April 29 - Inequality - Questions

[jamesallenevans]

Questions for Dipesh Chakrabarty, inspired by the week's readings:

Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain, “Global Warming in an Unequal World: a case of environmental colonialism. download” Centre for Science and Environment, 1991. Hannes Bergthaller, “Thoughts on Asia and the Anthropocene download.” The Anthropocenic Turn, 2020. Dipesh Chakrabarty, “Planetary Crises and the Difficulty of Being Modern. download” Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 2018.

Questions: Every week students will post one question here of less than 150 words, addressed to our speaker by Wednesday @ midnight, the day immediately prior to our class session. These questions may take up the same angle as developed further in your weekly memo. By 2pm Thursday, each student will up-vote (“thumbs up”) what they think are the five most interesting questions for that session. Some of the top voted questions will be asked by students to the speakers during class.

[starmz123]

In Planetary Crises and the Difficulty of Being Modern, you conclude that it is important to reconcile, or at least better understand, the 'globe' of globalisation with the 'globe' of global warming. Do you see this as necessary for addressing the existential risk of climate change and if so, how might this affect policy responses? To what extent can humanity answer this question while it still struggles with the global coordination problem of addressing climate change?

[dramlochun]

How will we deal with the inequity caused by those who have made a career working in fossil fuel industries losing their jobs? Globally, hundreds of millions of people are affected by the fossil fuel industry, either by direct employment or because the employees are their customers, and if this industry ceases to exist, a large inequity will be created. I feel that this inequity is often undiscussed when we think about the inequity we face as a result of climate issues. Moreover, this inequity will probably be exacerbated in developing countries where unemployment insurance and other benefits are far worse than in developed countries like the U.S. I wonder if those in the know have thought of any solutions to tackle this potential problem?

[jatkins21]

In our mission to quell some of the major issues we face by unifying at a global level, presumably some of our pleas for collaboration with smaller nations may read as rather hypocritical. It seems like, despite our recent progressions, some of our past and present actions blatant trickle down and effect smaller countries that have been far more sensible in their policies. At this point, how do we reconcile this perceivable hypocrisy in order to really unify ourselves with smaller nations that may play a critical role in easing some of the looming issues such as climate change?

[vtnightingale]

One of the contradictions mentioned in the readings for this week is that everyone wants modernity, but if everyone in the world attained modernity (as defined by the standard of living of the Global North) the world would be stripped bare. It seems that one solution to this is redistributing the stolen wealth of the Global North to the Global South and to effectively redefine "modernity" in more sustainable ways. The ultimate question then is, short of a complete rupture in socio-political values in the Global North, how do we convince the governments and less internationalist citizens of these countries to accept the reparations to the Global South and the subsequent change in the definition of "modernity"?

[TimGranzow7]

The socioeconomic disparity between wealthy, developed countries and developing countries is the most immediate threat to humanity, as it clearly has the potential to lead to the greatest loss of life in the shortest amount of time. As you point out in your article, “Planetary Crises and the Difficulty of Being Modern”, countries like India are already practically unlivable during certain times of the year due to heat waves, which worsen noticeably every year. Quality air-conditioners are too expensive, and second-rate, HFC-emitting units only worsen the problem over the long term by accelerating the greenhouse effect. This is just one example of the paradoxical problem of climate injustice. In your opinion, what are the most necessary steps toward climate equality? Does the issue boil down to economic superpowers holding the rest of the world back?

[louisjlevin]

Do we not risk, in talking about important issues of environmental equity, losing steam? Often, when I listen to these conversations, the people I hear the most from are white, wealthy, and western. Their focus on equity can sometimes feel to me like a diversion tactic, giving them the room to make the issue of climate change so large that they don't really feel the need to take it on. We've all known about climate change for decades. Shouldn't we just get on and do something already?

[jane-uc21]

Environmental colonialism is especially cruel because it is rooted in centuries of exploitation and cultural erasure, but requires urgent attention 1) to slow climate change, and 2) to save vulnerable communities in developing countries from its effects, and because these communities are vulnerable to climate change effects due to colonial erasure of indigenous land management strategies that supported sustainability in the face of climate change.

A PNAS feature promoted archaeology to rediscover these land management methods, thereby providing communities with tools to combat the effects of climate change, and lost cultural information. The article contrasted this with modern technological “quick fixes” such as desalination, which can impair response to these threats.

