8.7 Disaster Capitalism

 

 

8.7 Disaster Capitalism

Disasters caused at the limits to growth (e.g. the Russian heat wave that destroyed the harvest in 2010, the floods for two years in Pakistan and in Bangkok, the hurricane that destroyed large parts of New Orleans), catastrophes caused by the financial crisis as well as by competitive imbalances between countries, intensify increasing inequality of power, income and wealth. Those economic sectors that are “too big to fail” and which have access to finance from state backed rescues are in a position to take advantage of the crises of states, companies and individuals. By driving whole societies into ruin opportunities are opened up. Privatised assets can be acquired cheaply. At the same time social unrest, rising crime and distress are profit opportunities for the armaments and securities industries. Further, the $13 trillion bail outs to the US finance sector gives elite financiers cheap money they can use to buy up natural capital resources that become scarcer as the limits to growth kick in – land, harvests, fossil water resources, “carbon credits” and so on. Further money is to be made by funding the public relations industry to bamboozle people with reassuring messages to stabilise by lulling and lying about how serious things are.