Author: Gene Balfour
Publisher: Eugene C Balfour
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
Should governments have a role in managing Climate Change? Is there a better way? This book answers those questions. Climate Alarmists argue that greenhouse gas emissions pose such a serious threat to humanity that governments must aggressively tax and regulate to curtail every human activity they allege to increase that threat. Skeptics disagree. Scientific evidence doesn’t support the Alarmists’ theory with conclusive data. The man-made global warming concern began in 1992 in the sphere of politics. It's been sustained by politicians and tax-funded institutions globally and domestically. Ongoing fearmongering campaigns has kept the public anxious for a generation. Citizens tacitly submit to the ‘tax and spend’ policies that keep the Climate Change Government Complex (CCGC) growing and profitable. With the unlikely name The Bigfoot Show (’Bigfoot’ is the abbreviated term for the proposal), the author proposes a superior alternative to the CCGC that will reduce industrial CO2 emissions. It will also entertain and educate the public while satisfying Alarmists and Skeptics alike. No government participation will be allowed. Bigfoot is an innovation that, when adopted, will be the first step towards replacing government responsibility for Climate Change and, potentially, for other areas where public sector monopolies exist. Chapter One describes the core failures of the government's approach to Climate Change. Chapter Two lays out the proposal. Chapter Three provides a SWOT+ analysis to explain how the proposal is an evolutionary improvement over the CCGC. The next seven chapters offer a 360-degree look at the entire Climate Change topic -- a highly complex subject with many dimensions and stakeholders. Bigfoot is a practical solution that will get the desired results and do it in a cost-effective, transparent and accountable manner. Modern digital technology will play an important part. In recent years, the pandemic and other crises have pushed public anxiety to historic levels. While we enjoy unprecedented access to information, uncertainty about the future had never been worse especially with our youth. Conspiracy theories arise whenever people are confused by complex issues that affect their lives. The impulse to find satisfying answers drives many to the ‘authorities’. Twenty years ago, we outsourced manufacturing to nations like China, Mexico and India. Today we outsource our critical thinking to designated ‘gurus’ and ‘experts’. If you are interested in people and the choices they make, you will like this book. It raises questions regarding morality, mutual respect, personal responsibility and the freedom to act accordingly, fairness, the dynamics of human communities of both religious and secular natures, creativity, philosophy, leadership and the consequences when it’s lacking, the nature of fiat and digital money as mediums of exchange and stores of wealth. Political leaders can embrace Bigfoot for the public benefits that are achievable with or without their endorsement. Public trust and respect can be restored for political and government leaders. Threats to Canadian sovereignty by globalist entities can be thwarted. A new age of democracy renewal can begin with Bigfoot. Read about some of the most important characters in the Climate Change saga, its authoritarian nature, and its most influential Skeptics. Bigfoot offers hope to all Canadians. It signifies that a viable, democratic and peaceful path out of perhaps the darkest period in our history is finally here!
