"Resisting pipeline projects across the globe is the obvious and rational thing to do. However, due to the hegemonic domination of capitalist ideology, we are told we are 'irrational, emotive simpletons who don't understand how economics and profit work,'" Esler writes. (Photo: Peg Hunter/Flickr/cc)
Who Are the Extremists? Who Are the Rational Ones?
The logic of neoliberal reason gives us liberal leaders who lie to our faces telling us we can extract and pump out tarsand bitumen and still make a safe energy transition.
These are strange times.
What do you do when the political/economic consensus in no way reflects the scientific consensus and all its policy implications? Well, people have a choice: to resist the political consensus and try to create a new one, or to ignore the policy implications of the IPCC reports findings and to distract themselves with other things.
Such is the state of global capitalism today that despite many liberal political and business leaders claiming to believe in global warming, they seem to believe in free market fundamentalism and the public subsidy of the fossil fuel industry even more. (An odd ideological contradiction in and of itself.) The truth is, in dealing with any major social crisis where uncertainty or losing is not an option, state planning, public investment, and tight control of markets is needed on a major scale.
Every liberal capitalist nation turned to state planned investment and put markets on hold in order to mobilize labor and capital towards the social necessity of defeating fascism/Nazism during the Second World War. We need a similar movement today to subsidize clean energy research, ban fossil fuel extraction, and build clean energy infrastructure that the market left alone will currently not allow.
Unfortunately for the planet and all its most vulnerable people, the logic of neoliberal reason makes this obvious solution an impossibility. It gives us liberal leaders who lie to our faces telling us we can extract and pump out tarsand bitumen and still make a safe energy transition that keeps the world under 1.5c. It gives us corporate media that does not point out these obvious lies, systemically filtering out dissent that would risk challenging the fundamental logic of capital.
Resisting pipeline projects across the globe is the obvious and rational thing to do. However, due to the hegemonic domination of capitalist ideology, we are told we are "irrational, emotive simpletons who don't understand how economics and profit work."
In fact, we understand perfectly well; what we don't accept is the starting premise that this current economic status quo is forever and always the optimal solution to every social problem.
It clearly isn't, and this should become obvious after a short amount of time is allotted to some basic research and sober reflection on the facts.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
These are strange times.
What do you do when the political/economic consensus in no way reflects the scientific consensus and all its policy implications? Well, people have a choice: to resist the political consensus and try to create a new one, or to ignore the policy implications of the IPCC reports findings and to distract themselves with other things.
Such is the state of global capitalism today that despite many liberal political and business leaders claiming to believe in global warming, they seem to believe in free market fundamentalism and the public subsidy of the fossil fuel industry even more. (An odd ideological contradiction in and of itself.) The truth is, in dealing with any major social crisis where uncertainty or losing is not an option, state planning, public investment, and tight control of markets is needed on a major scale.
Every liberal capitalist nation turned to state planned investment and put markets on hold in order to mobilize labor and capital towards the social necessity of defeating fascism/Nazism during the Second World War. We need a similar movement today to subsidize clean energy research, ban fossil fuel extraction, and build clean energy infrastructure that the market left alone will currently not allow.
Unfortunately for the planet and all its most vulnerable people, the logic of neoliberal reason makes this obvious solution an impossibility. It gives us liberal leaders who lie to our faces telling us we can extract and pump out tarsand bitumen and still make a safe energy transition that keeps the world under 1.5c. It gives us corporate media that does not point out these obvious lies, systemically filtering out dissent that would risk challenging the fundamental logic of capital.
Resisting pipeline projects across the globe is the obvious and rational thing to do. However, due to the hegemonic domination of capitalist ideology, we are told we are "irrational, emotive simpletons who don't understand how economics and profit work."
In fact, we understand perfectly well; what we don't accept is the starting premise that this current economic status quo is forever and always the optimal solution to every social problem.
It clearly isn't, and this should become obvious after a short amount of time is allotted to some basic research and sober reflection on the facts.
These are strange times.
What do you do when the political/economic consensus in no way reflects the scientific consensus and all its policy implications? Well, people have a choice: to resist the political consensus and try to create a new one, or to ignore the policy implications of the IPCC reports findings and to distract themselves with other things.
Such is the state of global capitalism today that despite many liberal political and business leaders claiming to believe in global warming, they seem to believe in free market fundamentalism and the public subsidy of the fossil fuel industry even more. (An odd ideological contradiction in and of itself.) The truth is, in dealing with any major social crisis where uncertainty or losing is not an option, state planning, public investment, and tight control of markets is needed on a major scale.
Every liberal capitalist nation turned to state planned investment and put markets on hold in order to mobilize labor and capital towards the social necessity of defeating fascism/Nazism during the Second World War. We need a similar movement today to subsidize clean energy research, ban fossil fuel extraction, and build clean energy infrastructure that the market left alone will currently not allow.
Unfortunately for the planet and all its most vulnerable people, the logic of neoliberal reason makes this obvious solution an impossibility. It gives us liberal leaders who lie to our faces telling us we can extract and pump out tarsand bitumen and still make a safe energy transition that keeps the world under 1.5c. It gives us corporate media that does not point out these obvious lies, systemically filtering out dissent that would risk challenging the fundamental logic of capital.
Resisting pipeline projects across the globe is the obvious and rational thing to do. However, due to the hegemonic domination of capitalist ideology, we are told we are "irrational, emotive simpletons who don't understand how economics and profit work."
In fact, we understand perfectly well; what we don't accept is the starting premise that this current economic status quo is forever and always the optimal solution to every social problem.
It clearly isn't, and this should become obvious after a short amount of time is allotted to some basic research and sober reflection on the facts.