Reference no: EM133498180

Discussion Post: Impacts of Capitalism on Environmental Justice

Adam Ruin's Everything The Corporate Conspiracy To Blame You For Their Trash

Question A. After watching the Adam's Ruins Everything clip and reading the PBS article, what are some additional ways you feel capitalism has guided and navigated public discourse and perception on the environment? How does that run parallel to the approach of shaping the consciousness regarding the LA River to benefit capitalist goals?

Question B. How can the United States combat racial capitalism after so many centuries of perpetuating it? How can society recognize issues of racial capitalism as more than only race, or only capitalism? What is the first step in trying to identify problems that arise through racial capitalism?

Question C. How does the unique corporate structure of mutual water companies (MWCs) contribute to environmental injustice and racial capitalism in the communities of Maywood and Cudahy, and what are the implications of this study for understanding the interactions between history, state institutions, and private firms in US water provision?

Question D. How can society deal with the tensions between economic growth and the objective of environmental justice while ensuring the need for economic development aligns with addressing environmental and social inequalities?

Question E. Consider the following quote: "The financialization of capital is reflected in urban policy (...) First, social and urban policy become subordinate to protecting and growing the economy; second, only those social and urban needs compatible with a particular vision of economic growth are given attention; third, conventional tax policy is replaced by financial policy, in which government is basically subsidizing private business; and fourth, public and urban policy itself if financialized, by such things as social impact bonds" (Flint, 9). To what extent does capitalism's focus on short-term economic growth harm long-term sustainability and environmental well-being, and what are the potential repercussions? Or to what extent does the subordination of social and urban policy to economic growth contribute to environmental injustices in urban areas?