It seems that the roots of most global environmental changes and degradation are linked to capitalism. I think it is interesting to look at the dynamics of capitalism because it helps notice how the core tenets of capitalism are inherently bad for the environment. The main traits of capitalism that makes it the biggest enemy to the environment are endless growth (driven by productivism and consumerism), accumulation of capital and profit-maximisation, and the constant need for raw materials and resource extraction.
The capitalist system, defined as an economic system based on production for profit in a competitive market, must expand and grow in order to remain stable. To do so, it relies on the production of goods and services in order to make profits and accumulate capital (through saving and investment), which drives endless growth. In such a system, consumption is key: indeed, insufficient consumption leads to decrease in demands for production; decrease in production leads to decrease in profit; economic growth slows down as a result and such a situation, in turn, increases unemployment. Thus, endless growth of production and consumption is paramount in a capitalist system to maintain stability, produce employment (1). The capitalist system actively promotes consumerism in order to maintain the system and considers individuals as consumers.
The goal of capitalism is to maximise profits and that can be achieved not only by expanding production, but also by minimising costs (labour and resources) and maximising production (achieved by increased efficiency thanks to technological innovation) (2). In order to minimise costs, there is a constant search for cheaper sources and cheaper labour. In order to grow, capital seeks to expand markets and access to natural resources for raw materials to maintain the rate of production. Historically, capitalism has used colonisation for natural resources exploitation and industrial development was based on cheap fossil energy and cheap raw materials. Despite decolonisation, capitalism still manages to rely on exploitation of global south natural resources (3). We use today 50% more natural resources than 30years ago and use 60 billion tonnes of raw material per year. Because of unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, overall resource use is still increasing despite resource efficiency (4).
Endless growth and minimising costs for greater profit is destroying the environment. Endless growth in a finite planet is not sustainable. Infinite growth means always greater consumption and production levels, which put a strain on the environment. Growth in industrialised countries has been associated with increased and unsustainable level of greenhouse gases emissions, depletion of natural resources and pollution of many sorts. The Earth is made of resources that are limited forever to the supply that currently exists (oil, gas and minerals) and resources that are finite but can be renewed by natural processes (such as forests and fisheries). The water, soil and air of the biosphere can carry on functioning well if pollution doesn’t exceed their limited capacity to deal with the pollutants. The problem is that capitalism exhausts irreversibly those natural resources and the pollution and overexploitation it generates is greater than what the ecosystem can assimilate. The scale of capitalism now overshoots the fundamental planetary boundaries (5). Continued endless growth in industrial output requires more and more use of resources and produce more waste and pollution. Since the start of the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide emissions (primarily due to the combustion of fossil fuels) have risen dramatically (6). Now that capitalism is our current global economic system and that Global South countries have also adopted growth-based development, it has brought even higher unsustainable levels of carbon dioxide emissions that are responsible for unprecedented fast climate change (7).
In such a system, nature is also viewed as unlimited and priceless in such a system: when nature is considered invaluable, attributing a price to it is tricky and therefore it is often considered free (8). In addition, capital works on a short-term vision and in this way is not adapted to long-term vision of nature and sustainability goals.
It seems that capitalism is not sustainable by its very nature, as it is predicated on endless growth with high level of consumption, production and the constant expansion of markets (9). As Kenneth E. Boulding has said, “anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist”.
Hi Angelina,
RépondreSupprimerA very interesting piece - I think many people fail to simply acknowledge the global economic system as largely responsible for environmental degradation. I am interested in your thoughts on how this can be countered - in regards to the dominant economic system that is culturally embedded in 'the West' and even many developing countries now? Do we need a different economic system, and if so what, or does it need significant reform in the way in which the environment is interacted with? Thank you.