Task 5 - Sustainability & Capitalism

Read the text- Balser, E (2008) 'Capital Accumulation, Sustainability & Hamilton Ontario'. We have copies in the CTS office, 115.

Write a 500 word critical summary of the text which explicitly adresses the following questions

1. How is sustainability defined in the text?
2. What are the main characteristics or tendencies of Capitalism
3. Define a 'crisis of Capitalism'. Offer an example.
4. What solutions have been offered to the sustainability question? Are these successful or realistic? - If not why are they flawed?
5. Is the concept of sustainability compatible with Capitalism?

Sustainability is described in the text as a communal concept, needing everyone to buy into it and play their own role to make it a reality.  It is often separated into inter- and intra generational within the social, environmental, economic, moral and political spheres of society. Essentially, every part of our communal society as a whole needs to strive towards an environmentally conscious world, and acting in a sustainable way. There are a multitude of problems affecting the realisation of a fully sustainable world, namely the breadth and scale of the problems which have arisen from the changes needed to made to make the world sustainable. And the fact that there is a large part of the global community who do not have the funds or the technology available to them to make it a reality. 

Capitalism  is a forever widening sphere, it cannot exist without growth. Capital accumulating is never-ending, and, as a result, it is constantly looking for things to commoditise. It does this by taking over non-capital markets or intensifying existing ones. It is, in fact, nothing to do with sustainability but uses it’s ideals to gain a profit from a gullible market.

An example of a ‘crisis of capitalism’ would be the ever-present ecological crisis (global warming). The West has created this problem with their relentless use of fuel and oil and are now telling the world through the mass-media that we need to solve this crisis. Essentially getting people to generate a solution to a problem they have not created. The capitalist society are ‘greenwashing’ the world, opening up a whole new market to feed off the greedy consumer culture. Capitalism is essentially making a profit out of a global crisis. 

In response to this ecological crisis due to our sheer consumption of oil, bio-diesel has been created. It is designed to work in regular diesel engines and is formulated out of waste products (namely vegetable and animal fats), it is deemed ecologically friendly due to the fact that it is recycling waste products to replace a harmful substance with a ‘greener’ alternative. However, it is not widely- available and a lot more expensive than traditional fuel/diesel, again, capitalism using this crisis to make a profit. Not only this, but the largest manufacturer of the fuel are proposing a plant in a place where it would be harmful to human life surrounding it. Sacrificing human equality and essentially causing more problems than it is solving. 

The text outlines theories by different scientists basically proving to us that, without the money and technology, sustainability is unrealistic. A capitalistic approach to sustainability is the only way in which it can become a reality, but that excludes the countries and communities which cannot afford the ever-growing advances in technology that are essentially needed to make it so. Even the more affluent consumers are caught in a cycle, with the ever-evolving capitalist market releasing more and more products to appeal to the masses to make the world “sustainable”, they will constantly have to change the way they live and spend more and more money to give future generations a chance at a life.

Essentially, the changes that are needed are so vast and spread across such a large array of different communities making it unprofitable, that it is easier to just stay in the environmentally damaging, affordable rut we have dug for ourselves.