Climate Change and Why Finding a Sustainable Alternative to Capitalism Remains Paramount

The world is in an ecological crisis, there is no doubt about that. It’s been this one ongoing crisis and while there usually is a trend in statistical findings about temperature and weather patterns, the changes that started in the 1800’s Industrial Revolution has been primarily driven by human activity during which the atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen drastically . And it might just keep getting worse if we don’t do something about it. 

Photo caption: (A photo from science.nasa.gov regarding the increase of CO2 in our atmosphere to help see how much things have changed.) 

According to NASA, our temperature’s been the warmest in the last decade alone (it has been recorded that the average surface temperature has risen to about 1 degree Celsius), but it has been occurring for at least the past 40 years, since the Industrial Revolution. This has caused our ocean to grow warmer than it previously had the years prior; and even more alarming than that is the shrinking polar ice caps and snow cover, which in turn has caused the sea level to rise to about 8 inches in the last century. It might seem like an insignificant number but in the grand scheme of things, it can have distressing consequences. There are numerous organisms frozen inside these ice caps, and the melting of these glaciers could mean fatal diseases. 

And the primary driver of all these climate changes we’re seeing today is human activity. Before the 19th century, carbon emissions have been relatively stable but with the start of the Industrial Revolution, emissions have steadily increased from fossils fuels and the industry. Capitalism today has been heavily relying on fossil fuels to operate, and therein the need for an alternative arises even more so. 

The effects that we are seeing now in our environment is the reason why alternatives to capitalism or at the very least, fixing the system, remains paramount. From the website, we’ve seen two alternatives that advocate for sustainable development: degrowth comes up as a radical movement that goes against capitalism, challenging the non-stop growth it has been showing for the past decades. Evolved capitalism on the other side, builds upon capitalism, it advocates for a renewed change, rather than the complete dismantling of the system that’s deeply ingrained in our society. It advocates for both the people and the environment. The fact that there are already two alternatives to the colossal presence of capitalism means we’re a step closer to healing our world, but just barely.  

Let’s take this one step further. Let’s zoom the lenses into the degrowth and emphasize the overconsumption we are taking part in. We have to be doing the new things, buying the new things, consuming things, and yes, I admit I am a part of that crowd. But there should be a certain limit to how much we should consume. Deconsumerism or deconsumption is the opposite of the culture that we’ve fostered in this capitalistic world. Deconsumerism is consciously limiting one’s buying and consuming activities so the demands lower, and thus the supply. People of all age group question get into discussions about it online, a reddit conversation showcases discussions of how consumerism is unsustainable, with varying voices of opinions. “I don't disagree, but how do you define too much and who decides,” one commentor said. Indeed, how much is too much? Who’s the judge of how much is acceptable? 

These changes seem too radical, but do you think we need do this? Is there any other alternative you would want to see? 

References: 

Dana Bolles. (2024, April). Evidence - NASA science. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/evidence/  

Masterson, V. (2022b, June 15). Degrowth: What’s behind this economic theory and why it matters Today. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/what-is-degrowth-economics-climate-change/