Capitalism - The Economic Model that is Destroying the Environment

Capitalism, through its structure, the ideals in which it embodies, and its incentives, is at fault in causing the harms associated with global climate change. Capitalism is monetarily driven, and as a result, focuses on economics over sustainability, and consumerism over true humanitarian goals. These powerful values, embedded deeply into this world dominating economic system, not only contradict the goals of sustainability, but promote activities which are dangerous to the health of the environment.

Consumerism, in tandem with a free market economy, are what drive modern capitalism. There is no doubt that these things create a healthy and vibrant economy, but when it comes to caring for the beautiful and lush rainforests of the Amazon, the colorful and vibrant coral reefs of Hawaii, and the stunning peaks of the Rocky Mountains, money will always override goodwill in capitalism. If increasing monetary compensation comes with the trade-off of cutting down rainforests, business executives are likely to pursue that path in a capitalistic society. Based on the idea of the tragedy of the commons, without regulation, companies will act in their own self-interest, even if that interest is to the detriment of the environment and future generations of people.

At the same time though, capitalism impacts the environment through the decisions of individual citizens. Capitalism relies heavily on consumerism, selling the ideals of consumerism to citizens through advertisements. Through particular consumerist decisions, individuals indirectly impact the environment, by supporting companies that perpetuate pollution of waterways and the air, all in the name of increasing their profit margins. Citizen consumers also impact the environment by owning a highly inefficient product; the modern automobile. Joyriding, while seemingly innocuous, contributes to global climate change.

On top of consumerism, which fuels the capitalistic machine, and the companies, which produce goods for consumers, politicians often weigh in on the importance of the economy. They perpetuate the structural backbone which is destroying Mother Nature, by declaring their unwavering support for the economy, making it one of their number one initiatives. This doesn’t help the environmental cause, which is often buried underneath a variety of other more “important” policies.

As discussed, all of these problems stem directly back to the economic system of capitalism. Capitalism, which is based on a free market economy, sets up society for the tragedy of the commons, and drives rampant consumerism, creating the need to produce more goods; all of which significantly impact the environment. Companies, with free reign and significant monetary incentives, go after whatever increases their profit margins most, instead of considering what might benefit the future citizens of planet Earth, or the environment as a whole. Politicians only contribute to the problem at hand, by supporting capitalistic ideals which have existed since its very conception.

Becoming aware of the multifaceted problems capitalism poses for the environment is very important. Specific actors, perpetuating the problem of climate change, are identified within the framework of capitalism. Once they are identified, remedies can be applied to the issues in which they create. Just like the very problem itself, the remedies are numerous and varied. There isn’t necessarily only one solution to the massive problem of global climate change. There are certain remedies though, which would be significantly more useful in fixing the environmental problems related to capitalism. These remedies include the utilization of social nudges. Wide-scale social nudges could be combined with empowered consumerism, to bring about significant changes in the consumerist habits of those in capitalistic societies. Another remedy to the issues capitalism poses to the environment is creating more regulation within capitalism. By regulating the actions of companies, in relation to key environmental needs, significant positive changes can be brought about on the company level. This is just as important as restructuring the consumerist habits of individual citizens, especially when considering the fact that much of the world’s carbon emissions are produced by a relatively small number of companies.

