‘Suicidal’ model of capitalism leading to war and fascism, climate summit told
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/29/capitalism-colombia-climate-summit-gustavo-petro
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/29/capitalism-colombia-climate-summit-gustavo-petro
14 Comments
TheHighRoad@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 144d
TIL that capitalism didn't exist before we started using oil. The problem is so obvious, it's like the whole world has Stockholm syndrome toward the oil companies. We all stand complicit.
Juice@midwest.social · 1 pts · 143d
Its not clear to me what you think the obvious problem is. Oil companies? How are we all complicit when youre saying the problem is one very small group?
TheHighRoad@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 143d
The stranglehold oil has on the entire world is staggering. On one hand it brings amazing technology and possibilities, so we all lap it up. However, it really does seem to be the root of so many economic problems, which cause myriad other issues. We all, to some degree, pull a "Doesn't look like anything to me..." when it comes to admitting our dependence on oil.
We are addicts.
Juice@midwest.social · 1 pts · 143d
Who are we? Like why am I accused of being addicted to oil? I'm not part of that, I don't make those decisions. Neither do you, or you would change it, as would I. What do you or I have to do with the price of oil, or where wars get started that drive the prices for it up? And when the prices go up -- who gets rich, and who gets screwed?
Its the corporations and militaries that do like 80-90% of pollution. We aren't addicted to power because we don't have any, except a few gallons of fuel per week, maybe, if you can afford it.
Its a little late to be giving the malaise speech. The only sane environmentalism is Socialist De-Growth.
TheHighRoad@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 143d
It's not really malaise; if there was a societal will in this country we would pass laws mandating green energy adoption. But we, as a society, do not. You or I may not have much individual impact, but the government and corporations are us when you get down to it. We all stand complicit because as a collective we do not want to experience the pain of giving up our luxury.
Edit: By we I refer to American citizens.
Juice@midwest.social · 1 pts · 143d
How are the governments and corporations "us" when we have no real say in government?
TheHighRoad@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 142d
I'm note quite cynical enough to believe our votes are totally meaningless... yet. And if it comes to that, it's our job to overthrow our oppressors by any means necessary. I think our discontent will spread over time until eventually reaching a critical mass. Every person living today except the (extremely elderly) has grown up in a "peaceful" world built on a foundation of death and suffering. It is our collective failure that has allowed it all to collapse, and it will be our collective responsibility to one day correct it.
Juice@midwest.social · 1 pts · 141d
I want rid of this awful system, but I don't believe votes are meaningless. And I don't believe that changing this current system necessarily leads to a worse one. One of the main problems is that our voting system really isn't that democratic. The solution is more democracy, not getting rid of it for new flavors of authoritarianism. In fact member-led party democracy is one of the only defenses that a mass org has against infiltrators and sabotage.
In case I am reading your comment correctly, the idea that revolutions are necessarily atrocious, bloody, mass-murder sprees is something that benefits the ruling class. Its two sided: that the world would be worse if they weren't running it, and that because their revolutions were necessarily bloody and head-choppy, that the workers revolution would be worse, because workers are worse than capitalists. We are made to internalize a huge amount of self hate, because
And the capitalists have to oppose the workers.
Workers are basically everyone who isn't a capitalist owner, and maybe some people who are small capitalists, like owner-operated small businesses. Except the capitalists love war and death. The workers hate it. No genuine mass worker revolution has ever been nearly as bloody as the capitalist war.
Maybe I just think I can have cake and eat it. But I'm no dummy, and I'm not alone. While overthrowing the ruling class will surely be a long difficult process, we needn't despair at its necessity. At least that's my opinion. But getting to that point will be extremely difficult.
trolololol@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 144d
It started with coal or before.
Pissed@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 143d
sbv@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 144d
Fuck yeah, eurobros.
chuckleslord@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 143d
... if you expand into the energy market hoping to be an "electro-superpower", you have an incentive to stop new renewables from competitors in a high enough supply to create negative pricing. This isn't exciting phrasing, it's alarming.
"I want to be king of this pile" phrasing should always be viewed with alarm
Investment in green energy is good. Wanting to sell that energy as a form of power accumulation is bad.
umbrella@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 144d
Jax@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 144d
I read this as euroboros
sbv@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 144d
Almost as cool. Well. In the case of uranium, hot.
Juice@midwest.social · 7 pts · 143d
Its just capitalism guys it isn't a special bad kind of capitalism, and we need to switch to the good one. The good one is even more unsustainable than the bad one, because the "good" one still steals and pollutes' it just steals and pollutes from people far away where the social democrats can't see it.