However, white-dominated archaeology could perpetuate colonial attitudes.

Aside from taking responsibility for our emissions (as we should)- how can former colonizers support postcolonial modernized countries in reducing emissions? Or does offering technological or scientific aid always perpetuate colonialism?

[1] Douglass, Kristina, and Jago Cooper. 2020. “Archaeology, Environmental Justice, and Climate Change on Islands of the Caribbean and Southwestern Indian Ocean.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 117 (15): 8254–62. [3] White, William, and Catherine Draycott. 2020. “Archaeology Diversity - Why It’s a Problem - SAPIENS.” Sapiens.Org. July 7, 2020. https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/archaeology-diversity/.

[bdelnegro]

What are your thoughts on the history and legacies of environmental conservation and the creation of protected areas? Is conservation an extension of environmental colonialism? Can the act of conservation ever be considered a non-colonial endeavor? If not, what should happen to existing protected areas and threatened environmental biomes? If so, what socio-political steps should be taken to avoid past outcomes?

[slrothschild]

The readings this week largely framed the issue of inequality within the scope of environmental devastation. While I think this is quite accurate, do you think the clean energy technology gap has a similar structure of problems to that of the current vaccine gap (and crisis) between India and the United States? Is proprietary technology and the protection of such technology part of the driving force for inequality in the modern world, and can it lead us to our eventually downfall?

[shanekim23]

In "Planetary Crises and the Difficulty of Being Modern", you mention that developing countries will always have the "widespread desire for growth, modernisation." Further stunting the financial growth of these countries would just be another example of environmental colonialism; how do we balance globalization and climate justice so that these countries can be compensated? Do you think that it is possible for these countries to develop while we maintain low greenhouse gas emissions?

[madisonchoi]

In "Planetary Crises and the Difficulty of Being Modern" you bring up climate justice issues and uneven development, specifically focusing on how this relates to developing nations. Developing nations desire rapid growth, progress, and modernization--strides that are often coupled with unsustainable energy sources. What incentive might developing nations have to enact sustainable energy sources over cheaper, less sustainable resources if it would mean slowing down growth? In addition, what are some ways to "even" the issue of climate justice and incentivize developed nations to aid sustainable energy sources in developing countries?

[fdioum]

What do you think is keeping other developed countries from staying within the permissible limits for carbon dioxide emissions like Albania and Portugal have? Where do you think the problem is really rooted and what policy implementations do Albania and Portugal have that other developed countries don’t?

[scicerom]

The disparity of power and the ability of nations to cope with/benefit from major global events/issues seems to be a primary point of discussion in these works. However, that disparity, on a national level, is frequently beneficial to the nations holding most of the decision-making power. To what extent can moral qualms about these issues balance out the practical desirability in the political theater of developed nations? How might the public better bring these points to greater attention?

[sosuna22]

Reading about the ideas of the globe and globalization, left me very curious about how to fight the ongoing battle of climate change that we have been talking about in previous weeks. With these drastic inequalities between countries, it means that some have more time and resources to dedicate to climate change, while others do not. Is it really rational to expect very underprivileged countries fix their CO2 levels and fight climate change on their own? Or would it be best to work on the problem as a globe rather than country by country?

[jasonshepp6]

In regard to the question of inequality, the divide between the common people and the powerful in effect motivates the severity of other existential threats. Apart from climate change, as covered in "Global Warming in an Unequal World" by Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain, what existential threats do you see that are compounded by economic, social, and geographic inequality? From this, how do we align incentives so that those in power represent the needs of those disproportionally impacted by the existential threats?

[Junker24]

In our pursuit of global unification for the fight against Climate Change, Who do you think plays the biggest factor in the fight against Climate Change? The average person, or the government? Who do you think should play a bigger role in facing this challenge?

[Samcorey1234]

Is it possible to have more international solidarity, with prioritization of low-income countries being equitable to that of high-income countries? If so, what kinds of global institutions could keep high-income nations honest? Would there need to be higher degrees of collaboration among low-income countries to keep richer countries in line with regards to problems on public health, climate change, and the economy?

[mesber1]

Every individual has a right to improve their quality of life, but how can we balance the strive towards some measure of social equality in terms of development with mitigating planetary risks that transcend the human unit (that is, affect our ecosystems, “we” as in all species)?