First and foremost, capitalism promotes a free market, which is dangerous to the environment and humanitarian causes as well. By examining capitalism through the lens of Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons,” one can begin to see the risks a lack of regulation poses. Hardin describes how individuals will always act out of self-interest. As a result, they will make choices which benefit themselves, even if those choices negatively impact the rest of society. In “The Tragedy of the Commons,” Hardin describes a common pasture, where the land isn’t privatized, and is shared by numerous shepherds, each with their own sheep. The shepherds wonder whether or not they should add additional sheep to their herds. According to Hardin, many will do so, driven by their own self-interest. “Adding together the component partial utilities, the rational herdsman concludes that the only sensible course for him to pursue is to add another animal to his herd. And another; and another… But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons,” (Hardin, page 1244). There is only so much land to go around in the commons. As shepherds add sheep to their herds, the capacity of the land to support those sheep eventually reaches a tipping point. The consequence of too many sheep grazing the land effects every one of the commoners. By publicly sharing the land, limited in its capacity to support the shepherds, the commoners have destroyed that land. “Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit—in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all,” (Hardin, page 1244). This quote highlights the main problem with a free market economy. A capitalistic free market economy promotes freedom for the companies presiding within it. There are regulations of course, but not enough, especially when it comes to protecting the environment. Based on Hardin’s philosophy, companies within a free market economy will act purely out of self-interest, which is a direct consequence of the free market’s lack of regulation. According to “The Tragedy of the Commons,” each company will pursue its own monetary interests, even if those interests conflict with sustainability and the environment. As a result of their actions, companies will bring ruin to the commons, aka Earth. This isn’t just relegated to large companies. A free market economy and lack of regulation, will also likely result in citizens making self-interested decisions, and destroying the commons in the process. “Even at this late date, cattlemen leasing national land on the western ranges demonstrate no more than an ambivalent understanding, in constantly pressuring federal authorities to increase the head count to the point where overgrazing produces erosion and weed-dominance. Likewise, the oceans of the world continue to suffer from the survival of the philosophy of the commons. Maritime nations still respond automatically to the shibboleth of the “freedom of the seas.” Professing to believe in the “inexhaustible resources of the oceans,” they bring species after species of fish and whales closer to extinction,” (Hardin, page 1245). Within a capitalistic society, companies and individual citizens produce large amounts of pollution, significantly contributing to global climate change. This is a direct consequence of the lack of regulations within the capitalistic system. The commons is Earth, and capitalism is destroying Earth, by allowing individual actors, consumed in their own self-interest, to freely pollute the planet. “In a reverse way, the tragedy of the commons reappears in problems of pollution. Here it is not a question of taking something out of the commons, but of putting something in—sewage, or chemical, radioactive, and heat wastes into water; noxious and dangerous fumes into the air; and distracting and unpleasant advertising signs into the line of sight,” (Hardin, page 1245).

The next, and most significant problem with capitalism, in relation to its impact on the environment, is the rampant consumerism which it promotes. The capitalistic machine is driven by consumers, whose actions can either positively advocate for sustainability, or continue to perpetuate current economic ideals, which center around monetary gains. Many people are passive consumers. They don’t pay attention to the impact of their purchasing actions, and lack connection to the way in which the items they purchase are produced. These individuals don’t understand the processes behind the production and sourcing of what they buy. As a result, passive consumers aren’t able to take action and ultimately create environmental change, by deciding what companies to support, and what companies to boycott, through the items they purchase. The idea of the passive consumer is strongly illustrated in “The Pleasures of Eating,” by Wendell Berry. In relation to food consumers, Berry describes how most people are passive eaters, who don’t understand the agricultural processes behind the food they buy. “They think of food as an agricultural product, perhaps, but they do not think of themselves as participants in agriculture. They think of themselves as “consumers.” If they think beyond that, they recognize that they are passive consumers. They buy what they want—or what they have been persuaded to want—within the limits of what they can get,” (Berry, page 12). The last sentence of this quote is especially illustrative of the problem with consumerism in a capitalistic society. Consumers in industrialized economies often purchase whatever they’re told to purchase. They don’t think critically about the companies, or environmental ideals, they are supporting through their purchasing actions. According to Berry, passive eaters no longer understand the connection between what they’re eating and its connection to the land. This is quite a negative occurrence, mainly because it results in individuals no longer having the impetus to ethically consider what they’re purchasing. The more disconnected people are from the agricultural processes which produce their food, the less likely they are to make ethical consumerism a priority. “The specialization of production induces specialization of consumption. Patrons of the food industry have tended more and more to be mere consumers—passive, uncritical, and dependent. Indeed, this may be one of the chief goals of industrial production. The food industrialists have persuaded millions of consumers to prefer food that is already prepared. They will grow, deliver, and cook your food for you and (just like your mother) beg you to eat it. That they do not yet offer to insert it, pre-chewed, into our mouth is only because they have no profitable way to do so,” (Berry, page 13). Michael Pollan further elaborates on the ideas Berry presented in “The Pleasures of Eating.” Just like Wendell Berry, Pollan calls for more transparency within the agricultural industry. If modern food consumers could see inside the clockwork of the agricultural machine, they would be more likely to change their eating habits, thus promoting positive environmental and humanitarian agendas. But as previously discussed, the majority of eaters in the 21st century passively purchase food, which is a direct result of their disconnection to the agricultural industry. “But forgetting, or not knowing in the first place, is what the industrial food chain is all about, the principal reason it is so opaque, for if we could see what lies on the far side of the increasingly high walls of our industrial agriculture, we would change the way we eat,” (Pollan, pages 10 and 11). This quote can be tied into the problem of passive consumerism, which plagues the capitalistic establishment. Similar to the food industry, most consumers are disconnected from the processes which produce the items they purchase. In Berry’s own words consumers buy “what they have been persuaded to want,” (Berry, page 12). Advertisements brainwash people into buying things they do not need. As a result, citizens of wealthy countries of the Global North, persuaded that their life will not be complete without the newest and shiniest things, buy, buy and buy some more. They passively purchase what is sold to them, continuing to perpetuate the very companies which pollute the environment. There is hope though, as ethical consumption has been on the rise in recent years. “By any measure, the last five years have seen a staggering growth in ethical consumption. U.S. sales of organic food and beverages rose from $12.6 billion in 2005 to $21.4 billion in 2009, growing more than 10 percent per year while conventional food and beverage sales were flat,” (O’Rourke, page 3).

