In her book, “The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism,” Adrienne Buller explains how green capitalism not only fails to address the climate crisis, but actually allows the extractivism and destruction to continue under a green label.
Great review Chris! I reviewed this book in 2022, when it came out. It seems that you have a better grasp of the subject than I did, which I admitted in my review I had a hard time comprehending sometimes.
Thanks Paul! I included something about William Nordhaus and the 2°C target in a first draft of my review but it was already getting too long so it didn't make the final version. At some point I might write another post focussing on 2°C, where it came from, and the damage it's caused.
The “tunnel vision” mentioned in the quote (paragraph 13) is actually the “framing” of all conversation that has been developed by the neo-liberal think tanks, making it difficult to talk about any issue outside of this frame. Any government that is actually doing something meaningful for the environment would automatically rank low in the “World Economic Freedom Index” which is published by the Fraser Institute in collaboration with the world-wide interlocking network of over 600 neo-liberal stink tanks. Carbon pricing and all other financializations of Nature are core tenets of neo-liberalism which insist that Market forces are the solution to everything, and thoughtful, science-based government regulation is a deterrent to economic freedom (greed without limit). And of course this “market based” approach leads to more injustice - that is a feature of neo-liberalism, not a bug. As with the “WSC,” the goal of capitalism always has been to privatize profits and socialize the expenses. Carbon pricing may have been a good educational tool in the 1980s, but we are so far past that opportunity now. Oxygen pricing would be a major re-ordering of the economy giving a price-signal regardless of what fuel you are oxidizing (bio or fossil) and directly fund those promoting oxygen production. But it’s beyond public understanding. The neo-liberal goal of putting a price on all features of Nature is the latest round of enclosing the Commons and an attempt to force Nature to be a sub-set of the Economy, when in reality (remember that?) the Economy is a sub-set of Nature, and one that must be circumscribed and reduced in its impact. No hay otra camino!
Great review Chris! I reviewed this book in 2022, when it came out. It seems that you have a better grasp of the subject than I did, which I admitted in my review I had a hard time comprehending sometimes.
https://open.substack.com/pub/greendispatch/p/the-value-of-a-whale?r=gpuek&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Thanks Paul! I included something about William Nordhaus and the 2°C target in a first draft of my review but it was already getting too long so it didn't make the final version. At some point I might write another post focussing on 2°C, where it came from, and the damage it's caused.
The “tunnel vision” mentioned in the quote (paragraph 13) is actually the “framing” of all conversation that has been developed by the neo-liberal think tanks, making it difficult to talk about any issue outside of this frame. Any government that is actually doing something meaningful for the environment would automatically rank low in the “World Economic Freedom Index” which is published by the Fraser Institute in collaboration with the world-wide interlocking network of over 600 neo-liberal stink tanks. Carbon pricing and all other financializations of Nature are core tenets of neo-liberalism which insist that Market forces are the solution to everything, and thoughtful, science-based government regulation is a deterrent to economic freedom (greed without limit). And of course this “market based” approach leads to more injustice - that is a feature of neo-liberalism, not a bug. As with the “WSC,” the goal of capitalism always has been to privatize profits and socialize the expenses. Carbon pricing may have been a good educational tool in the 1980s, but we are so far past that opportunity now. Oxygen pricing would be a major re-ordering of the economy giving a price-signal regardless of what fuel you are oxidizing (bio or fossil) and directly fund those promoting oxygen production. But it’s beyond public understanding. The neo-liberal goal of putting a price on all features of Nature is the latest round of enclosing the Commons and an attempt to force Nature to be a sub-set of the Economy, when in reality (remember that?) the Economy is a sub-set of Nature, and one that must be circumscribed and reduced in its impact. No hay otra camino!