The philosophers, global warming and the economy
The philosophers, global warming and the economy
According to Adam Smith economic and moral philosophy, he belied that the nation’s wealth is mainly driven by the spirit of competition and the human rational of self-interest. from this claim he believes that competition among the resources owners which are capital, land and labor will lead to profitable use of land at the end it will results an equilibrium of equal rate among all the users. These aspects form the foundation of his political economy theory which clearly presents the rules of production, accumulation, consumption and distribution of wealth. On global warming impact of global warming to the economy, Adam Smith will dismiss it as a necessary evil. In order to fight the impact of global warming, each individual has to go back to the Code of nature and the natural order of things in taking the responsibility of preserving the ecosystem. such principles according to Adam Smith do not promote economic development of a nation and he would therefore dismissed them because they do not foster competition among the resource owners. He instead advocates for free market economies where companies can do what they wish such as dumping waste materials any how based on a laissez –fairer economy in order to increase the countries economic development with minimal government intervention (Smith, 1982).
Based on the Marxian economics we can also predict what Karl Marx would also say about the effects of global warming on the economy. Karl Marx economic theory is based on the concept of capitalism in understanding the economy capitalism is a system derived from the means of production which the workers are available to provide the labor power of producing commodities to be traded. It is also through the same labor power that surplus production can be achieved which will be used in trading and bartering. According to Marx, the root cause of economic crisis in the way how producers can withhold surplus in order to create demand is based on human desires and relations. This is seen in the communist manifesto written by Fredrick Engel and Karl Marx that, “the Modern bourgeois society with its relations of production, of exchange and of property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange, is like a sorcerer who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells” (Marx in Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 2003).
From this view Marx would then argue that handling the effects of global warming would be much simpler in a communist society that in a capitalist society because such natural disasters have an impact on both the societies. This is because decisions made among a few leaders behind closed doors among the bureaucratic capitalists state will be less effective in combating and minimizing the impact of the calamity. In another essay Capital. Karl Marx writes that the higher economic societies which are communism and socialism are better as compared to the private ownership of resources. This is because the communal ownership means members are responsible for the preservation of aspects such as the land because they feel responsible to care for it and to hand it at a good condition for the coming generation.
John Maynard Keynes advocated for the use of monetary and fiscal measures as a way of mitigating the adverse effects of economic depression and recessions. This is through advocating for an aggregated demand for determine the overall performance of economic activity. He advocates for less government intervention because it will lead to rational actors and private market in order to create jobs. with such an argument, Keynes would not support the government call for companies to be ethical in conserving the environment which they impact on leading to global warming. With a government which is less authoritarian, the industries will do all they can to make profits no matter the environment damages they may be causing because they no there are no laws presents in punishing those damaging the environment (Keynes,1980, p130).
Reference:
Smith, A., 1982 [1759], “Theory of Moral Sentiment”, pp. 184–5 in: The Glasgow edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, vol. i”, Oxford University Press
Keynes, J.M (1980). Donald Moggridge. ed. The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes. 26. London: Macmillan. p. 103.
Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (2003) Karl Marx .retrieved from
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/.
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