Monthly Archives: January 2008
Green Puritanism or green realism? Frank Furedi on environmentalism
Frank Furedi, sociologist, political guru, and much else besides, writes an occasional column called “Really Bad Ideas” on the Spiked website. In his column, Furedi offers cultural and political criticism on issues as diverse as “The tyranny of science” and … Continue reading
Filed under David, green politics
An ecosocialist critique of sustainable development: maintaining growth through sustainable degradation
Karl Marx’s ideas about economic crises addressed the circumstances of 19th century capitalist development. In his critique, he identified an inherent contradiction in capitalism: a situation in which exploited and underpaid workers are unable to consume everything that is being … Continue reading
Filed under capitalism, David, sustainability
Economists are more selfish
In the early 1980s, a famous piece of research by Gerald Marwell and Ruth Ames (summarised here) suggested that economics graduates were more inclined than others to ‘free-ride’ on public goods by taking the benefits of public goods but failing … Continue reading
Filed under David, economic analysis
Green capitalism: road to serfdom, road to participatory economics, or road to nowhere?
Many people in the environmental movement believe that the economy can be successfully ‘greened’. Assuming this ‘greening’ expresses a real desire for substantive change (ie, it’s not just a marketing exercise), some important questions must be asked. For example, just … Continue reading
Filed under capitalism, David, green politics
The changing face of eco-politics
In the 1980s, environmental politics developed a set of fundamental assumptions heavily influenced by socialist humanism. This socialist perspective was a radical break with the benign authoritarianism that had dominated eco-political thinking in the previous decade; while there were some … Continue reading
Filed under David, green politics
