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Recent Articles about International EnvironmentCapitalism Is the Disaster Mar 23 23 The burning issue Sep 14 22 Capitalism can’t stop Climate Change Jan 04 22 Developing Working Class Environmentalism
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Tuesday August 16, 2005 20:32 by Arthur J Millar - NAF
Just as workers want better pay, so they should want better environmental conditions. Those first exposed to the hazards of industrial production are workers. The next to be exposed are communities of the oppressed (poor workers, African-Americans, Indigenous peoples). When was the last time you saw the owners of industry living next to a chemical plant?
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4We are conditioned to look only a few years into the future (Many cultures one is taught to be insane trying to plan two decades in advance), but because of the long list of enviromental issues (even the mainstream press highlight a faction a these, scary times indeed) we have no choice anymore but to take longterm action for solutions about these issues. If mankind is going to engineer his/her survival its going to be RADICAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and hopefully not in a fascist way.
Enviromentalists don't drive cars
...and that's why we need working-class environmentalism.....
..and I bet they don´t use computers either. Or frigde, mobile phone, artificial clothing, tv, cooker, and so on, and so on.
Sorry, for beeing so crass. It´s just that the environmental disaster is a corollary of the systemic disaster. And thus it has to be dealt with on a systemic level, not a personal level.
It´s like, "Ok, I hate the undemocratic way workplaces is organized!", so what do I do: I go on a one man strike or just quit my job altogether. You think that changes a lot? -NO! (because the way the workplaces are organized is also a systemic characteristic.) The only thing I´ll achieve is to get rid of my wage.
It´s the same thing with the environment. We can´t just turn away from the fundamental driving forces of the capitalist system, and choose to opt out of it to clear our conscience. All one achieves with that is a more burdensome life, while the same systemic driving forces keep a steady course towards ecocide. Then I guess we could walk on the pavement -cough from the thick exhaust, while seeing the cars rush past- and we can think "At least, I am acting in an ecologically sensible way". (What a relief, huh!).
Neither is even a mere possibility of most people of the earth, who have to work -and also consume in environmental unfriendly ways- just to sustain. To be strictly honest: this is only a shortsighted and non-viable way for middle/upper-class people, to buy some false conscience.
If ecocide is to be stopped, we need to go to the roots of all (well, most anyway) the problems our society faces: the undemocratic workplace.
It´s both here we´re exploited, bored to death and continually produce environmental disasters, and it´s here the exploitation and environmental disasters can end.
Now, the oligarchy of big shareholders and the leaders who run their business for them, profits when we work more for less. If we would democratically decide over our (well, theirs) workplaces we would of course profit from working less, for more.
And while capitalists -the extreme(ist) minority- gains competitive advantages of cost cutting (by for instance choosing not to clean the gasses their factories produce), we workers -the extreme majority- would gain co-operative advantages (by for instance choosing to clean the gasses the factories produce).
My conclusion is that attempts of personal escape from this insane system is futile. While collective resistance, manifested in a movement for ultra>democratic workplaces is the only viable solution.
I find this topic important. There is indeed a greater cause for alarm on environmental matters, while this may not sound convincingly enough for majority of 1st world countries, our situation here in the far eastern side of Asia seems to head into tragedy. Our resources heavily exploited and over used by Corporations and even those who claim to be lesser-evil types of all sorts, who makes use of the raw materials to become products? This is in no way to put blame to the workers, but looking in a different way we could understand how these all works? the working people obediently acts to oil the machinery of production. If the next day we have one last piece of tree left out there and everything was used up for the consumption, convenience, salary etc of those who refuse to act to destroy the machines of slavery thats doomsday which would tell everyone all to regret the past is no use. We could no longer complain and grieve in our situation here, we want our lives back, the tribal/indigenous communities pushes further and further away from their own lands only to be caught in the crossfires between right and left wing army in the country side - the attack of wild animals against rural communities is the result of mankind's domestication. Our lack of literacy and being less develop nations makes us vulnerable to these kinds of oppression but we are still hopeful that people across the world could come together and help people of color living far and away to help save what we come to know as our home (the trees/mountains....)