Work and Ecology: Problems with Consumption
Wed, Apr 03
The past half century–and especially the past thirty years–have witnessed the steady capitulation of the “green movement” to the ideology and techniques of global industrial capitalism and its hangers-on. One of the more obvious fruits of this slow (but steady) capitulation is the ubiquitous idea that the global industrial capitalist order will marshal “science” and “technology” to “solve the problem” of the dramatic ecospheric changes with which we are now living. This fantasy is attractive in part because, when we indulge it, we find it easier to imagine that we can maintain our obscenely consumptive “lifestyles” without doing irreparable damage to our landscapes and places and fellow creatures. For today’s class, we ask the question: “Is ‘green capitalism’ all it’s cracked up to be?”
By the end of today’s class, you will:
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have a better understanding of key concepts involved in the critique of “green capitalism,” including greenwashing, non-disruptive disruptions, and affluent consumption;
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begin to reflect on patterns of consumption in your own life; and
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begin to consider how to respond to the crisis of “green capitalism” for the sake of the common good.
Read This:
(Access readings on Perusall)
Primary Reading: Jesse Goldstein, “Non-Disruptive Disruptions: Cleantech and the New Green Spirit of Capitalism”
Secondary Reading: Adrienne Buller, “Green Capitalism Is a Myth” (Tablet Magazine, Aug 2022)
Do This:
After completing the readings for today, consider the following questions (which we will talk about in class):
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What does Goldstein mean by “the New Green Spirit of Capitalism”? How does this spirit manifest in our economy and culture? Do you agree with Buller that “green capitalism is a myth”? Why or why not?