Philosophy and the Environment

Running Head: Philosophy and the Environment
Philosophy and the Environment: Is Sustainable Capitalism Possible?
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Table of contents
Introduction ………………………………………………… 3
Is Sustainable Capitalism Possible? ……………………….. 4
Sustainable Capitalism Cannot Be Achieved ……………… 6
Sustainable Capitalism Is Achievable ……………………... 7
Conclusion …………………………………………………. 10
References …………………………………………………. 12
Philosophy and the Environment
Introduction
Mike Davis`s Planet of Slums and John Foster`s The Vulnerable Planet have discussed the ecological problems relating to the capitalism. This report evaluates the chances of having a sustainable capitalism based on arguments brought about by these two authors as they describe the relationship between the ecological crises and capitalism. Many efforts made are by environmentalist that demand regulation of the capitalist economy but little has been achieved due to conflict of interests. As a result, the ecological problems continue to thrive in the economy.
Davis argues that the increased capital accumulation in the capitalism has resulted to increased poverty among the slum dwellers while the wealthy few have continued to dominate the poor. He puts it across that in the developed countries, the slum dwellers are the minorities in the cities while the slum dwellers in the less developed countries dominate in the cities. Davis notes "neoliberal capitalism since 1970 has multiplied Dickens's notorious slum of Tom-all-Alone's in Bleak House by exponential powers. Residents of slums, while only 6% of the city population of the developed countries, constitute a staggering 78.2% of urbanites in the least-developed countries" (Davis, 2007, p. 23). Davie further argues that the majority of the world population live in poverty. This due to the fact that the majority of the world`s population lives in the developing economies that are characterized by high birth rate compared to the developed countries.
Davies argues that, in the future, there will be more residents living in cities than in the countryside. The city lifestyle is characterized by decayed moral fiber, poor living conditions, and illiteracy. A capitalistic economy results to urban sprawl. The problems in the cities are attributed to capitalism. This because of the "neoliberal restructuring of Third World urban economies that has occurred since the late 1970s" (ibid 147). This involves people preferring to live ...