Profit: an Environmental History

“Capitalism’s story is rightly woven together with the natural world.  On the one hand, specific environmental circumstances made modern capitalism possible and shaped its growth.  Broader climate changes also played a significant role.  On the other hand, economic activity has always degraded environments.  With each stage of economic development, people ratcheted up the efficiency of their exploitation of natural resources.  Step by step, the process impoverished ecosystems and transformed landscapes.”

So says Mark Stoll in his introduction to Profit:An Environmental History.  The remarkable theme of the book traces the historic impact that human activity, from the beginning of civilization, the industrial revolution, industrial capitalism and consumer capitalism has had and continues to have on the natural world.  I was amazed at how early on in human history, the environments our species lived in were degraded, consumed, polluted and destroyed. 

Some interesting minor themes also pervade Stoll’s book.  He is interested in pointing out the religious, or faith, backgrounds of authors he cites as important in understanding the human impact on climate change.   He describes some authors with Puritan moral backgrounds who sounded alarms about environmental degradation.  Stoll has a lengthy description of Rachel Carson and her book, Silent Spring, that brings out the background and importance of her work for the environmental cause.  Stoll describes her as coming from a reformed Protestant perspective, primarily her Presbyterian background.  Another author mentioned is Barbara Ward, co-author with Rene Dubos, of “Only One Earth.”  Stoll points out that she had a Quaker father and was raised as a Roman Catholic, and was active in Catholic social activism. Stoll makes a major point that consumer capitalism has a lot to do with the environmental degradation humans have caused on the earth, but the above authors don’t mention its causality in their books. This makes Stoll’s approach a vital alternative perspective on solving the climate crisis.

Stoll states: “The earth can no longer bear the burden of supplying raw materials and absorbing the waste to make the consumer capitalist machine run.  The earth is our dump from the bottom of the ocean to low orbit and from the equator to the poles.  A cascade of environmental disasters of every sort threaten to overwhelm human civilization.  The planet is not disposable, to be discarded when soiled.”

If Stoll is right that consumer capitalism is a major culprit in the degradation of the earth, he doesn’t offer a strong alternative to turning things around. Capitalism can’t be simply abandoned for another economic system. Other systems, such as socialism or communism, have not fared any better in preserving the environment or mitigating the effects of humans on the earth. Is there a system not yet conceived, or perhaps inspired by indigenous closed circle, regenerative systems, toward which we could move?

Steps involving renewable resources, recycling, better farming practices, less use of products like plastics can help. I think about my consumption, and I can feel guilty about all the stuff I think I need to maintain my comfortable lifestyle.  Perhaps all of us should gaze into our closets and say:  “How did all that stuff get in there, and do I really need it?”  Maybe, thinking through what we consume, what we are urging our political leaders to act, and what we are conveying to corporations (e.g. less disposable products) will help. It is something we all need to think through and follow up on in our daily lives. And we need to do it now.

John Hanson