Ivana Hughes: Capitalism Is Drivi...
Ivana Hughes: Capitalism Is Driving Us Toward Climate Collapse & Nuclear War | GEH W/ Radhika Desai

Geopolitical Economy Hour by Radhika Desai

Episode notes

Are nuclear war and climate catastrophe two separate crises, or one civilizational threat with two faces? I'm joined by Ivana Nikolić Hughes to discuss why both dangers have faded into public apathy even as they grow more acute. Ivana walks through the isotope evidence that traces rising CO2 directly to fossil fuels, and the physics of nuclear winter, where soot from even a regional nuclear war could block sunlight and collapse global food production for years. We connect both threats to the same underlying driver: capitalism's demand for endless growth, invoking the idea of the "Capitalocene" as a more honest name than the Anthropocene. We close by contrasting the West's refusal to rein in its capitalist class with China's state-led investment in renewable energy, as a sign these crises are still solvable.

Keywords
capitalismClimate ChangeDroughtGlobal WarmingCapitalosceneClimate collapseSustainability