Capitalism and the Environment

Capitalism drove the environmental decimation of the planet. The environment was seen as a free good, while the consequences of dirty industrial and agricultural processes were seen as external to the firm. Public policies largely allowed this to happen, as politicians have a preference for short-term economic growth, job creation and higher living standards over the natural environment. However capitalism has never been monolithic. Since the nineteenth century purpose-driven entrepreneurs put in place the fundamentals of organic agriculture, renewable energy and other sustainable technologies. They offered a radical alternative to conventional capitalism. Over recent decades mainstream big business has taken up the cause of sustainability with a diffusion of corporate sustainability reports, green brands and certification programs. While the new attention to the environment is welcome, corporate sustainability can also be regarded as the commodification of environmentalism. It has confused consumers and turned sustainability into a code for greenwashing. The pioneering green entrepreneurs embodied values, often religious or philosophical, in their products and technologies, and the empty rhetoric employed by many large corporations has proved a poor substitute.