The Ecology of Commerce.

I met a shaman type guy in the park the other day and he gave me a book called "The Ecology of Commerce".


The truth about the environment crisis worldwide has always been a casualty because of the efforts of business and the ongoings of the economy, although the movement is gaining some momentum. From the "The Ecology of Commerce" (which I keep calling the ecology of hope to my friends- for some reason completely disillusioned in this ambitious book), Paul Hawken clearly sets up an array of important social criticisms that should guide is un the manner in which we approach future expansion in business. He argues " the concept of freedom is so vital to the American psyche that we often dismiss the missteps of corporations as aberrations. We know there can be greed, vanity and raw power at the heart of corporate America, but we hope that the equilibrating forces of the marketplaces will sort out the winners and losers in such a way that our own freedoms are not impinged upon, and our own vices remain unscathed" (77). Paul Hawken is one of the leading social philosophers, environmental policy analysts and sustainability developers of our time. He also believes that politically, we have to stand up for stronger moral grounds. He points out that “ the problems to be faced are vast and complex, but come down to this: 5.5 billion people are breeding exponentially. The process of fulfilling their wants and needs is stripping the earth of its biotic capacity to produce life; a climactic bust of consumption by a single species is overwhelming the skies, earth, waters and faune. Making matter worse, we are in the middle of a once- in – billion year blowout sale of hydrocarbons. They are being combusted at a rate that will effectively double-glaze the planet within the next fifty year…”. Don’t get me started about donuts.

In every which manner this book highlighted what I have come to learn in my studies in international development, economics and environmental policy. We need to redesign the economic system so that business itself doesn’t kill us in the long run. Enough with dealing with the problem on the micro level, it takes a great overview to get past the generalizations made in the media, and in our dialogue about the subject. Each paragraph underlines vital economic paradigms that continue to stain the way in which we deal with the third world. I think that we should look to such a book for inspiration for the way that each human being looks at his/her own responsibility in the decades to come. It is aberrant that the capitalist system, with the United States as its motherboard, allows the exploitation of land and people in such an expansive manner. Both my education from childhood and that which I have learned throughout my university career have taught me to be cynical of the "progress and innovation" that we seem so proud of. In no way do I want to dismiss what current scientific advancements are being made. However, I have seen significant tropes and disillusionments from the international community as to how to curb the destruction and neglect brought about by taking advantage of the third world, and even communities and environments very close to home. As an example here, I would like to refer to my years of tree planting where I was working for toilet paper and newspaper's corporate giants. These giants are destroying the beautiful Canadian landscapes that we so often admire as "picture perfect". As I would stand there in the middle of my planted plot of this new forest, I would cry. Not to say that us hippies don't benefit from these jobs. My friends came back a few weeks ago from British Columbia where they racked up a nice $22,000 each for their summer student jobs. Ethically the consequences are much larger than they seem. You try absently to forget that the very trees that you are planting will be cut down in 15-40 years for yet another copy of yesterday's news.

This shows us that although we might want to perceive our efforts to be positive, mostly we don’t understand the deeper pictures.