[AlexandraN1]

Do you believe that the consequences on our natural environment (due to the increasing global population and further exploitation of nature) have reached a stage where we are at the last tipping point? If so, should the blanket approach to our climate norms be for everyone to work maximally in the direction of this issue, and a compensatory system be considered in the aftermath?

[blakemoss]

Given the steadfast capitalist resistance to actually doing anything about such global crises as climate change, what measures can be deemed necessary for the survival of our species as a whole? If climate change is an existential threat, can wars be justified in the name of stopping it? How do we balance the existential risks of war or chaos caused by forced unification with those of the threats that will certainly destroy us if we cannot unify?

[ZeyangPan]

This question comes from the book written by Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain, “Global Warming in an Unequal World: a case of environmental colonialism. download” Centre for Science and Environment, 1991.

One of the perspectives from the book is that developing countries, especially developing countries with large populations should not hold responsible for a single kilogram of carbon dioxide or methane that is accumulating in the earth's atmosphere. So my question would be, how do you view the inequality of carbon emission among developing and developed counties? should developing and developed counties have different policies to deal with the global warming issue because of the inequality in the use of resources?

[laszler]

The concept of low-level emitters charging high-level emitters for their excess emissions seems like it would undoubtably disincentivize emissions while also helping reduce global inequality. (From Global Warming in an Unequal World)

In the years since the IPSEP study was carried out, I can only imagine that the charges for the emissions at today’s level would have only increased. We have seen, however, the limited power of the United Nations and how difficult it is for large powers (both foreign and domestic, public and private) to be held accountable. Additionally, it seems that with the existing power structure, there would never be a way to implement this system without a major polluter voluntarily ceding power or wealth.

In the future, do you think there will be a way around this? That is, do you think there exists a set of political conditions in which it would be possible for a charge/reparation system to arise?

[benindeglia]

Mainly first world countries have gotten very wealthy off of fossil fuels, and then after they have secured said wealth they have stood on some moral "high ground" asking other nations to not get wealthy through the same methods for the damage it causes. Do you believe that the nations who have had economic booms from the use of fossil fuels-the first world countries- have an obligation to work to help other rising countries be weaned off of fossil fuels, and repay the damage that they did in the past before realizing how harmful it truly is?

[stellaslorer]

There is undeniably immense privilege associated with devoting oneself to combating the climate crisis as it is a threat that persists in the future––sometimes more amorphously than present dangers that are inflicted upon people today. How can we effectively shift this burden onto the culprits of the crisis both internationally and within the United States, and how can we protect those who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change?

[seankoons]

How is it at all possible to stop inequality (any kind of inequality: add any adjective in front of the word; racial, social, environmental, etc.), which has always seemed to have been a historically standard, when it seems like every time one form of it has stopped, another one arises. Whenever you look at the past and the present, inequality is something that has never not been around. With that being said, how is it possible to know how life would be without any forms of inequality if we as a society have never lived without it?

[ishaanpatel2022]

In this class so far, we have discussed threats that can quite easily be seen as world-ending: for example, extreme climate change or a nuclear holocaust. Does the idea of inequality pose an existential, world-ending threat? If so, in what way would this take form? Would inequality just pose an existential, world-ending threat to the groups that are at the less fortunate end of the inequality spectrum, or to everyone?

[nicholas-rose]

How can developed nations, especially those responsible for substantial amounts of historical carbon emissions, most effectively help developing nations? Via direct cash payments, philanthropy, military aid? How much expenditure (possibly as a percent of GDP) should we expect from developed nations?

[janet-clare]

In your keynote address to the Millenium Conference on International Relations you pose a quandary that is the “uneven narrative of modernisation that has in its sight every individual human” is difficult to reconcile with “the deeper story about humans, our collective unconscious history as biological species” that is “the first to have successfully colonised its entire landmass?” While individual actions are important, do you think that, here at the brink of global catastrophe, we should strive to delve further into the collective unconscious aspect of our history? It has after all served us thus far. And couldn’t it be argued that the collective can’t exist without the individual?

[a-bosko]

In the article “Thoughts on Asia and the Anthropocene”, the author mentions that there has been a spread of middle-class consumption patterns around the world. The author defines the middle class as “people with a household income sufficient to purchase consumer durables (refrigerators, washing machines, or motorcycles), to spend money on entertainment and the occasional vacation.”

With the growth of the middle class around the world, how do we make sure that we can allow for luxuries, such as refrigerators and washing machines, as well as control for pollution and carbon emissions? Does the middle class today and in the future have to give up these amenities?

