Is There a Connection?
How is the fight to against climate change connected to the
fight for social justice? The answer is not obvious, and indeed, the two could
conflict with one another. After all, if climate change is truly a threat to
the survival of our society and economy, perhaps we shouldn’t worry right now
about social justice. Perhaps, we should focus all of our attention on saving
ourselves from the imminent destruction that Greta Thunberg and others have
been warning us about, and later, when we have the leisure to do so, we can
worry about making our society better.
From this point of view, the coal miners in West Virginia
and the oil field workers in Louisiana are collateral damage in the fight to
save our planet. It is unfortunate that they should suffer, but their suffering
is for the greater good. By the same token, this is not the time to be worrying
about racial justice. Of course, black lives matter, but right now, we cannot
divert resources from saving the planet to retraining our police. Of course, we
need to provide a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented
immigrants, but right now, we have more pressing problems to deal with.
Why is this wrong? Why do we need to worry about social
justice now? Why can’t we put off the difficult and frustrating fight for social
justice until we have saved our planet?
Maybe, We Need a Revolution
There are two ways to answer this question. One is based on
a fundamental critique of our society. That critique says that our
environmental problems are merely the latest symptoms of our real problem,
which is that our capitalist system is so exploitative at its heart that it can
never provide either social justice or a solution to the problem of climate
change. Holders of this view say that capitalism is based on an ideology of
greed and short-term thinking, and unless we can replace capitalism with a
better system, we are kidding ourselves if with think that we can save our
planet. In effect, this approach says that we cannot solve the problem of
climate change without a revolution.
Maybe, We Need a Coalition
The second answer to the question of why we should worry now
about social justice accepts our system as it is and focuses on the need to
build a political coalition to support solving the climate change problem. The
fight to save our planet will demand much of our political system. Big changes
will be required, and they cannot take place unless they are demanded by a
strong political coalition. From this point of view, the problem is to design a
solution to the climate problem that not only solves the problem but also
provides immediate, tangible benefits to all of the groups that join the
coalition. In effect, this approach says that we can save our planet without a
revolution but only if we do it in a way that increases social justice in our
society.
President Biden's American Jobs Plan
The recognition of the need to build a coalition underlies Pres. Biden’s American
Jobs Plan. He has presented it not
as a solution to the climate crisis but as a plan to stimulate the American
economy. Under this plan, thousands of companies will profit; millions of
workers will get good jobs; clean water will be provided to communities now
suffering from water that is contaminated with lead; women and minorities will
benefit from increased wages in home health services; displaced workers,
members of minority groups and other workers will benefit from free
post-secondary education; and oh, by the way, we will mitigate the effects of
climate change by improving public transportation, supporting the development
of electric cars and expanding the production and transmission of green energy.
I don’t know whether Pres. Biden’s effort will succeed, but
I believe that he is right in principle. We cannot separate the fight to save
our planet from the fight for social justice. We cannot save our planet unless
we do so in a way that increases social justice by providing benefits for most
of our people.
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