{"id":47686,"date":"2022-05-01T16:29:31","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T23:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=47686"},"modified":"2022-05-01T16:29:31","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T23:29:31","slug":"everyday-erinyes-316","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2022\/05\/01\/everyday-erinyes-316\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Erinyes #316"},"content":{"rendered":"

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto<\/span><\/strong>, Megaera<\/strong><\/span>, and Tisiphone<\/span><\/strong>. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”<\/p>\n

I can’t say that there’s much, if anything, new in this article. It does juxtapose two issues of which we are only too well aware, and demonstrates that the two are actually more or less the same. Hopefully we can learn something from that.
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Rising authoritarianism and worsening climate change share a fossil-fueled<\/span> secret<\/h1>\n
Brazil\u2019s Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump threw their weight behind industries that are driving climate change.
\nJabin Botsford\/The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eve Darian-Smith<\/a>, University of California, Irvine<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Around the world, many countries are becoming less democratic<\/a>. This backsliding on democracy and \u201ccreeping authoritarianism<\/a>,\u201d as the U.S. State Department puts it, is often supported by the same industries that are escalating climate change.<\/p>\n

In my new book, \u201cGlobal Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis<\/a>,\u201d I lay out connections between these industries and the politicians who are both stalling action on climate change and diminishing democracy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a dangerous shift, both for representative government and for the future climate.<\/p>\n

Corporate capture of environmental politics<\/h2>\n

In democratic systems, elected leaders are expected to protect the public\u2019s interests<\/a>, including from exploitation by corporations. They do this primarily through policies designed to secure public goods, such as clean air and unpolluted water, or to protect human welfare, such as good working conditions and minimum wages. But in recent decades, this core democratic principle that prioritizes citizens over corporate profits has been aggressively undermined<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today, it\u2019s easy to find political leaders \u2013 on both the political right and left \u2013 working on behalf of corporations<\/a> in energy, finance, agribusiness, technology, military and pharmaceutical sectors, and not always in the public interest. These multinational companies help fund their political careers<\/a> and election campaigns to keep them in office.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., this relationship was cemented by the Supreme Court\u2019s 2010 decision in Citizens United<\/a>. The decision allowed almost unlimited spending by corporations and wealthy donors to support the political candidates who best serve their interests. Data shows that candidates with the most outside funding usually win<\/a>. This has led to increasing corporate influence on politicians and party policies<\/a>.<\/p>\n