Abstract:
Environmental degradation is a threat to sustainable human development. This paper looks at the unequal geographical location of environmental degradation and consumption of environmentally intensive products. The ‘unequal ecological exchange’ hypothesis is mobilised to explain the unequal pattern of consumption of and degradation and depletion of ecosystemic resources. It is proposed that a system of international exchange which ‘under-values’ an ecosystems inputs and inherent value by ‘externalising’ the negative environmental costs of production. This environmental free riding is allowed for because of ill-defined property rights, and by the power differentials between nations, and between groups and regions intra-nationally.
The evidence of unequal ecological exchange leads us to question neoclassical economics’ ideologies of comparative advantage, the benefits of trade, and the scale benefits of production.
Environmentally damaging subsidies and the non-consideration of environmental impacts in production twists competitive advantages into a lock-in situation of environmental depletion and degradation, over production and over consumption.
The extent of environmental degradation in the poor world coupled with an understanding of the way that under-valued ecological exchange functions leads to the conclusion that the internationalisation of the capitalist production system is inherently flawed, and is the driving force behind environmental destruction, posing a serious threat to human survival.