“Ultimately, she concludes, despite all of the apparent differences between the two parties, they often “want the same ends, but with different means.””
In recent decades the priority of the Democratic and Republican parties has been to gain and then retain control of the federal and state governments. The mentality is that the ends justify the means. The party platform is just a campaign document that is ignored by most candidates after being elected.
When the Europeans invaded America the Native Americans believed in living in harmony with the natural and animal world. The traditional Native American philosophy stressed the idea of continuity. The Western culture has been to consume natural resources at an unsustainable rate to improve the quality and convenience of humanity. Now that most of America’s vast forests have been harvested and mineral resources have been extracted for economic growth, America wants to prevent the undeveloped countries from replicating our “progress”.
“Others admit that the climate is changing but flaunt their inability to read graphs, claiming that we don’t yet know how much of it can be attributed to human activity.”
If the climate is changing due to human activity (economic growth) then it is incumbent on the developed countries to innovate processes to allow development without the associated climate change and to halt — or even reverse — climate change. These innovative processes should be implemented first on a small scale and evaluated to verify cause and effect.
“For example, both parties recognize the importance of economic growth in bettering the lives of Americans.”
Economic growth is dependent on available resources while economic development alleviates people from low standards of living into proper employment with suitable shelter. Economic growth and population growth are related. Rapid population growth is appropriate for developing countries while minimal or no population growth is appropriate for developed countries. Americans need to focus on economic development instead of economic growth.
