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1、DebateTheMidasEffect:ACritiqueofClimateChangeEconomicsJohnBellamyFoster,BrettClarkandRichardYorkABSTRACTGlobalclimatechangeisperhapsthemostseriousproblemtheworldfaces.Despiteitsseverity,mainstreameconomicapproachestoaddressingtheproblemfailtogettotherootca
2、use—thecapitalistglobaleconomy—fallinginsteadfor‘theMidasEffect’,thenotionthatecologicalvaluescanbeconvertedintoeconomicvalues.Herewehighlighttheseverityoftheglobalclimatecrisis,whichrequiresthatatmosphericcarbonlevelsbereduced(to350ppm),andexplainhowcapit
3、alismistheprimarydrivingforcebehindthiscrisis.Wearguethattoaddressthisproblemproperly,nothinglessthananecologicalrevolutionisrequired,wherewereplacethecurrentcapitalistsystemwithonebasedonmeetinghumanneedsinasustainableway,notfurtheringcapitalaccumulation.
4、INTRODUCTIONJamesHansen,aleadingUSclimatologistanddirectorofNASA’sGod-dardInstituteforSpaceStudies,warnsthatglobalclimatechangetodayconstitutesa‘planetaryemergency’.Existingtrendsthreatentosetinmo-tionirreversibleclimatetransformations,proceeding‘mostlyund
5、ertheirownmomentum’,therebyfundamentallytransformingtheconditionsoflifeonearth(Hansen,2008b:7–8).Itisbecomingincreasinglyevidentthatcapitalism,givenitsinsatiabledriveforaccumulation,isthemainenginebehindimpendingcatastrophicclimatechange.Unfortunately,main
6、streameconomics,althoughnowacknowledgingtheimportanceofenvironmen-talissues,remainshamstrungbyitsadherencetotheexistingsystemofeconomicrelations.Itthereforereliesincreasinglyonwhatcanbecalledtransmutationmyths—referredtohereas‘theMidasEffect’—asawayoutofth
7、eglobalenvironmentalcrisis.Incontrast,ourargumentinthiscontributionsuggeststhatnothinglessthananecologicalrevolution—afundamentalreorderingofrelationsofproductionandreproductiontogen-erateamoresustainablesociety—isrequiredinordertopreventaplanetarydisaster
8、.DevelopmentandChange40(6):1085–1097(2009).CInstituteofSocialStudies2009.PublishedbyBlackwellPublishing,9600GarsingtonRoad,OxfordOX42DQ,UKand350MainSt.,Malden,MA02148,USA1086J.B.Foster,B.ClarkandR.YorkTHE350