FREE MARKET ENVIRONMENTALISM Free market environmentalism is the political position that argues that the free market, property rights, and tort law provide the best means of preserving and saving the environment, internalizing costs, and conserving resources. Many argue that free markets can be more successful than government and this has been proven to be true throughout history. Although free market environmentalism can work, this point of view is kind of sketch because many of the environmental problems stem from market failure. In the traditional view, many environmental problems are caused by decision makers who reduce costs by polluting on those who are downwind. Other environmental problems come from private decision makers failing to produce public goods, such as preserving a national park(Stroup, Richard: Free-Market Environmentalism). For markets to work in the environmental field, rights to each important resource must be clearly defined, easily defended against invasion, and transferable by owners on terms of buyer and seller(Stroup, Richard: Free-Market Environmentalism). Many well-functioning markets require property rights. This allows people to defend themselves against pollution and a standard is set by the community on how much is acceptable. In local communities these standards are often different because many of the people with similar views cluster together. There are not only standards set for air pollution but in some states and local communities people set standards to fight “noise pollution” as well. It is safe to say that most environmental problems result from a disturbance in or lack of property rights. When rights to resources are defined and easily defended against invasion, all individual corporations, whether polluters or victims, have an incentive to avoid pollution problems. This is especially effective in the case of fisherman dealing with water pollution. This means the owners of fishing rights can obtain damages against polluters of streams. Owners of these rights strongly defend them, although the owners are often small clubs. Free market environmentalism relies on market signal benefits and costs of global warming and lets individuals respond to those signals (Anderson, Terry: Volume 25, No 1). Studies have shown that high insurance rates and cancelled policies for Florida homeowners send a price signal to coastal dwellers. If sea levels were to rise, coastal land values will decrease and the values of interior land will increase if moisture and warmth make them more productive for agriculture (Anderson, Terry: Volume 25, No 1). It is proven that Free Market environmentalism has been very helpful and can provide environmental goods. Although it is becoming more efficient every year, regulations set forth to help with global warming shows that there is much work to be done.
ECO-SOCIALISM
Eco-socialism is a vision of a transformed society in harmony with nature, and the development of practices that can attain it (Eco-socialist Horizons: What is Eco-socialism). It is based on a perspective in which other species and natural ecosystems as a valuable in themselves and as partners. This ideology merges the aspects of socialism, green politics and alter-globalization. There are many misconceptions about eco-socialist because some practice Marxism. Those who practice Marxism are known as “red-green eco-socialist” and the others simply green eco-socialists. Eco-socialism shares with traditional socialism a passion for justice. Eco-socialist also believes that capitalism has been harmful to humanity. Many of them see capitalism as a class society based on infinite expansion, through the exploitation of labor and ransacking of nature (Eco-socialist Horizons: Page 1). Green eco-socialists live their lives by the ways of the indigenous people whose economies are bound with unity in nature. According to Andrew Dobson who is a green eco-socialist “We draw upon the wisdom of the ages as well as the latest science, and will do what we can be done to bring a new society, beyond capitalism, into existence. Eco-socialism is on the rise and may be vital to the success of saving the environment. The eco-socialist movement aims to stop and reverse the process of global warming, and to construct a radical and practical alternative to the capitalist system. Eco-socialism is grounded in a transformed economy founded on the non-monetary values of social justice and ecological balance (The Belem Eco-socialist Declaration). They criticize the capitalist market ecology and productive socialism, which have completely ignored the state of the earth’s equilibrium. They are making an attempt to redefine the path and goal of socialism within an ecological and democratic framework (The Belem Eco-Socialist Declaration, Page 2). With this eco-socialist invest the hope of change the current state of the environment for the better. Eco-socialism involves a revolutionary social transformation, which will stress the limitation of growth and the transformation of needs by a huge shift away from quantity and toward quality economic criteria. Also they want to change the emphasis on use-value instead of exchange-value. These aims require democratic decision making and the enabling of society to collectively define its goals of investment and production, and the collective means of production. Only collective decision making and ownership of production can offer the long-term perspective that is necessary for the balance and sustainability of social and natural systems (The Belem Eco-socialist Declaration: Page 3). The rejection of productivity and the shift away from quantity and toward quality economic criteria involves rethinking nature and goals of production and economic activity in general. Some of the basic human and natural rights defended by Eco-socialism are clean air and water, chemical-free food and renewable non-polluting energy sources. Collective policy making on the local, regional, national and international level comes from society’s ability to exercise their freedoms and responsibility. With the ability to exercise freedom of decision making constitutes a liberation form the economic laws of the growth oriented capitalist system (The Belem Eco-socialist Declaration: Page 4). In order to avoid global warming and other dangers that threaten human and ecological survival, all sectors of industry and agriculture must be reduced, over ran, and restructured In order to provide full employment for the people. This transformation will be impossible without collective control of production and democratic planning of production and exchange. Eco-Socialism proposed radical transformations in the energy system, by replacing carbon-based fuels and biofuels with clean sources of power under community control with wind, geothermal, solar and hydroelectric power. Also they proposed to transform the transportation system, by greatly reducing the use of private trucks and cars, replacing them with free and more efficient public transits. They would like to transform food production and distribution, by defending local food sovereignty as far as this is possible, eliminating polluting industrial agribusiness, creating sustainable agro-ecosystems and working actively to renew soil fertility. The last radical transformation proposed by eco-socialist is in the present patterns of production, consumption, and building, which are based on waste, inbuilt obsolescence, competition and pollution, by producing only sustainable and recyclable goods and developing green architecture (Kovel, Joel and Lowy, Michael: Eco-socialist Manifesto). If all of these transformations can be met it will assure that the welfare of the human population and the environment will be saved.
WELFARE STATE ENVIRONMENTALISM