[WinstonHartnett]

Within a country, usually wealth reallocation is a permanent, proactive policy implemented by a government. These policies were created out of pragmatism (like the poor being able to afford food) and moral prescriptions. Likewise, it seems that a world government that can effectively allocate and redistribute wealth is indispensable in fighting wealth inequality. Do you have any proposals for how to prevent such a government from perpetuating such inequalities? This might be tangential, but do you have any idea how such a government might be structured and its ideals?

[cjcampo]

When speaking of the additional impact that the increased use of air conditioners will have in India, why not compare the aggregated emissions from this to the emissions that the United States currently dissipates? Without the context or comparison (for example, comparison to U.S. car emissions, industrial emissions, A.C. emissions, etc.), how is this section consistent with the logic behind your argument for a new understanding of the "globe" when speaking of climate justice? The standalone figure referring to a one degree increase seems unfair without a reminder that we've passed an inflection point of climate change acceleration that heightens these marginal changes, and the inflection point's passage was largely due to the industrial revolution in the U.S., western europe, russia, and japan.

[omarh4]

A common idea in our readings for this week is that of poorer, developing countries being blamed for the large contribution to global warming in order to absolve industrialized countries of theirs. The sentiment is that these poorer countries should not have to bear as much responsibility since their lifestyles are not as excessively wasteful as Western countries. With this in mind, what actions should we take towards global corporations that may move to these developing countries in order to escape accountability for their emissions?

[brettriegler]

Is inequality inevitable? Can we have equality without inequality? One could argue right that we are tipping the scales too far in the direction of inequality. However, is there a wrong way to tackle the problem of inequality?

[jtello711]

I like the approach to looking at inequality from an environmental injustice angle, as climate change exemplifies the need for a global response amidst an issue that tackles not any particular nation, but the globe as a whole. It makes sense to think that in all the grandstanding that climate change evokes from activists and the media, it becomes easier to obfuscate the nuanced inequity that exists in different countries' handling of the crisis. Their responsibility to curbing emissions, how hard they're being ravaged by climate-related issues, and how particular their situation is given their socio-economic differences. How should we best approach integrating these nuanced set of circumstances in determining how much responsibility is dealt to each individual actor in resolving the crisis?

[aj-wu]

A running theme seems to be that economic development relies on some degree of inequality—for example, at a minimum, some hierarchy in labor. What role could technology (and in particular automation) play in rendering inequality obsolete?

[blakekushner]

How can we stop or remedy the system of (illegal) global waste "recycling" so that developing countries are no longer the destination dump site for the first world countries? And how should we hold those first world countries accountable for all the waste they illegally sent off their country?

[dnaples]

A lot of these readings were focused on social inequalities seen through the lens of climate change. If this is an example of a world matter that has been greatly impacted by social inequality, what other topics have we studied in this class so far that have likely affected by social inequalities as well? (I believe we've discussed the use of AI in this regard too)

[chasedenholm]

In the readings for this week, there was a central theme of unfairness in placing climate change blame on developing countries like India and China. There was also the issue of allowing developing countries an inalienable human right to seek modernization and enhanced development. However, for most developing countries, the economic way to become developed is through cheap energy infrastructure. That cheap energy infrastructure comes in the form of fossil fuels. How do you think developing countries can circumvent cheap alternatives and implement things like renewables to simultaneously accelerate development with increased energy infrastructure and reduce carbon emissions? Do you think that is possible? And if yes, do you think it could actually happen?

[nobro011235]

I found the analysis of the global inequality regarding climate change in developing countries very fascinating. The idea of the West perpetuating global inequalities is exacerbated by ethical questions regarding how much we provide vaccines to other countries. Taking into account the high per capita mortality rate in America and the need to reach "herd immunity", what do you see as America's proper role in ensuring vaccines are administered on the most utalitarian basis possible? 1 vaccine for an American for each global vaccine? Only vaccinate Americans until we run out of demand?

[ghost]

Many of the readings for this week tied together the issues of social inequality or inequity and climate change. Is there hope for an approach to climate change that is actually created with the intent to be equal across nations? Can we ever get that many countries on board with an agreement that would properly allocate responsibility so that the biggest polluters are made to do their fair share to fix the problem?

