Dear Readers:
This is a commentary upon Greece, the Greek drama, which affects us all, know it or not, because it is the first genuine challenge, however clumsy, to austerity at national election polls. The outcome, so far, confirms Yanis Varoufakis' fears that democracy has seen neoliberalism take the crucial policy decisions out of the hands of voters, leaving them with Mrs. Thatcher's ice cold "There is no Alternative."
Below, I weave together thoughts about the Greek situation with a review of Richard Smith's book Green Capitalism: The God that Failed. Agree with its remedies or not, its diagnosis of the failure of capitalism to address global warming is the most comprehensive I've read, and it deserves an even longer treatment than my 1200 words or so below.
This was originally posted at the Real-World Economics Review Blog, a site for dissenting professional economists where I from time to time comment. I had been urged by editors there to please review this book, but events have postponed a full review and this will have to serve in the meantime. Here is the link to David Klein's excerpt which appeared first at Truthout, under the title "Capitalism, green or otherwise, is "Ecological Suicide."
Here's the link: https://rwer.wordpress.com/...
Best,
Bill Neil
Frostburg, MD