What to do about Climate Change - A Libertarian Proposal
Author: Gene Balfour
Publisher: Eugene C Balfour
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
Should governments have a role in managing Climate Change? Is there a better way? This book answers those questions. Climate Alarmists argue that greenhouse gas emissions pose such a serious threat to humanity that governments must aggressively tax and regulate to curtail every human activity they allege to increase that threat. Skeptics disagree. Scientific evidence doesn’t support the Alarmists’ theory with conclusive data. The man-made global warming concern began in 1992 in the sphere of politics. It's been sustained by politicians and tax-funded institutions globally and domestically. Ongoing fearmongering campaigns has kept the public anxious for a generation. Citizens tacitly submit to the ‘tax and spend’ policies that keep the Climate Change Government Complex (CCGC) growing and profitable. With the unlikely name The Bigfoot Show (’Bigfoot’ is the abbreviated term for the proposal), the author proposes a superior alternative to the CCGC that will reduce industrial CO2 emissions. It will also entertain and educate the public while satisfying Alarmists and Skeptics alike. No government participation will be allowed. Bigfoot is an innovation that, when adopted, will be the first step towards replacing government responsibility for Climate Change and, potentially, for other areas where public sector monopolies exist. Chapter One describes the core failures of the government's approach to Climate Change. Chapter Two lays out the proposal. Chapter Three provides a SWOT+ analysis to explain how the proposal is an evolutionary improvement over the CCGC. The next seven chapters offer a 360-degree look at the entire Climate Change topic -- a highly complex subject with many dimensions and stakeholders. Bigfoot is a practical solution that will get the desired results and do it in a cost-effective, transparent and accountable manner. Modern digital technology will play an important part. In recent years, the pandemic and other crises have pushed public anxiety to historic levels. While we enjoy unprecedented access to information, uncertainty about the future had never been worse especially with our youth. Conspiracy theories arise whenever people are confused by complex issues that affect their lives. The impulse to find satisfying answers drives many to the ‘authorities’. Twenty years ago, we outsourced manufacturing to nations like China, Mexico and India. Today we outsource our critical thinking to designated ‘gurus’ and ‘experts’. If you are interested in people and the choices they make, you will like this book. It raises questions regarding morality, mutual respect, personal responsibility and the freedom to act accordingly, fairness, the dynamics of human communities of both religious and secular natures, creativity, philosophy, leadership and the consequences when it’s lacking, the nature of fiat and digital money as mediums of exchange and stores of wealth. Political leaders can embrace Bigfoot for the public benefits that are achievable with or without their endorsement. Public trust and respect can be restored for political and government leaders. Threats to Canadian sovereignty by globalist entities can be thwarted. A new age of democracy renewal can begin with Bigfoot. Read about some of the most important characters in the Climate Change saga, its authoritarian nature, and its most influential Skeptics. Bigfoot offers hope to all Canadians. It signifies that a viable, democratic and peaceful path out of perhaps the darkest period in our history is finally here!
Publisher: Eugene C Balfour
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
Should governments have a role in managing Climate Change? Is there a better way? This book answers those questions. Climate Alarmists argue that greenhouse gas emissions pose such a serious threat to humanity that governments must aggressively tax and regulate to curtail every human activity they allege to increase that threat. Skeptics disagree. Scientific evidence doesn’t support the Alarmists’ theory with conclusive data. The man-made global warming concern began in 1992 in the sphere of politics. It's been sustained by politicians and tax-funded institutions globally and domestically. Ongoing fearmongering campaigns has kept the public anxious for a generation. Citizens tacitly submit to the ‘tax and spend’ policies that keep the Climate Change Government Complex (CCGC) growing and profitable. With the unlikely name The Bigfoot Show (’Bigfoot’ is the abbreviated term for the proposal), the author proposes a superior alternative to the CCGC that will reduce industrial CO2 emissions. It will also entertain and educate the public while satisfying Alarmists and Skeptics alike. No government participation will be allowed. Bigfoot is an innovation that, when adopted, will be the first step towards replacing government responsibility for Climate Change and, potentially, for other areas where public sector monopolies exist. Chapter One describes the core failures of the government's approach to Climate Change. Chapter Two lays out the proposal. Chapter Three provides a SWOT+ analysis to explain how the proposal is an evolutionary improvement over the CCGC. The next seven chapters offer a 360-degree look at the entire Climate Change topic -- a highly complex subject with many dimensions and stakeholders. Bigfoot is a practical solution that will get the desired results and do it in a cost-effective, transparent and accountable manner. Modern digital technology will play an important part. In recent years, the pandemic and other crises have pushed public anxiety to historic levels. While we enjoy unprecedented access to information, uncertainty about the future had never been worse especially with our youth. Conspiracy theories arise whenever people are confused by complex issues that affect their lives. The impulse to find satisfying answers drives many to the ‘authorities’. Twenty years ago, we outsourced manufacturing to nations like China, Mexico and India. Today we outsource our critical thinking to designated ‘gurus’ and ‘experts’. If you are interested in people and the choices they make, you will like this book. It raises questions regarding morality, mutual respect, personal responsibility and the freedom to act accordingly, fairness, the dynamics of human communities of both religious and secular natures, creativity, philosophy, leadership and the consequences when it’s lacking, the nature of fiat and digital money as mediums of exchange and stores of wealth. Political leaders can embrace Bigfoot for the public benefits that are achievable with or without their endorsement. Public trust and respect can be restored for political and government leaders. Threats to Canadian sovereignty by globalist entities can be thwarted. A new age of democracy renewal can begin with Bigfoot. Read about some of the most important characters in the Climate Change saga, its authoritarian nature, and its most influential Skeptics. Bigfoot offers hope to all Canadians. It signifies that a viable, democratic and peaceful path out of perhaps the darkest period in our history is finally here!
