The Global Crisis Worsens

  • Carl Boggs
Chapter
Part of the Environmental Politics and Theory book series (EPT)

Abstract

The global crisis today is qualitatively different from historical crises, its dimensions at once economic, social, ecological, military, and perhaps above all, political. A daunting totality, the current predicament threatens continuation of life on the planet as known for thousands of years. It transcends the episodic or cyclical dynamics of earlier crises, stemming as it does from a protracted downward trajectory worldwide in scope and system challenging in gravity. Economically, the world faces worsening material and social inequalities, one-sided growth, eroded public infrastructures, decaying industrial orders, and poverty-ridden cities. Socially, there are growing instances of human dislocations, community breakdown, civic violence, and everyday turbulence as world population expands by almost 90 million people yearly and urbanization continues apace. Ecologically, the crisis revolves around resource depletion, food shortages, massive pollution, unsustainable development, and the already visible consequences of global warming. Militarily, the world is beset with mounting geopolitical rivalries, resource conflicts, and possible outbreaks of warfare. Politically, decision-making failure is accompanied by institutional breakdown and impasse, largely resulting from transnational corporate power enforced by the international organizations it controls.

Keywords

Global Warming Public Infrastructure Global Crisis Ecological Crisis World Capitalist System 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

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Copyright information

© Carl Boggs 2012

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  • Carl Boggs

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