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.