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Hmm, I'm not sure there is any maximum. Regulation has to keep up with innovation and with the evolving expectations of society. So new controls are continually being added, or existing ones tightened, in my experience. And yet business continues.
So, we agree Capitalism needs regulationThose are the goals that drive it, but it is not what is "all about". It is also "about" making and selling goods and services to consumers that they want, and it is "about" providing jobs (and wages) for people, and providing pensions for them when they are old. Amazing, when you think of it, what profit and dividends can achieve.
I'm not sure why you mention absence of regulation. Just about everyone knows capitalism needs regulation. Most people, at least those of us who have experience of working in a business, are aware that it is heavily regulated (competition law, employment law, environmental regulations, health and safety at work, the myriad rules about financial conduct, intellectual property law, advertising standards, data protection, and so on.) All this is as it should be. I don't think I have seen anyone here question the need for any of this.
Government now needs to add some more rules, to guide businesses far more strongly towards minimising greenhouse gas emissions. (Apart from the obvious help for sustainable technologies and so forth, a carbon tax is one way of applying incentives to all business activities.)
Regulation is crucial because it enables a business to say to consumers, "Sorry, we can't sell you that product any more" without the consumer simply going off to buy it from a less climate-aware supplier. That makes it a level playing field for all businesses, which overcomes the problem of competition and customer choice driving the continuation of bad habits.
Businesses will moan about a carbon tax, due to the extra accounting they will have to do to calculate the carbon (and methane?) footprint of their activities, the cost of which will mean higher prices for us all, but if government is firm they will knuckle down and do it.
Er, yes, was that ever in doubt?
It's both.
I never mentioned China.
Who has argued otherwise?
That is not the point being made, which is that the environmental record of non-capitalist countries is also lousy. So trying to blame environmental damage on a particular economic system is misidentifying the source of the problem and is an unhelpful distraction.
Funny, I thought shifting the blame was a distraction. Most , if not all, countries are capitalist. Most environmental damage comes from rewarding greed.
Yes shifting blame is a distraction. So let's not waste time on economic systems but address the core issues, which, as I've been saying, are:
And capitalism promotes over-consumption. "Good" capitalism is growth, always growth.
Over-consumption & perpetual growth are not fundamental
What do you mean by doing anything? And what kind of energy are we depleting?That might have something to do with the larger population though - but the USA with 5% or so of the world population consumes between 20% - 25% of the energy. Figure that one out - as to why many Americans might not be keen on doing anything.
Oh please! Get real.
What is " doing something"? Wind turbines? Terrible for the environment.
China's pollution? I'm sure it has.
Distraction from what? Waiting for billionaires to save us with their space magic?
Advertising is a real problem. Billions aren't pumped into it because it doesn't works and fails to yield results. Especially in regards to children, advertising is insidious and devious. McDonald's, Walmart, Nestle, and GE are already massive companies everyone knows. But they still advertise. Even if you don't eat at McDonald's it's hard to get away from with it putting images, coupons, and other mediums in all sorts of places. They want you to be seeing and thinking of them, so even if you see Starbucks in the trash they're glad they got in your head.Monbiot is a royal pain in the arse.
It's crap. It's people, not capitalism. This is just as bad as pretending that global warming is all the fault of oil companies, when all of us drive around in cars. Nobody from Exxon forces us to buy these. And nor does capitalism. We like them.
All this sanctimony is a way of trying to piously shift the blame to others, instead of recognising that all of us are responsible and we all need to take action. I really have no time for it.