Adapt and Be Adept
Author: Terry L. Anderson
Publisher: Hoover Press
ISBN: 0817924566
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 145
Book Description
How can markets help us adapt to the challenges of climate change? Editor Terry L. Anderson brings together this collection of essays featuring the work of nine leading policy analysts, who argue that market forces are just as important as government regulation in shaping climate policy—and should be at the heart of our response to helping societies adapt to climate change. Anderson notes in his introduction that most current climate policies such as the Paris Agreement require hard-to-enforce collective action and focus on reducing or mitigating greenhouse gases rather than adapting to their negative effects. Adaptive actions can typically deliver much more, faster and more cheaply than any realistic climate policy. The authors tackle a range of issues: the hidden costs of renewable energy sources, the political obstacles surrounding climate change policy, insurance and financial instruments for pricing risk of exposure to the effects of climate change, and more. Reliance on emerging renewable energies and a carbon tax are not enough to prevent the effects of global warming, they argue. We must encourage more private action and market incentives to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
Publisher: Hoover Press
ISBN: 0817924566
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 145
Book Description
How can markets help us adapt to the challenges of climate change? Editor Terry L. Anderson brings together this collection of essays featuring the work of nine leading policy analysts, who argue that market forces are just as important as government regulation in shaping climate policy—and should be at the heart of our response to helping societies adapt to climate change. Anderson notes in his introduction that most current climate policies such as the Paris Agreement require hard-to-enforce collective action and focus on reducing or mitigating greenhouse gases rather than adapting to their negative effects. Adaptive actions can typically deliver much more, faster and more cheaply than any realistic climate policy. The authors tackle a range of issues: the hidden costs of renewable energy sources, the political obstacles surrounding climate change policy, insurance and financial instruments for pricing risk of exposure to the effects of climate change, and more. Reliance on emerging renewable energies and a carbon tax are not enough to prevent the effects of global warming, they argue. We must encourage more private action and market incentives to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
The Great Libertarian Offer
Author: Harry Browne
Publisher: Liamworks
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
"Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne shows how we can get from today's oversized, $2 trillion federal government to a libertarian America in which you can live as a free person - free to live your life as you think best, not as the politicians want - free to raise your children by your values, not as the bureaucrats demand."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Publisher: Liamworks
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
"Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne shows how we can get from today's oversized, $2 trillion federal government to a libertarian America in which you can live as a free person - free to live your life as you think best, not as the politicians want - free to raise your children by your values, not as the bureaucrats demand."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Why People Believe Weird Things
Author: Michael Shermer
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
ISBN: 1429996765
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
"This sparkling book romps over the range of science and anti-science." --Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel Revised and Expanded Edition. In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, Why People Believe Weird Things debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, "Why Smart People Believe in Weird Things," Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science. Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. Why People Believe Strange Things is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
ISBN: 1429996765
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
"This sparkling book romps over the range of science and anti-science." --Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel Revised and Expanded Edition. In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, Why People Believe Weird Things debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, "Why Smart People Believe in Weird Things," Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science. Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. Why People Believe Strange Things is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.
