Catastrophe Capitalism

 

Everywhere you look, people appear to be extremely obsessed with wealth and money. It has always been a problem getting our message across to others, that capitalism is not working, or better put that another way, has never worked in our interests ever, let me clarify that and make it less confused and more clearly comprehensible; it does not work in the interests of the majority in the world no matter what your background is or has been.

And because we have taught and allowed entire generations to think that becoming wealthy is one of the primary goals in life, it is creating a tremendous amount of envy, jealousy, frustration and anger among those that have not been able to become wealthy and done well in life, it could be that they don’t fully understand why; it could also mean that many start to turn on their own and find another way of chasing money to pay them bills, life is cruel and harsh for many under capitalism.     

 

In recent years, the level of bitterness and resentment that the rest of the nation has toward the very wealthy has risen to a new level.  It has now become more and completely apparent to many that the system is designed to funnel wealth to the very top of the food chain, and many of those at the bottom of the food chain are starting to become extremely upset about this.

People living in poverty pay around 10 per cent more than average for essential goods and services – a “poverty premium” which can push people on low incomes into crisis, a report has warned this week.

Low-income households are much more for their energy due to a lack of ability to take advantage of switching or finding cheaper tariffs. Budgets undeniably, are tight as millions of us are forced through austerity, some take an unprecedented cut in their standard of living, then struggling with low pay or having to take a pay cut just to keep a job, then there are the millions, the legions and multitudes reliant on the foodbank and the handout just to keep body and soul together and sustained physically and mentally strong, It’s definitely hard for many of us and has been for some considerable time now.

However, it’s good to know that for some the good times never ended and the champagne still flows and the party never came to an end. Most people have always known the trickle down effect is and always has been complete and utter bollocks. Bringing the problems of inequality to the attention of politicians who can't see past the next election or a future directorship is also pointless as they just don't care as long as they are part of the 1%.

 

 

Since the last financial crisis, almost all of the income gains have gone to the top one percent of all income earners, whilst on the other hand working families are feeling the pinch from flatlining wages which are completely out of line with the every spiraling costs of living.

None of us are perfect or as good as it is possible to be in the present system, we are after all the product of the environment we are born into and to some extent we may mimic that system in our own lives.

Capitalism has been changing the climate. The ‘climate crisis’ should now be spoken of as the climate catastrophe, because this is what it is for the majority of the people on earth. The droughts of prolonged periods of abnormally low rainfall, melting icecaps of once-permanent ice, tropical storms amongst the most powerful and destructive may become commonplace here in Britain, and of course the bizarre weather we have been experiencing is just the beginning.

The dominant economic system is the driving force of climate change.  It is based upon the exploitation of first coal and then oil, all of which contributes greenhouse gases to the environment, resulting in increasing global temperatures. The innermost logic of this economic system is the accumulation of capital.  Whatever serves profit thrives. Currently a large part of the capitalist machine is fueled by oil and coal. The vast majority of scientific investigation points directly to the burning of oil and coal as having already raised the temperature of the Earth, with the probability of raising it even by the end of this century. To do this would make life on earth unrecognisable, like something out of a science fiction movie. This may happen by the time today’s infants enter old age.

It seems that if the fundamental driving force of capitalism is the further accumulation of capital, it would make sense not to change the ecology so much that you severely reduce the number of producers and consumers, threaten food production, and endanger the future of humanity.  Without civilization, how can capitalism continue?  Right now, the most potent anti-civilisationforce on the planet is capitalism.

Capitalists confront us by driving the rate of destruction ever upward, while becoming increasingly irrational in seeking out the remaining oil, coal and gas supplies. The tar sands extraction process in Canada, ‘fracking’ to get at natural gas reserves (which is causing earthquakes), mountain-top removal in Appalachia, oil drilling off the coasts and efforts to do so in pristine parts of Alaska, all for a form of energy which is literally killing millions of people, is simple madness.

Perhaps members of the ruling class simply do not care about the future of civilisation, or what kind of future their children or grandchildren will have. Perhaps they think they will be dead before things get too bad. Perhaps today’s continued profit is more important than the future disintegration of society, and the end of civilisation as we know it. Perhaps they think they have enough money that the devastation that awaits will not really affect them. Or perhaps they just think they will adapt to a changing environment.

Regardless of the thinking of capitalists and the ruling class, and whatever debates they may be having about how to respond, we must confront the realities of the climate catastrophe and develop a movement to create a society that does not change the weather. It is really up to us, and what we do in the next decade. To not act is to allow millions of people, primarily poor people of color in impoverished nations, to suffer and die

The climate crisis offers damning evidence that capitalism is madness. The situation offers the opportunity for us to argue for the fundamental transformation of society as the only alternative to a barbarous future. Almost every aspect of modern life is contributing to the changing climate, from air transportation, to our reliance on cars, to how goods are produced and transported, how our food is grown, and how we light and heat our homes.  The common theme that runs through all these things, and what must be changed, is that they are all aspects of a capitalist economy and ideology.