest because that forest had rights to life (just as any human), then we wouldn't be able to transform our natural world into money!
What?! Personhood to a forest, that's crazy?
New Zealand river granted same legal rights as human being.
"But, if all of Nature had personhood status, then we would have to be slave-owners to continue capitalism..."
I believe the notion of private property (opposed to personal property) is the sole contributor to the destruction and degradation of our natural world! If someone in our system can destroy our world for economic gain, then it has been demonstrated time and time again that they will do so.
So, what do you think?
An expansion of a thought from Why You Want to Have a Currency That is Taxed!
Rieki
Dedicated to Word-Smithing High-Quality, Detailed, Original Content
One of the weakest points of capitalism of all types (so all the hyphenated forms need not feel holier than thou) is that it commodifies the earth without actually sustaining it or giving back to it. The whole idea is to use up as much of the earth as a resource (literally every resource) as you can without ruinning out and die before its your problem.
However, capitalism is nothing without its ability to just keep feeding itself. I think its somewhat viable for capitalists to provide incentive towards others and their own practices that would help keep the Earth as a more viable and long lasting resource.
Nobody likes to admit its the only thing not charging for food or housing while they use it up to make ends meet for food and housing.
Exactly!!!
I like this one, especially the link from New Zealand.
I have a proposal: why don't we (interested humans) run a campaign for the sky to be given the same rights as a national park all over the planet and/or the same right as humans just like the above mentioned river. I could be a very tough battle but maybe some experiments that hurt just everyone could be stopped.
Once I read a very amusing story in a serious newspaper about a road building from Iceland. Everything went wrong during the road building, until one woman told the builders to move the road around the hill because the hill was the home of the elves and they were opposing the destruction of their home. When they moved the planned road they could have built it.
Ha, I have talked to many swedes who profess of these elves as well! It sounds like they know how to defend their land :)
I love your proposal. However, I don't know if it would be the best focus of my time. I'm presently devoting the majority of my creative time designing systems that work better. I have designed a neighborhood/community level model that will be tested in New Zealand next year. My focus is on building the transitions that demonstrate how much better systems we can be living in. It seems talking about it is futile as most people don't believe there can be a better way. So, how do you make a believer? You show them :)
I hope you present your model while being tested and results. I'd like to see it function. I'll write down my proposal and post it on Steemit to see what people think of it. Though I doubt this humans will stop waging war upon sacredness of life and spiritual beings that are of other spirit circle until there is no life.
Well, if we present a better way. Then there would be no reason to stay in the old paradigm (of waging war upon sacredness).
I'll be posting updates and more details of it! I'm playing at creating more content now :)
I'd love to see your post! Please tag me in it when you publish :)
Hi, if you still look at this site, this is the first of my posts wherein I'll present my petition I was talking to you about.
https://steemit.com/geoengineeringseries/@irastra/geoengineering-series-1-global-warming-and-climate-change
agreed .Hail mother earth
I think that the weak point of capitalism is long-term commitments. Capitalism makes people immediate, only worried about the profits of here and now. But even though it is perfect, I still think it is the best system to bring people out of poverty.
Capitalism is the reason poverty exists. (Poverty) first is only a term used to describe those who don't have. Or it's better describing (inequality). This can only exist if it's possible to be so vastly unequal (through capital and its ability to own more than one needs). When someone takes and hoards more than they need, they inevitably take from someone who does, thus creating poverty.
Further, more concrete examples are what is presently going on all over africa. Where people who once lived freely off the land to meet their needs are being kicked off the lands they once freely used as 'capitalists' buy it up and claim ownership of it. Then these people are forced into poverty (something that did not exist to them before) as they are having to work in factories to make money in order to feed themselves... Capitalism creates poverty and then sells the lie that it helps people 'out of poverty'. The only metrics being used here are peoples access to the system of capitalism through money and GDP. They assume that someone who has only $3 a month is in poverty. But that wouldn't be the case if they could meet all their needs without money (as people were doing before).
Capitalism creates poverty, then allows some out of it and uses those as its own case studies as the 'good it does'...
Granted, of course, this is a highly simplified example to detail the problem. There are more nuances in our economic system that breed poverty, but this alone is a serious enough critique of "the best system to bring people out of poverty"...
i don't think capitalism, but rather the "shortsightedness" of People in general causes these propblems. And I believe that Mankind in general didn't change a lot, when it comes to shortsightedness. There have always been just a few with a real longterm approach.
Sure, but our systems of capitalism (as I showed above) promote and create reward systems for "shortsightedness". We are but products of our environments and our systems... So, we can pinpoint (bad apples) and blame their individual greed as the problem (it's not) or we can blame the system that rewards greed, rewards self-serving behavour and 'short-sightedness'. First step to fixing a problem is admitting we have one.
We need to balance the following or we run into trouble:
I think we can do a lot better than we are, and moderate use with regeneration is much better for our long term survival and success on the planet. :)
I absolutely agree! However, just for sake of discourse. Are you suggesting that this moderation can be found in capitalism?
I suggest it can't as it goes against the self-serving principle our system promotes. We would have to design a system where it is self-serving to not destroy nature. We have since the 70's been talking about setting our own limits. Even in the past few years, our destruction of the world has only accelerated, regardless of how widespread the knowledge of destruction is.
A whole mindset needs to change, but forms of capital based on work done to create it can be done. I don't agree that anyone can just go buy land that somehow others gained through "might makes right" and then sell it down the line of history. Whoever has the money can make more money by not caring about the long term effects and only short term gains. It's rampant in society (online, and here too). That attitude needs to change. Thinking long term for the betterment of all needs to be part of the concern. We all need to be in on it, or else then people straggle because "well if I don't do it, the other guy will and he'll be making money but not me". Capitalism as #1, do anything for money... is long a problem. Owning up the world... got a dominator mind-virus problem lol.
Exactly! Which is why I'm proposing new systems that reward collaboration, reward the building of natural capital, and reward creating more beauty and diversity of life in our world! (we're inherently intrinsically motivated by these aspects anyway, why not design a system to extrinsically motivate as well!)
However, the problem should be relatively easy to fix! Since a new model would be so vastly superior to the old one in being able to meet our needs, it wouldn't take much convincing to have people join! Even people who are 'successful' in capitalism show deficits in their needs being met. (sometimes even more extreme than those in 'poverty'). So, this is my purpose. To create this system so when I raise a child it will be done within this new system. So, that he will be part of the new paradigm of minds that have never been programmed by our present dominant systems and will seamlessly carry our systems forward! (this needs to happen before we complete our global extinction)
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