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Why Do Conservatives Get Such a Kick Out of Destroying the Natural World?
Greed and self-interest are being prioritised over the health of the natural world
In the UK, the Conservatives recently gave the green light for a new coal power plant. When Donald Trump came to power in 2016, he made coal a central focus of his economic vision. If Jair Bolsonaro had remained president of Brazil, there was a risk the Amazon Rainforest would collapse, such was the ferocity with which the forest was being deforested. These types of policies have come to define right-wing political parties who all share a nonchalant attitude towards protecting the environment, but why?
Right-wing political parties are all about prioritising the economy and focusing on creating policies that stimulate economic value, regardless of the environmental repercussions. Underlying this argument is a belief that pro-environmental policies are somehow bad for business, which is, in turn, bad for society.
Recent analysis shows that over the next fifty years if we do nothing about the climate crisis, the damage could amount to $178 trillion in costs. Meanwhile, a rapid transition to a low-carbon economy could see a $43 trillion gain for the global economy. While the belief that being pro-environmental is bad for business is…
