It is widely argued that one of the primary causes of environmental decline worldwide is the structural need of capitalist economies to grow, leading to ever more withdrawals from the bank account of ecological productivity. What are the structural origins of the need for capitalist economies to grow? Note: The best answers will cover the role of both production and consumption in explaining the need for economic growth.
What will be an ideal response?
Capitalism has a fundamental contradiction: Workers have to be paid less than
what they make, so capitalists can make more. But how will the worker make enough to
buy the products that are produced via capitalism? This is the problem of the original
capitalist. The worker must be paid less than the cost of producing the product for the
capitalist to survive, while the worker must consume enough to keep driving the
production of goods. This means that capitalists often have certain regulations and rules
implemented to keep their competitive edge, which results in the generalization of the
market. For example, they might lobby for to repeal rules that protect workers or the
environment to keep competitive, indeed to work around the problem of the original
capitalist. This momentum toward economic growth, economic inequality, and
environmental sidelining results from the treadmill of production. One must continue to
produce more through increased growth and production with increased environmental
consequences, and increased inequality.
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What major industrial power currently generates 20% of its total energy budget from renewable resources?
A) Denmark B) Great Britain C) Germany D) United States E) China
After the Gulf of Mexico began to form in the Late Triassic, the shallow restricted basin became the site of extensive
____________________ deposition. Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
A soil developed in a climate of moderate temperature and rainfall would most likely have clay concentrated in the:
a. A horizon b. B horizon c. C horizon d. all of the above
What are three methods that scientists use to gather data about historical temperatures?
What will be an ideal response?