The Environment and Global Justice
Sep 28, 2004Our current way of life is unsustainable. Depletion of the ozone layer, the dwindling of the rain forest, the loss of animal habi...
Is Neoliberalism Destroying the Earth?
Eliane Mitchell
08 September 2017
Thousands of posters, books, videos, and social media exhort us to take four minute showers, eat vegan, carpool, and recycle in order to slow global warming and save Planet Earth, and yet, we have to ask, do these individual efforts really amount to much?
Not really, according to this article from The Guardian. In fact, it is neoliberalism, with its emphasis on the free market and government deregulation of corporations, which cons the populace into thinking that an individual's "green efforts" might bear consequence on the environment. That is, by exalting the power of the individual, neoliberalism persuades consumers to "save the planet" by making expensive or inconvenient "green" changes to their lives, and leaves corporations all the more free to pollute the environment as they want. Thus it is high time that democracies demand more sustainable environmental practices from mass corporations, since Global Warming is too great of an enemy for any individual to combat on their own.
Is neoliberalism destroying the planet? Or might there be some value in telling individuals that they can make a difference? Check out the article here:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2017/jul/17/neolibera...
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Comments (1)
labrat
Friday, September 15, 2017 -- 11:31 AM
Is neoliberalism destroyingIs neoliberalism destroying the planet? Yes, but not exactly. We; meaning all of us, utilize the goods and services produced by those mass corporations. For instance, right now to post this comment, a plethora of things must be taking place; there must be an energy supply, probably fueled by some dirty source like coal, there must be servers each connected and ready at my disposal that put of heat plumes, etc. If we want it, someone will build it. Supply without demand, falls by the wayside. To "fix" the problem is to change the philosophy, to shape and promote "values" that move away from neoliberalist nonsense to more sustained futures. Otherwise, given this course, humans probably have no more than 100 years left before some mass extinction event, not brought on by asteroids, or global climate change, but by the simple and disinterested belief that philosophy makes no difference.