On Unregulated Capitalism

"[The Gilets Jaunes] have refused to be mollified by what they perceive as crumbs tossed from the throne of power. Their war against the rich, in the age of climate change, is one driven by an understanding unique among protest movements in France: that the privilege to lord and the privilege to pollute are one and the same, and that confronting the climate crisis means a confrontation with unregulated capitalism. It is a call to arms that should resound around the world.”

 Christopher Ketcham, “A Play with no End” from the August 2019 issue of Harper’s Magazine

This quote really got me thinking about the problem of unregulated capitalism. There’s a case to be made that capitalism as a whole can’t get us out of the climate change spiral, but I don't know enough to go there yet. However, the damaging aspects of unrestrained deregulation seems obvious to me, especially with respect to the inequities such a system engenders. Instituting guardrails around capitalism to protect those without power and voices, and the environment in particular (trends like recognizing ecosystems as people are an interesting trend), should let us know if capitalism can be redeemed in an era of finite resources. (Those of you that would promote the "free" market, you'd need to explain to me how the overwhelming power of corporations in the new gilded age is indeed free.)