By far the best critique of Naomi Kline's book on global warming I've seen

[Alison H]

Passed on to me by my bro-in-law... includes many things Naomi left out of her book - militarism and climate crisis, the nature of capitalism and solutions.

Weekend Edition October 17-19, 2014

Climate, Capitialism and the Left

Overlooking the Obvious With Naomi Klein

by CRAIG COLLINS

First off, I want to congratulate Naomi Klein on her inspiring book.  This Changes Everything has helped her readers better understand the germination of a broad based, multi-dimensional climate movement from the ground up and its potential to galvanize and revitalize the Left.  Also, she’s shown the courage to name the source of the problem—capitalism—when so many activists shrink from mentioning the “c” word.  In addition, her focus on the fossil fuel industry as the strategic target of the movement clearly highlights the importance of isolating one of the most malignant sectors of industrial capitalism.

But despite her insightful and inspirational treatment of the climate movement’s potential to change everything, I believe Klein over-states her case and overlooks crucial features of the dangerously dysfunctional system we’re up against...

Klein sees capitalism as a relentless growth machine wreaking havoc with the planet.  But capitalism’s prime directive is profit, not growth.  If growth turns to contraction and collapse, capitalism won’t evaporate.  Capitalist elites will extract profits from hoarding, corruption, crisis, and conflict.  In a growth-less economy, the profit motive can have a devastating catabolic impact on society.  The word “catabolism” comes from the Greek and is used in biology to refer to the condition whereby a living thing feeds on itself.  Catabolic capitalism is a self-cannibalizing economic system.  Unless we free ourselves from its grip, catabolic capitalism becomes our future.

For the full and fully worth it article see http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/10/17/overlooking-the-obvious-with-naomi-klein/#.VGKUO-hmTms .