Foundations for destruction

JEFF CHORNEY

Despite scarcity, capitalism preaches exponential growth as the method for improving our lives. With limited resources, our finite planet continuously challenges the capitalist agenda, but ultra-modern technologies yield expanding production possibilities, temporarily offering new ways around shortages.

With profit maximization and increased consumption generating the bulk of capital for a few, externalities (defined as a “cost or a benefit that arises from production and falls on someone other than the producer, or a cost or benefit that arises from consumption and falls on someone other than the consumer” by economists Michael Parkin and Robin Bade) are felt by communities and ecosystems, which now have fewer resources for their own use. Next quarter’s profits and share prices rather than responsible management of resource stocks means that increasing human demands lead to permanent depletion of certain resources.

Businesses will continue to cut, catch, mine or burn until it becomes too expensive to do so and can no longer make profits. It is only then that these businesses will look for alternative ways of profiting. By this time however, the resources are so depleted that they are often unable to replenish their stocks.

Clear-cutting, by far the most cost-effective logging method, at least in the very short term, proved to be much more attractive than time-consuming selective cutting, even though clear-cut forests lead to habitat loss, soil erosion, reduced soil fertility, and much smaller trees for the next cut. Redwoods, one of the most impressive trees, growing to between 90 and 111 metres (as tall as the tallest buildings in Manitoba), and sequoias, the largest and heaviest life form known to have ever existed (31 meters in circumference, 84 metres tall, 1,385 tons, and living for 2,200 years), were almost lost forever to the greed of private lumber companies. Establishing three separate national parks to protect the trees finally controlled the logging of giant redwood and sequoia forests in California, almost entirely depleted by the 1900s.

Obviously, businesses could take the initiative and practice sustainable resource management. After all, it is businesses that contribute the lion’s share of the world’s destruction. The best solution would be to mandate that renewable resource stocks be replenished before more is harvested, but this would be difficult considering that capitalists are competing against one another to make the most money, through the fastest, cheapest ways possible. These capitalist goals can’t possibly lead to respect for biodiversity and human culture — can they?

Unfortunately not, since capitalists and governments demand positive economic growth year after year, and resources can only reproduce so fast, current capitalist demands will destroy creatures and cultures alike.

As populations grow, and consumption increases, materials decrease in abundance, and costs skyrocket. With limits to how many inexpensive markets remain to be created and how much cheap labour remains to be exploited, one would think that changing wasteful consuming behaviors to sustainable consumption practices based on what can be used without decreasing the productive capacities for future generations would be a priority, but it isn’t.

What should be advertised instead of consumerism is the survival of our planet and its splendor. If we don’t, it will get more difficult to exist, especially if we are constantly demanding more from dwindling resources. If we continue to be convinced to buy and use things that we don’t need, a very small amount of wealthy people who can’t imagine living without riches will continue to live a prodigal life-style and wealth will remain in the hands of the few to the detriment of the many. As long as people feed into the consumer mentality of using needless goods and services, our planet will continue to be deprived of its biological and cultural diversity.

The world has chosen to consume more today and leave less for tomorrow. This

tradeoff, consistently chosen for thousands of years has had disastrous results for those who choose to live this way. The Roman Empire had this philosophy, and so did the British. Over-ambitious and overextended, their desire for exponential resources and wealth reached its limit and these mighty civilizations began their decline from power. After countless conquests and colonization of distant lands, the British Empire controls England and Wales, not Canada, Australia, and all the rest of the distant colonies once established as property of the Crown through imperialism; and the Roman Empire controls Italy, not most of Europe and the Middle East as it once did long ago.

The constant desire for more wealth and pleasures; land, property, resources and control over people ultimately culminated in these empires’ downfall as resources have limits and increasing demands exceeded the supplies available. Today, Britain and Italy are left with only memories and relics of their terrific civilizations, and they control a fraction of the land and vast diversity of resources they once called their own.

The capitalist economic system will continue to threaten our finite planet as long as there are people in the world’s countries that think competing against one another in a race to turn every available piece of matter on the planet into a commodity to be bought and sold is the right formula for our species’ survival. If we allow ourselves to be controlled by greed for riches and temporary gratification we will move closer and closer to our own destruction as we are unable to stop ourselves from depleting everything that ever meant anything to us in the first place, but by choosing carefully what we demand from the market and who will supply us with these goods and services, we can spend our money and time wisely, ensuring the survivability of our species and the ecosphere.

Jeff Chorney is a third-year psychology student at the University of Manitoba.