Working Class Perspectives on Climate Change

Working Class Perspective on Climate Change and Decent Sustainable Jobs with Living wage in South Africa and the world at large by Phineas Malapela

Introduction

Labour in Particular and working class in general take Marxist approach in analysis of all socio-politico economic concept and climate change like all other concepts cannot be approached from purely neutral scientific view  and technology themselves are defined within particular socio – politico-economic context. As defined by an international socialist scientist GERARD BLOCH “ For Marxist deterioration of the natural substratum of mankind’s productive force constitutes one of the aspects of the increasing conversion by capitalism productive force into destructive “ is what causes the present climate change that threatens our natural environment and existence of humanity in the only scientifically known planet of the living organisms and stopping the destructive forces of capitalism will be the first step towards building the egalitarian or classes society where humans will live in harmony with nature and that is what religious people call Paradise and we socialist call communism.

What is Climate Change?
Our understanding of the relationship of humans and nature is as expounded by Karl Marx’s wage labour and capital “work is first of all an act that takes place between man and nature. Man plays role of natural force acting on nature. At the same time as he is thus acting and making a change on outside himself, he is changing his own nature and developing his own latent faculties” and this is similar to religious perspective that believe humans are bestowed with the attributes of the creators in relations to planet earth not attributes of destroyer that are associated with diabolical nature of the devil. Climate Change that is presently an undisputable destructive path created in pursued of profit to us is a move away from the nature of humans as the Productive forces for development of nature itself towards humans are productive force called human capital that obliterate the true human nature.
What is Climate Jobs?
The climate jobs is all that based on the technological achievement can serve as alternatives to the present destructive pollution based unsustainable jobs offered by extractive industry, but however the technological solutions of the alternative sustainable climate jobs especially the solar energy, geothermal, wind and waves etc. that can be Harnessed by working – class does not make business sense as they re-enforce the real impact of human activity on nature contrary to capitalist system with its imperialist decomposition.

4. What is wrong with Kyoto Protocol?

The declaration of the conference at Kyoto in Japan in December 1987 was not a declaration by the working –class but a declaration by the polluting capitalist forces on how they can pollute better and make profit out of pollution by allocation each other pollution rights and trading such rights to each other to make profit based on speculation economy or gambling or casino economy of stock exchanges. This Kyoto Protocol to working –class represent the capitalist class in the following respects:
4.1 Voluntary Signatories: The biggest polluter throughout the world protecting its multinational corporations and its war factories throughout the world, USA, refused to sign signalling that the phony protocol will not work.
4.2 Decentralisation: The decentralised contrail and rules of self-regulations that goes against the polluter pay principle are tried and failed rules of capitalism and to the polluter who make profit by polluting they are non-starters.
4.3 Externalisation of costs: The declaration is deliberate externalisation of costs between the so called develop world that polluted and are continuing to pollute the globe through their multi-national corporations and collect the profit to enjoy at the relatively controlled environment friendly European conditions leave the developing world with a burden of ecological debits the Johannesburg acid mine drainage and radioactive Westonaria uranium dams as well as burning holes of Mpumalanga.
4.4 Carbon Trading: The carbon trading speculators in the European community and USA had taken gambling to a higher level of trading in pollution or destruction rights as the rich countries can now buy their pollution rights in the stock exchange and pollute with impunity to the destruction of humanity and the planet




Picture by Earthlife



In conclusion capitalism had made humans enemies of themselves and the planet of the living without providing anything in return but destruction.