Naomi Klein: Forget the Green - the Hot Money is in Guns

[LongTomH]

Naomi Klein's has a must-read article in the Nation that states the big money people have already made the decision to forget about fixing the climate crisis. They're just going to shield their gated communities from the starving masses.

Guns Beat Green: The Market Has Spoken

Anyone tired of lousy news from the markets should talk to Douglas Lloyd, director of Venture Business Research, a company that tracks trends in venture capitalism. "I expect investment activity in this sector to remain buoyant," he said recently. His bouncy mood was inspired by the money gushing into private security and defense companies. He added, "I also see this as a more attractive sector, as many do, than clean energy."

Got that? If you are looking for a sure bet in a new growth market, sell solar, buy surveillance; forget wind, buy weapons.

<snip>

The idea that capitalism can save us from climate catastrophe has powerful appeal. It gives politicians an excuse to subsidize corporations rather than regulate them, and it neatly avoids a discussion about how the core market logic of endless growth landed us here in the first place.

The market, however, appears to have other ideas about how to meet the challenges of an increasingly disaster-prone world. According to Lloyd, despite all the government incentives, the really big money is turning away from clean energy technologies and banking instead on gadgets promising to seal wealthy countries and individuals into high-tech fortresses. Key growth areas in venture capitalism are private security firms selling surveillance gear and privatized emergency response. Put simply, in the world of venture capitalism, there has been a race going on between greens on the one hand and guns and garrisons on the other--and the guns are winning.

Some of us have hoped the climate crisis would force some new-thinking by world leaders. The rich and powerful, on the other hand, want to continue the tactics they've used throughout history: Take the world's wealth by force, and buy lots of guns to protect them from the starving masses.

Who will win?

[GliderGuider]

1. with apologies to Eisenhower

Beware the Security Industrial Complex.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Well, when the time comes unwashed masses,

these are the people, we should eat first, marinated in Teriyaki sauce, to get rid of that gamey taste.

[Demeter]

3. I'd Rather Turn Vegan!

Please, the thought of getting near that diseased flesh makes me ill!

[Uncle Joe]

6. I understand and totally agree with your point of view, Demeter but

when global warming really hits the fan, I doubt there will be much, if any veggies left to eat. The way I see it when the food runs out, either they eat us or we eat them, and as they don't seem to care about anyone but them selves and don't give a damn about the rest of humanity, we should return the favor. Hell, in the final analysis, I doubt we'll even be able to find a decent bottle of Teriyaki sauce for the marinate.:puke:

[starroute]

4. Somehow Phil Ochs' "Ringing of Revolution" comes to mind

http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics/ringing-of-revolution.html

In a building of gold, with riches untold,
lived the families on which the country was founded.
And the merchants of style, with their red velvet smiles,
were there, for they also were hounded.
And the soft middle class crowded in to the last,
for the building was fully surrounded.
And the noise outside was the ringing of revolution.

Sadly they stared and sank in their chairs
and searched for a comforting notion.
And the rich silver walls looked ready to fall
As they shook in doubtful devotion.
The ice cubes would clink as they freshened their drinks,
wet their minds in bitter emotion.
And they talked about the ringing of revolution.

We were hardly aware of the hardships they beared,
for our time was taken with treasure.
Oh, life was a game, and work was a shame,
And pain was prevented by pleasure.
The world, cold and grey, was so far away
In the distance only money could measure.
But their thoughts were broken by the ringing of revolution.

[Recursion]

5. Who will win?

Almost certainly the side that has guns.