Capitalist Values are Destroying Life on Earth

This story on the NY Times : The Brilliant Inventor Who Made Two of History’s Biggest Mistakes, shows how two inventions, Leaded Gasoline and Freon, led to the poisoning of humans and the destruction of the atmosphere. It places the blame on the two inventors who created these chemicals. But the real blame lies with the Capitalist system, which industrialized these compounds. These companies fiercely resisted the phasing of them out, even when they were proven to be highly toxic and destructive to humans and the protective Ozone Layer. The reasons they resisted was based simply on the Capitalist values of greed/profit making. And the other value, which allowed them to expand, was Materialism, the belief that humans valued material things over the sacredness of Life.

Plus the lack of real direct democracy, which allowed hierarchical corporations to decide their use without careful regard to the health and safety of these chemical compounds. There was no democratic oversight, which could have prevented them from being produced on an industrial scale. Instead, the Capitalist values of greed led directly to our current system of Oligarchy, rule by the rich.

But this is just two examples of the insane values of the Capitalist system, which, like a malignant, cancer, can kill its host. The principle of endless accumulation that defines capitalism is synonymous with exponential growth and the latter, like cancer, leads to death. — Samir Amin