From: Jerry Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Fri Jan 27 2006 - 08:54:39 EST
Hi Michael E! It's good to hear from you and congratulations on the 10th anniversary of your website. A brief comment and question about the following article: in a sense, 'valuing the Earth' has been incorporated into mainstream welfare economics through cost-benefit calculations. Yet, we also have the practical experience with Neo-Liberalism (I'm thinking especially of the Reagan administration) of how these calculations were used as a means towards _not_ protecting the Earth. So a question I have about your market approach is: what is the role of the State in protecting the Earth? Don't we have tons of experience, indeed doesn't all of capitalist history tell us, that unregulated capitalism will damage our planet? In solidarity, Jerry > To open the tenth anniversary of the artefact web site 1996-2006, here's > two new articles for your consideration: > 'Questioning the Earth's Value - Including a proposal for a capitalist > carbon sink industry' > http://www.webcom.com/artefact/untpltcl/qstnerth.html > Abstract: > Putting the Earth's value into question means asking what is meant by a > value of the Earth. How is the Earth valued in a global market economy, > and how could this value be put into relation to the Earth's finiteness > that sets a limit on how we humans can live on Earth without endangering > the very basis of life on the planet? The final section puts forward a > proposal based on an understanding of the Earth's valuation through > ground-rent for developing a capitalist carbon sink industry to come to > terms with ever-growing carbon dioxide emissions. The concept of > ground-rent developed in classical political economy and subjected to > critique by Marx is the key to grasping the value of the Earth under > that constellation of being called capitalism. The valuation of the > Earth via the category of ground-rent has ramifications and potential > applications far beyond practically dealing with carbon dioxide > emissions.
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