Consumerism in a capitalistic society has resulted in the commonplace automobile, owned by quite a majority in the Global North. By encouraging more individuals to purchase gas guzzling automobiles, a capitalistic society, and capitalistic social norms, have contributed to global climate change, by adding even more carbon to the atmosphere. As carbon emissions rapidly escalate, and the consequences of global warming become more apparent, the future of Mother Nature lies more and more in the hands of individual citizens. This is especially the case for citizens of the Global North, who don’t have to constantly consider their immediate survival, like the struggling individuals in the Global South. “Most such absolute poverty is in developing countries; in many, it has been aggravated by the economic stagnation of the 1980s,” (Our Common Future, page 5). While it is true that the citizens of the Third World often significantly contribute to the problems of global warming, the citizens of the Global North have more of an obligation to this issue. It’s a fact that the citizens of developing countries directly impact the environment because of their poverty. Acting in accordance with their survival needs, they don’t have the time or energy to consider the impact of their actions on the environment. “Poverty reduces people’s capacity to use resources in a sustainable manner; it intensifies pressure on the environment,” (Our Common Future, page 5). This quote strongly illustrates a significant problem in poverty-stricken countries, which may be able to be fixed through sustainable development. But most importantly, citizens in highly capitalistic societies in the Global North actually have the ability to consider the impact of their consumerism and lifestyles on the environment. Considering the extreme contrast between their lifestyles, and those of the struggling citizens of the Global South, it’s their moral duty to fully consider how their actions impact the environment. Capitalism may convince them to own things, to uselessly buy items they will eventually throw away, but they must fight back, and attempt to truly consider how their actions impact the environment. Ewan Kingston and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, in “ What’s Wrong with Joyguzzling,” argue that unnecessary activities that raise personal carbon footprints (e.g. wasteful driving) do not necessarily confer fault upon those engaging in them. Under the logic just previously used, this argument is both flawed and immoral. More often than not, those who joyride or “joyguzzle” live in capitalistic societies in affluent countries such as the United States. While many individuals in the Global South toil, fight, and scrape for their very survival, citizens in the Global North, encouraged by capitalism and capitalistic norms, joyride around in their cars, further polluting the environment. Because of their higher positions in the overall world economy, it should be their absolute duty to reconsider lifestyle choices such as “joyguzzling,” despite what the monetary based economy tells them in advertisements and movies. People in America have the actual ability to cut down on lifestyles which create pollution, and thus need to truly and deeply consider how their capitalistically motivated actions impact the environment. Capitalism has taught them that wasteful habits and purchasing are normal and permissible, but that doesn’t mean that those things are okay.

After closely examining who is at fault in the harm associated with climate change (capitalism), remedies can be specifically and successfully administered to varying aspects of the capitalistic establishment, to help fix the problem.

