Recently when I posted an item to Facebook that applauded America's growing economy under President Donald Trump, a friend challenged the notion that economic growth is a good thing. He and I have discussed the subject various times. He thinks that for countries already as wealthy as the United States growth is bad because it entails depleting resources and doesn't actually enhance human well being or happiness. I have responded to both ideas in my chapter refuting the idea that "Capitalism Is … [Read more...]
Is Capitalism Bad for the Environment? The Eighth Commandment Offers a Clue
A common charge by environmentalists is that capitalism is bad for the environment. Indeed, Christiana Figueres, former secretary-general of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, opined that climate negotiations in Paris in late 2014 offered the world its best opportunity to replace the reigning global economic order (capitalism, or free markets) with another (socialism, or government-planned economies). But is capitalism really bad for the environment? One of the Ten … [Read more...]
