Are the rich destroying the earth?

Just read this book, almost despite myself, because I find the title massively offputting. In fact the only reason I stuck with it is because it comes from a publisher, Green Books, who put out incredible quantities of really cheerful and empowering books on "green" topics (in the widest sense of that overused word).

The fact is that the book's French author, Herve Kempf, is enormously respected as environment editor of France's most influential paper, Le Monde. And he makes a very strong case indeed that ecological problems and social justice are inextricably connected.

What he hopes "above all", he says, is that his book will make ecologists think for once about social arrangements and power, while also making those who already think about social justice take proper account of the ongoing ecological crisis.

I'm particularly grateful to Kempf for pointing out that old-fashioned, self-styled "progressives" on the left have generally been hopeless about the environment. Indeed, when it comes to economic growth and the underlying idea of "progress", Marxists and advanced capitalists are basically in agreement: they want more. For this reason I have found it difficult not to snort when, recently, I've posted about economic reform and been accused of crypto-Marxism.

It's not a long book, but still manages to provide an account of the many converging ecological crises - climate change, species extinction, peak oil. It also sets out clearly how the gap between rich and poor is getting wider and wider. How are these things related? Kempf says it's because as a species we're constantly pursuing growth, and we do that because we have before us the example of the super-rich, whose bawbles we all aspire to (while they always want more and bigger).

Going further than most "environmental" books, this one argues that the rapid decline of meaningful democracy, and the astonishing erosion of civil liberties are a consequence of the rich seeking to protect themselves against ever having to give up what they have - despite the imperatives of the environment.

It will hardly be surprising that I finished Kempf's book feeling miserable and disempowered.

I don't want to see the world in terms of "them and us", whether it's the super-rich v. the rest, or "developed" countries v. developing ones. It may sound naive, even soft-hearted, but I'd rather believe - as this image from here puts it - that we're all in this together.

Comments

[Dr. Albert Gortenbull, Edinburgh, UK]

It is not the "rich" but the numbers of "rich" that are stressing planet earth. The most cost-effective way to address atmospheric CO2 concentration is to reduce human population. The only practical alternative to population control for controlling atmospheric CO2 concentration is to drive humanity back to 18th century conditions when life was a constant struggle and there were few "rich".

[Brien Comerford]

The rich and meat eaters are destroying the earth. Human carnivores are responsible for massive pollution, global warming, deforestation and unspeakable cruelty to animals. By inhumanely raising animals for food the rich are depriving the poor of countless tons of grains and soy.

[Richard Wing]

All we need to do is protect the environment whilst simultaneously protecting our freedoms and promoting equality and prosperity. Piece of cake. It's not like any of those things are mutually exclusive!

[Don]

I have not read the book but be assured that we will not destroy the earth, we might destroy ourselfs but the earth will be fine. Worse thinks have happened, mass extinctions, asteroids collisions. I have even read that a Mars sized body hit the earth, an event which according to the scientist writing the article caused the formation of the Moon. I am not suggesting that we should not address the problems but....