One such remedy is the use of social nudges, which is described in great detail in Chapter 3 of “Nudge,” by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. In this chapter, titled “Following the Herd,” Thaler and Sunstein elaborate on the idea that most individuals subconsciously follow the pack. If the majority of a group are performing a particular action, there’s a high likelihood that those who aren’t initially doing that action will eventually join in. They will do so on a subconscious level. “If you are like most people, you think it is easy to predict your behavior in this task: You will say exactly what you think. You’ll call it as you see it. You are independent-minded and so you will tell the truth. But if you are a Human, and you really participated in the experiment, you might well follow those who preceded you, and say what they say, thus defying the evidence of your own senses,” (Thaler and Sunstein, page 56). According to Thaler and Sunstein, this herd mentality can be used to change peoples’ actions, thus helping to create significant and positive societal changes. Through social nudges, large groups of people can be convinced to take particular actions. In Chapter 3 of “Nudge,” several examples of social nudges are given. Here is one such example: “All of the households were informed about how much energy they had used in previous weeks; they were also given (accurate) information about the average consumption of energy by households in their neighborhood. The effects on behavior were both clear and striking. In the following weeks, the above-energy users significantly decreased their energy use; the below-average energy users significantly increased their energy use,” (Thaler and Sunstein, page 68). In a similar vein, nudges can be used to reform individuals’ consumerist habits. Through the use of nudges, citizens in the Global North can be convinced to purchase products that are not only sustainably produced, but that also support key environmental agendas. They can also be used in the context of citizens’ lifestyles, to create a citizenry that avoids “joyguzzling” and other similarly wasteful activities.

The second and main remedy to the problems capitalism creates for the environment would involve restructuring the capitalistic establishment. By utilizing natural capitalism, countries such as the United States could fix the numerous unsustainable habits associated with modern capitalism, and the excesses of modern industrial production. “Natural Capitalism” by Paul Hawken furthers the ideas behind this restructuring of modern capitalism. In Hawken’s essay he describes how natural capital isn’t taken into account in the current capitalistic economy. “Conventional economic theories will not guide our future for a simple reason: They have never placed “natural capital” on the balance sheet. When it is included, not as a free amenity or as a putative infinite supply, but as an integral and valuable part of the production process, everything changes. Prices, costs, and what is and isn’t economically sound change dramatically. Industries destroy natural capital because they have historically benefited from doing so,” (Hawken, page 1). Production, which is quite a large part of modern capitalism, could be drastically altered through natural capitalism, significantly benefiting the environment in the process. Utilizing this remedy would be truly groundbreaking, especially when taking into account the fact that so few companies produce so many emissions. Only 100 emitters contribute to over half of global greenhouse gases. “The Carbon Majors Database - CDP Carbon Majors Report 2017,” reveals just how much carbon dioxide is produced within the capitalistic framework, by a rather small group of companies. “Since 1988, more than half of global industrial GHGs can be traced to just 25 corporate and state producers,” (CDP Carbon Majors Report 2017, page 2). Through utilizing natural capitalism, these companies would have to balance the environmental costs of their production with their profit margins.

Capitalism, particularly through its free market economy, consumerism, and the wasteful lifestyle it promotes, is at fault in causing the harm associated with global climate change.

Bibliography:

(1) Kingston, Ewan, and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong. “What’s Wrong with Joyguzzling?” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, vol. 21, no. 1, 2018, pp. 169–86. Crossref, doi:10.1007/s10677-017-9859-1.

(2) Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin, 2007.

(3) Thaler, Richard, and Cass Sunstein. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Revised&Expanded, Penguin Books, 2009.

(4) World Commission On Environment and Development. Our Common Future (Oxford Paperbacks). 1st ed., Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 1990.

(5) Hawken, Paul. “Natural Capitalism.” Mother Jones, no. March/April 1997, Apr. 1997, pp. 1–9.

(6) Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Science, vol. 162, no. 3859, 1968, pp. 1243–48. JSTOR, pages.mtu.edu/~asmayer/rural_sustain/governance/Hardin%201968.pdf.

(7) Berry, Wendell. “The Pleasures of Eating.” Edible Dallas and Fort Worth, Mar. 2009, pp. 12–15.

(8) O’Rourke, Dara. “Citizen Consumer.” Boston Review, Nov. 2011, pp. 1–17.

(9) Griffin, Paul. “The Carbon Majors Database - CDP Carbon Majors Report 2017.” CDP Report, 2017, pp. 1–16, b8f65cb373b1b7b15feb c70d8ead6ced550b4d987d7c03fcdd1d.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/cms/reports/documents/000/002/327/original/Carbon-Majors-Report-2017.pdf?1499691240.