Free Market Environmentalism
Author: T. Anderson
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0312299737
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243
Book Description
The original edition of this seminal book, published in 1991, introduced the concept of using markets and property rights to protect and improve environmental quality. Since publication, the ideas in this book have been adopted not only by conservative circles but by a wide range of environmental groups. To mention a few examples, Defenders of Wildlife applies the tenets of free market environmentalism to its wolf compensation program; World Wildlife Federation has successfully launched the CAMPFIRE program in southern Africa to reward native villagers who conserve elephants; and the Oregon Water Trust uses water markets to purchase or lease water for salmon and steelhead habitats. This revised edition updates the successful applications of free market environmentalism and adds two new chapters.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0312299737
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243
Book Description
The original edition of this seminal book, published in 1991, introduced the concept of using markets and property rights to protect and improve environmental quality. Since publication, the ideas in this book have been adopted not only by conservative circles but by a wide range of environmental groups. To mention a few examples, Defenders of Wildlife applies the tenets of free market environmentalism to its wolf compensation program; World Wildlife Federation has successfully launched the CAMPFIRE program in southern Africa to reward native villagers who conserve elephants; and the Oregon Water Trust uses water markets to purchase or lease water for salmon and steelhead habitats. This revised edition updates the successful applications of free market environmentalism and adds two new chapters.
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear
Author: Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling
Publisher: Public Affairs
ISBN: 9781541788497
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
A tiny American town's plans for radical self-government overlooked one hairy detail: no one told the bears. Once upon a time, a group of libertarians got together and hatched the Free Town Project, a plan to take over an American town and completely eliminate its government. In 2004, they set their sights on Grafton, NH, a barely populated settlement with one paved road. When they descended on Grafton, public funding for pretty much everything shrank: the fire department, the library, the schoolhouse. State and federal laws became meek suggestions, scarcely heard in the town's thick wilderness. The anything-goes atmosphere soon spread into the neighboring woods. Freedom-loving citizens ignored hunting laws and regulations on food disposal. They built a tent city in an effort to get off the grid. And it all caught the attention of Grafton's neighbors: the bears. A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear is the sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying tale of what happens when a government disappears into the woods. Complete with gunplay, adventure, and backstabbing politicians, this is the ultimate story of a quintessential American experiment -- to live free or die, perhaps from a bear.
Publisher: Public Affairs
ISBN: 9781541788497
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
A tiny American town's plans for radical self-government overlooked one hairy detail: no one told the bears. Once upon a time, a group of libertarians got together and hatched the Free Town Project, a plan to take over an American town and completely eliminate its government. In 2004, they set their sights on Grafton, NH, a barely populated settlement with one paved road. When they descended on Grafton, public funding for pretty much everything shrank: the fire department, the library, the schoolhouse. State and federal laws became meek suggestions, scarcely heard in the town's thick wilderness. The anything-goes atmosphere soon spread into the neighboring woods. Freedom-loving citizens ignored hunting laws and regulations on food disposal. They built a tent city in an effort to get off the grid. And it all caught the attention of Grafton's neighbors: the bears. A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear is the sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying tale of what happens when a government disappears into the woods. Complete with gunplay, adventure, and backstabbing politicians, this is the ultimate story of a quintessential American experiment -- to live free or die, perhaps from a bear.
