Climate Change and the Rise of the Extreme Right

The title indicates, for me, the two major issues facing humanity in the next 50 years. They are not unrelated. Climate change has finally gained the attention of the general public and they demand action from their elected governments. Unfortunately, the political world is not in a position to take decisive action and this for many reasons, the principal one being that governments themselves are generally hogtied by the economic interests of multinational corporations who prefer to focus on the struggle for larger profits for their masters. In this sense, governments like the United States and Canada, to name the two closest to home, are fundamentally fascist, if by fascist one means an authoritarian government whose policies are dictated by a small group of business interests. Such governments present themselves in a language that appeals to the well-being of low-income workers. They offer programs to assist those suffering setbacks in the economic system. However, we would be mistaken to take the measures as a serious preoccupation with the well-being of the population  as a whole since the purpose of this political rhetoric is to pacify those sectors of the population that might tend to revolt against the conditions of life imposed on them: long hours, poor conditions, inadequate pay. 
 

So, in fact, we have governments that are deeply rooted in far-right philosophies of authoritarianism and the supremacy of the economy. They encourage, as the primary virtue of the citizen, the right to consume! Citizens are taken seriously as such to the extent that they consume. The Extreme Right is made up of groups who believe they are benefiting from this sort of authoritarian government without realizing that, since their members come from the less-economically benefited sectors of society, they are in fact victims of a fascist system. (Lower ranks of the military are also very present in this category.) Large corporations and government are satisfied to see the presence of such Extreme Right groups since they serve to divide ordinary citizens and weaken a grassroots opposition. They are “useful.” 

All of this plays out very well for the interests of the multinational economic interests in delaying an effective response to climate change. These interests know very well that climate change will deeply affect the capacity of humanity to survive on the planet. However, they leave that for another generation to deal with, confident that the people of their category will have ample resources to assure the survival of their 0.1 percent of the population (around 80 million people). These will be sufficient to guarantee a vibrant economy since the rest of the population are, in any case, “excess,” that is to say non-consumers.

This is not a happy picture I am painting and I do so to point out that we put our trust governments at our own peril. Obviously, it is better to have a government that listens seriously to its electors. But the solutions will not come from them since they are beholden to the grand masters of the current economy. Even though the Extreme-Right is a tiny minority, their role as a dividing force within the ranks of the general population is important and will grow to the extent that large sectors of the population are subjected to ever more precarious conditions. This tiny minority needs to be taken seriously since they voice the anger and frustration of a much larger section of the population which are directed to turn their anger against the most vulnerable minorities rather than the economic and political decision-makers.  Somehow or other the larger population needs to have a change of mind and heart that will lead to a greater cohesion and solidarity in facing the issues and in shaping grassroots movements for survival. It is extremely encouraging to see the multiplication of citizen-based movements throughout the world who are advancing powerfully and effectively to face the challenges of climate change.