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Published in:
2016 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
10. Living with the Legacies: Our Culture Confronts Our Environment
Author : Franklin Kalinowski
Published in: America's Environmental Legacies
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US
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Abstract
As the program of limited government, gridlock, infinite resources, and exponential growth begins to collapse, the twenty-first century will witness the next “great transformation.” One possible option might be “authoritarian capitalism” built around an all-powerful state that pushes the domination of Nature to its technological extreme, protects the power and wealth of a small economic elite, and monitors every thought and action of its inhabitants. A better alternative would be the movement toward a system that promotes economic and ecological justice for all members of our extended community. The capacity for each of these choices resides in the narratives built into our culture. The will to determine the direction we take is embedded in the values, habits, and traditions that are all part of our national character and made clear by an understanding of America’s environmental legacies.