Naomi Klein has come up with a new book about climate change and capitalism.[1] In short, she argues that the market cannot save the planet. The attempt to sell the capitalist solution to climate change is thus denounced as greenwashing. This is entirely to my liking, it goes without saying. Her book also delves into her personal problems with pregnancy, which she links to the Florida oil spill four years ago. She went there to investigate and ended up impaired. Or so she believes. Although this adds to the book’s appeal, it is neither here nor there. The main problem with the book is that Klein does not yet fully understand what is in store. She talks about Armageddon, but she keeps looking for ways to skirt it. Indeed, she still appears to believe in some sort of miracle that will get us out of the mess we have gotten into with capitalism’s lavish help. And that is yet another brand of greenwashing, I am afraid. Which is why I would not even dream of reading her book. Survival is the one and only thing left for us to think about. Miracles are for the birds.

Footnote

1. This Changes Everything: Capitalism versus Climate, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014.