Scientists say that capitalism as we know it is coming to an end

In a way, we are witnessing the end of capitalism as we know it.

This was concluded by a group of Finnish scientists in a report commissioned by the UN to provide context for its global report on sustainable development.

"Capitalism, as we know it, has depended on cheap energy, that is to say the engine or facilitator of this growth observed over the past 100, 150 or 200 years" , says economist Paavo Järvensivu at BBC Mundo. member of the Finnish BIOS Research Unit and one of the authors of this report.

Now, he adds, we are entering another stage.

"The era of cheap energy is coming to an end, and if we do not have this cheap energy, we can not have that kind of capitalism anymore."

A moment of transition

According to this group of scientists, because of climate change, for the first time in the history of humanity, economies need to resort to less efficient energy sources, which require "more" 39 effort and not less "to produce it, according to the report.

"A great effort is needed to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels," says Järvensivu.

The BIOS report notes that the energy dimension of the economy has been almost completely ignored in many rich countries.

According to the economist, they continue to believe that they can mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to it with the existing system.

According to the economist, many governments are simply changing the "rules" a bit, for example by introducing "modest" carbon taxes, in order to discourage polluting emissions.

But for Järvensivu and his colleagues at the BIOS research unit, the market is no longer enough to provide solutions and states must play a more active role.

This is something in which other scientists and multidisciplinary environmental research groups have agreed to stress the need for deeper political engagement.

According to the BIOS report, the problem lies largely in the fact that dominant economic theories were developed in the era of energy abundance and that, therefore, these economic theories and related economic policies are based on the badumption of energy growth.

Therefore, "these theories and models are insufficient to explain the current moment of agitation".

Ecological reconstruction

To explain the requirements of this new economic model, Järvensivu uses a historical moment: the post-war period.

"After the Second World War, companies rebuilt their infrastructure and practices, and we now need something similar to make our economies and practices run without fossil fuels."

And, as at the time, there is not much time to get there.

"We are between 15 and 30 years old to rebuild the infrastructure," he said.

If we want to maintain the conditions of human life, the goal can no longer be "abstract growth of GDP (gross domestic product)," says the economist.

"We need to start seeing what the concrete tasks are – for example, how are we going to rebuild our energy and transportation systems – and governments need to find out how to do it and how to organize the economy to reach them" .

According to the BIOS report, it is necessary to transform modes of production and consumption of energy, transport, food and housing.

"The result should be production and consumption that offer decent opportunities for a healthy life, while drastically reducing the burden of natural ecosystems."

For example, according to this group of scientists, cities should have an essentially electrified transportation system.

Regarding the way we produce and consume food, according to this report, "dairy products and meat should give way largely to plant-based diets".

"Something different"

For Järvensivu and his colleagues, states and governments are the only actors "endowed with the legitimacy and capacity" to undertake this series of changes, because "it is obvious that this requires a form of planning, coordination and financing. that we do not see for the moment.

However, if we talk about the world's largest economic power, the United States, the Donald Trump government not only does not allocate funds to carry out this transition and this ecological reconstruction, but insists on forms of Very polluting energy, such as the coal industry.

On occasion, the President even questioned the existence of climate change.

The economist believes that the arrival of such governments, who deny the effects of climate change, is partly due to the fact that "progressive parties have not really been able to provide sufficient answers on how to solve the problems of inequality and the problems of climate change. "

"Therefore, there is more room for these populist movements that offer easy solutions, which are not really solutions."

BBC