[atzavala]

From the readings, developing countries rely on cheaper, less sustainable sources of energy to aid in their modernisation, and developed countries like the United States continue to blame these countries for climate change when they themselves use far more of these less sustainable energies per capita per year. How likely would it be for developed countries to agree to make a significant switch to clean energy, while allowing the developing countries to use fossil fuels and less sustainable energies to modernise? Could such a compromise happen today? Or would it take extreme consequences from climate change or the effects of inequality on the quality of life in these developing countries for government leaders in developed countries to consider taking action?

[EmaanMohsin]

As of right now India faces an alarming number of new COVID 19 cases due to the variants. Yet, Bill Gates recently explained his disapproval of getting rid of intellectual property protections on COVID 19 vaccines stating, "Moving a vaccine, say, from a [Johnson & Johnson] factory into a factory in India, it’s novel, it’s only because of our grants and expertise that can happen at all.” Do you see this protection of intellectual properties extending to novel climate change initiatives? Meaning, if the U.S. creates new methods or technology that may significantly help in reducing the impact of climate change, could you see barriers to extend this technology to nations in dire need of it?

[brandonhuang1]

During this most recent global climate summit, Biden and many other leaders have made significant commitments to reducing CO2 emissions. However, as we all know, these commitments are simply promises with no real consequences if they are not followed through. How can countries (particularly in the global north) commit to CO2 reduction in a meaningful way? How would a meaningful commitment by the U.S change negotiations on the global stage?

[ydeng117]

I think one problem for climate justice and social inequality across the globe is that the developed countries may not willing to give up their well-being, and like other developing countries, the global north also want to continue their modernization and development. When Kamala Harris, the vice president of the United States, admitted that for the past decades the US wars were fought on oil and will be fought on the water in the future, how would we expect a sustainable future for both human beings and other species on Earth? What global policies, orders, or laws can we build to force the developed countries to hold their accountabilities and responsibilities for the future of the planet?

[cdrovetsky]

Right now, the U.S. is the world’s 2nd largest emitter of greenhouse gases. We are already seeing an influx of climate migrants from Central America fleeing harsh conditions including flooding, cyclones, and hurricanes. But the universal definition of a “refugee” as defined by the UNHCR doesn’t currently classify climate migrants as “refugees.” As wealthy countries continue to be the leading emitters of fossil fuels, what do we owe to the droves of climate migrants that will inevitably begin to move?

[c-krantz]

In ‘Global Warming in an Unequal World’ it is mentioned that “no effort has been made in WRI’s report to separate out the ‘survival emissions’ of the poor, from the ‘luxury emissions’ of the rich”. In attempting to find a solution to the current emissions problem that the world is facing, what would be the most reasonable way to decipher between what constitutes as a ‘survival emission’ and what constitutes as a ‘luxury emission’? Are all emissions from first world countries like the United States considered ‘luxury emissions? If so, is it reasonable to believe that the United States will never admit this on a global level for fear of paying more than other countries?

[LanceJohnson1]

In Dipesh Chakrabarty's Planetary Crises and the Difficulty of Being Modern he details his pondering of the meta-question "Is the 'globe' of globalization the same as the 'globe' of global warming?" Both concepts present a story with humans at the focal point - to what extent is globalization a worthwhile endeavor given that many of the ramifications manifest themselves in global warming? How should developing countries that are undergoing vast technological change balance environmental compliance with Real GDP per capita growth?

[isabelmw]

Developed countries contribute more emissions than developing countries, and it seems like in the future, in order for things to be even approaching equitable, developed countries will need to be held majorly accountable to commit to fighting climate change. What do you see as the actual mechanisms that will hold these developed countries accountable if developed countries will likely be the ones driving the conversation on what is equitable in the first place? Furthermore, do you foresee a situation in which developed countries completely cease trying to solve the climate problem in coordination with other nations and instead embark on a fighting it at the national level, engaging in a 'every country for themselves' method -- like trying to create technology, facilities better suited for global warming (even considering moving their population to a different planet)

[ChivLiu]

Since Western cultures have so many discrepancies with the Eastern cultures, how could we find common solutions about climate change that benefits both while the Western world usually sets double standards for Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea?

[nikereid]

Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain's paper 'Global Warming in an Unequal World: a case of environmental colonialism' condemns environmental colonialism and is thirty years old, yet I feel as though we are still experiencing great levels of global inequity even beyond just environmental inequity. What is it going to take to put an end to inequality, or is it just inevitable and we are doomed?