Capitalism, Climate, and Conflict

Presenter Information

Erin Quinn, James Madison University

Date

April 2020

Description

The idea of capitalism, as interpreted by American society, has evolved into a decidedly consumer mindset. Businesses work to create the greatest output while achieving producer surplus, and consumers search for the greatest benefits in a supply and demand market. Our society is trapped in a dead-end of planned obsolescence and consumerism. Because of this we are creating greater social costs than we realize due to negative externalities associated with our actions. This leads to a great conflict between economic success and the protection of our environment. Long term costs need to be evaluated in order to achieve sustainability and allow future generations to live healthy lifestyles. Political ecology has shown that if our actions continue our environment could be unforgiving to us in the future. The intersection of politics and environmental science with economics is becoming increasingly more important in learning how to create efficient solutions to these problems and work towards effective environmental management.

Comments

This poster based on an individual research project.

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Poster

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Capitalism, Climate, and Conflict

The idea of capitalism, as interpreted by American society, has evolved into a decidedly consumer mindset. Businesses work to create the greatest output while achieving producer surplus, and consumers search for the greatest benefits in a supply and demand market. Our society is trapped in a dead-end of planned obsolescence and consumerism. Because of this we are creating greater social costs than we realize due to negative externalities associated with our actions. This leads to a great conflict between economic success and the protection of our environment. Long term costs need to be evaluated in order to achieve sustainability and allow future generations to live healthy lifestyles. Political ecology has shown that if our actions continue our environment could be unforgiving to us in the future. The intersection of politics and environmental science with economics is becoming increasingly more important in learning how to create efficient solutions to these problems and work towards effective environmental management.