The Governance of Climate Change
Author: David Held
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745637833
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 391
Book Description
Climate change poses one of the greatest challenges for human society in the twenty-first century, yet there is a major disconnect between our actions to deal with it and the gravity of the threat it implies. In a world where the fate of countries is increasingly intertwined, how should we think about, and accordingly, how should we manage, the types of risk posed by anthropogenic climate change? The problem is multi-faceted, and involves not only technical and policy specific approaches, but also questions of social justice and sustainability. In this volume the editors have assembled a unique range of contributors who together examine the intersection between the science, politics, economics and ethics of climate change. The book includes perspectives from some of the world's foremost commentators in their fields, ranging from leading scientists to political theorists, to high profile policymakers and practitioners. They offer a critical new approach to thinking about climate change, and help express a common desire for a more equitable society and a more sustainable way of life.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745637833
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 391
Book Description
Climate change poses one of the greatest challenges for human society in the twenty-first century, yet there is a major disconnect between our actions to deal with it and the gravity of the threat it implies. In a world where the fate of countries is increasingly intertwined, how should we think about, and accordingly, how should we manage, the types of risk posed by anthropogenic climate change? The problem is multi-faceted, and involves not only technical and policy specific approaches, but also questions of social justice and sustainability. In this volume the editors have assembled a unique range of contributors who together examine the intersection between the science, politics, economics and ethics of climate change. The book includes perspectives from some of the world's foremost commentators in their fields, ranging from leading scientists to political theorists, to high profile policymakers and practitioners. They offer a critical new approach to thinking about climate change, and help express a common desire for a more equitable society and a more sustainable way of life.
What's Wrong with Climate Politics and How to Fix It
Author: Paul G. Harris
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745670431
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306
Book Description
Governments have failed to stem global emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases causing climate change. Indeed, climate-changing pollution is increasing globally, and will do so for decades to come without far more aggressive action. What explains this failure to effectively tackle one of the world's most serious problems? And what can we do about it? To answer these questions, Paul G. Harris looks at climate politics as a doctor might look at a very sick patient. He performs urgent diagnoses and prescribes vital treatments to revive our ailing planet before it's too late. The book begins by diagnosing what’s most wrong with climate politics, including the anachronistic international system, which encourages nations to fight for their narrowly perceived interests and makes major cuts in greenhouse pollution extraordinarily difficult; the deadlock between the United States and China, which together produce over one-third of global greenhouse gas pollution but do little more than demand that the other act first; and affluent lifestyles and overconsumption, which are spreading rapidly from industrialized nations to the developing world. The book then prescribes several "remedies" for the failed politics of climate change, including a new kind of climate diplomacy with people at its center, national policies that put the common but differentiated responsibilities of individuals alongside those of nations, and a campaign for simultaneously enhancing human wellbeing and environmental sustainability. While these treatments are aspirational, they are not intended to be utopian. As Harris shows, they are genuine, workable solutions to what ails the politics of climate change today.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745670431
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306
Book Description
Governments have failed to stem global emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases causing climate change. Indeed, climate-changing pollution is increasing globally, and will do so for decades to come without far more aggressive action. What explains this failure to effectively tackle one of the world's most serious problems? And what can we do about it? To answer these questions, Paul G. Harris looks at climate politics as a doctor might look at a very sick patient. He performs urgent diagnoses and prescribes vital treatments to revive our ailing planet before it's too late. The book begins by diagnosing what’s most wrong with climate politics, including the anachronistic international system, which encourages nations to fight for their narrowly perceived interests and makes major cuts in greenhouse pollution extraordinarily difficult; the deadlock between the United States and China, which together produce over one-third of global greenhouse gas pollution but do little more than demand that the other act first; and affluent lifestyles and overconsumption, which are spreading rapidly from industrialized nations to the developing world. The book then prescribes several "remedies" for the failed politics of climate change, including a new kind of climate diplomacy with people at its center, national policies that put the common but differentiated responsibilities of individuals alongside those of nations, and a campaign for simultaneously enhancing human wellbeing and environmental sustainability. While these treatments are aspirational, they are not intended to be utopian. As Harris shows, they are genuine, workable solutions to what ails the politics of climate change today.
