thomas-friedman

Of course all such conclusions about appropriate actions against the rich and powerful are based on a fundamental flaw: This is us, and that is them. This crucial principle, deeply embedded in Western culture, suffices to undermine even the most precise analogy and the most impeccable reasoning.

There is one problem, however, at least for alternative experiments of the American variety (and possibly some European as well), namely that we have no clear litmus test to determine which models are truly steady-state (non-expansionist) and which are business as usual hiding under __reen wigs._ This latter trend is known as __reenwashing,_ in which the language is hip and the bottom line remains profit. Thomas Friedman and Al Gore are major (and wealthy) players in this category, perpetuating the notion of __reen corporations._ Other examples include a 2012 conference on __ustainable Investing,_ sponsored by Deepak Chopra, among others, which had as its slogans __ake Money and Make a Difference_ and __apitalism for a Democratic Society._ All of this is the attempt to have one__ cake and eat it too (or simply eat someone else__ cake); there is no real interest in disconnecting from growth, and it is growth that is the core of the problem. As Professor Magnuson tells us, while traveling around the U.S. to interview varous alternative businesses and experiments, he discovered that many of them were shams__apitalist wolves in green clothing.