Green Imperialism

As Green Capitalism can be exemplified by solar powered sweatshops, in their piece in Science For The People, Erica Jung and Calvin Wu describe a new phenomenon: "Any technological and diplomatic achievements toward the greening of US imperialism are nothing more than replacing the diesel engine of a Merkava tank with solar panels and lithium batteries." Max Ajl, author of A People's Green New Deal, writes that " Palestine crystallizes nearly every contradiction within the current order...Indeed, the harder and stronger Palestinians fight for liberation, the more, like lightning bolts of ever-increasing luminosity, they bring the relief of the world system into clearer view: the impotence of the United Nations; the imperialist contempt for international law; the complicity of the Arab neo-colonial states with Western capitalism; the fascist racism at the heart of modern European and US capitalism, as murderers and maimers operate in Western capitals; the neo-colonial structures of the Arab and Third World; and the hollowness of Western liberal democracy and its constellation of civil society institutions." Speaking of "the Arab world", our old nemesis the Janjaweed is back, this time in the guise of the Rapid Support Forces in Darfur. What about the "War on Terror"? The Western World shrugs, the foreign policy experts blink stupidly, like deer in the headlights.

Mainstream Consensus

The Washington Post editorial board is concerned about the degrading environment: "This leaves policymakers with few good options. They must acknowledge popular constraints, explain convincingly why action is needed, ensure their plans mitigate the impact on those who bear most of the costs, particularly the most vulnerable, and advance policies that keep costs as low as possible relative to benefits." A tall order indeed. And exactly why "policymakers" can't act against Capital. You could try "shareholder activism" but you would run up against the law, which requires businesses do everything possible to make a profit. An Exxon shareholder tried holding the company accountable but was successfully sued.From the NYTimes. "In its complaint, Exxon said the proposal “does not seek to improve ExxonMobil’s economic performance or create shareholder value.” You could try divestment, ha ha ha.I know, you could try running for office! Or you could attend the next COP and try to convince delegates of imperialist countries to do the right thing. All just suggestions of ways, according to the mainstream consensus, that emissions can be de-coupled from economic growth.

Center-Right

The center-right will lead the planet into accelerating crises.The European elections confirmed a trend we have been seeing for some time: in times of anxiety, all politics end up center-right. As for the Left, Mexico provides an example of how the Market commands. And why "democracy" is in scare quotes whenever I reference "democratic" capitalism. From today's NYTimes: “I do think this adverse reaction from the market is going to cause a very thorough rethinking of what they are going to approve and how they are going to approve it in September,” said Joan Domene, a Mexico City-based senior economist for Latin America at Oxford Economics, an economic consultancy. The Market doesn't just discipline the Left of course, recall what happened to Liz in Great Britain when she tried to push through reform. What the Market likes is center-right and that is what we'll get - bureaucratic, technocratic managers who can keep GDP at a reasonable level while taking the edge off both left and hard right. Of course, this is the perfect doomsday scenario, a direct path to the slaughter house. But it is the only political course that Capital can imagine.

Khartoum and the Polycrisis

The situation in the Horn of Africa and southern Sahel is a horrific prelude to the coming collapse. And of course there are plenty of other "conflict zones" that can be pointed to in the Caribbean and Middle East and Eastern Europe, but Africa is where the USA and allies have been focused in their failed "war on terror" and illustrates the complete incoherance of Western foreign policy. One might have thought following the debacle of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya there would be some new thinking around "development goals". But no, Capital can only do what Capital does. Which is exploit and extract and accumulate. One might have thought there would be a re-examination of neo-imperialist modes of supporting corrupt autocrats and arming local militias. But no. Imperialists can only think on one level. The fancier the weapon, the more profit there is. One might even think there might be some questioning about starting a new Cold War at a time when climate breakdown will require not just an incredible amount of resources but cooperation between world powers. But no. Liberal capitalist "democracy" only has one playbook, a very worn and tattered and thoroughly discredited playbook, but it requires conflict and competition. The Great Game. In which we are all losers.

Sign of the Times

Reading the front page of the NY Times you learn all you need to know about the ability of capitalist "democracy" / "democratic" capitalism to respond to the climate crisis. One article describes the "heat dome" that is hovering over the southwest and roasting people and planet. Another one talks about the fact we will be blowing past the 1.5 degree goal as global emissions increase. Then there is the article describing the governor of NY city's last minute decision to not implement "congestion pricing" because it might hurt "the economic recovery". Which it would. Any attempt to keep emissions from rising will slow economic growth, which is why no politician can support it. It's why governments can only rely on doomed "green capitalist" measures to try to slow the warming. Another article describes the battle over forestry practices in Oregon, where climate induced drought and heat stress is killing off Douglas Fir trees. The foresters say they have to remove healthy trees ( the ones that store CO2 and give us oxygen) to pay for the thinning of dead trees. It's simple economics. Other articles decribe people in Florida having to raise their houses and others who can't find insurance. There's somehting going on but they don'tknow what it is.