Merchants of Doubt
Author: Naomi Oreskes
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408828774
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
The U.S. scientific community has long led the world in research on such areas as public health, environmental science, and issues affecting quality of life. These scientists have produced landmark studies on the dangers of DDT, tobacco smoke, acid rain, and global warming. But at the same time, a small yet potent subset of this community leads the world in vehement denial of these dangers. Merchants of Doubt tells the story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. Remarkably, the same individuals surface repeatedly-some of the same figures who have claimed that the science of global warming is "not settled" denied the truth of studies linking smoking to lung cancer, coal smoke to acid rain, and CFCs to the ozone hole. "Doubt is our product," wrote one tobacco executive. These "experts" supplied it. Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, historians of science, roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how ideology and corporate interests, aided by a too-compliant media, have skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era.
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408828774
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
The U.S. scientific community has long led the world in research on such areas as public health, environmental science, and issues affecting quality of life. These scientists have produced landmark studies on the dangers of DDT, tobacco smoke, acid rain, and global warming. But at the same time, a small yet potent subset of this community leads the world in vehement denial of these dangers. Merchants of Doubt tells the story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. Remarkably, the same individuals surface repeatedly-some of the same figures who have claimed that the science of global warming is "not settled" denied the truth of studies linking smoking to lung cancer, coal smoke to acid rain, and CFCs to the ozone hole. "Doubt is our product," wrote one tobacco executive. These "experts" supplied it. Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, historians of science, roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how ideology and corporate interests, aided by a too-compliant media, have skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era.
Affluence and Freedom
Author: Pierre Charbonnier
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509543732
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 271
Book Description
In this pathbreaking book, Pierre Charbonnier opens up a new intellectual terrain: an environmental history of political ideas. His aim is not to locate the seeds of ecological thought in the history of political ideas as others have done, but rather to show that all political ideas, whether or not they endorse ecological ideals, are informed by a certain conception of our relationship to the Earth and to our environment. The fundamental political categories of modernity were founded on the idea that we could improve on nature, that we could exert a decisive victory over its excesses and claim unlimited access to earthly resources. In this way, modern thinkers imagined a political society of free individuals, equal and prosperous, alongside the development of industry geared towards progress and liberated from the Earth’s shackles. Yet this pact between democracy and growth has now been called into question by climate change and the environmental crisis. It is therefore our duty today to rethink political emancipation, bearing in mind that this can no longer draw on the prospect of infinite growth promised by industrial capitalism. Ecology must draw on the power harnessed by nineteenth-century socialism to respond to the massive impact of industrialization, but it must also rethink the imperative to offer protection to society by taking account of the solidarity of social groups and their conditions in a world transformed by climate change. This timely and original work of social and political theory will be of interest to a wide readership in politics, sociology, environmental studies and the social sciences and humanities generally.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509543732
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 271
Book Description
In this pathbreaking book, Pierre Charbonnier opens up a new intellectual terrain: an environmental history of political ideas. His aim is not to locate the seeds of ecological thought in the history of political ideas as others have done, but rather to show that all political ideas, whether or not they endorse ecological ideals, are informed by a certain conception of our relationship to the Earth and to our environment. The fundamental political categories of modernity were founded on the idea that we could improve on nature, that we could exert a decisive victory over its excesses and claim unlimited access to earthly resources. In this way, modern thinkers imagined a political society of free individuals, equal and prosperous, alongside the development of industry geared towards progress and liberated from the Earth’s shackles. Yet this pact between democracy and growth has now been called into question by climate change and the environmental crisis. It is therefore our duty today to rethink political emancipation, bearing in mind that this can no longer draw on the prospect of infinite growth promised by industrial capitalism. Ecology must draw on the power harnessed by nineteenth-century socialism to respond to the massive impact of industrialization, but it must also rethink the imperative to offer protection to society by taking account of the solidarity of social groups and their conditions in a world transformed by climate change. This timely and original work of social and political theory will be of interest to a wide readership in politics, sociology, environmental studies and the social sciences and humanities generally.