Capitalismo Sostenible Y Desarrollo

There are some strong evidences during the last century of the levels concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere have reached the maximum in the history of the humanity, and it has known this is have arepercussion on the global warming. The main reason seems to be the process of industrialization force by the unstopped advance of capitalist mode of production. This had led to unsustainable levels ofthe extracting natural resources, energy consume, waste and pollution production and unequal distribution of wealth. Different authors (Castro 2004, Redcliff 2006 and Robbinson 2004) havedemonstrated that after the Brundtland report (1987), sustainable development does not imply a sustainability of the current system of production. This paper focuses on the reasons of why capitalism cannot besustainable in environmental terms. First it is going to be discussed that due to the mode of capitalist production needs to be in constant expansion, it is not possible to ensure its sustainability,and second it is going to be review why sustainable development has not been a process to solve the environmental problems.

The need of being in constant expansion for the survival of the capitalistmode of production, implies in environmental terms an endless supply of inputs (raw materials and energy between others) because ‘The capitalist mode of production involves expanded reproductionbecause surpluses produced above recurrent output levels are continuously reinvested in new means of production which raise future output’. (Ellis 1993:50). In other words, capitalism needs to be inconstant expansion to survive, so the consumption of resources never ends. In this sense, how can it be possible to expand all the system without limits and control every input and waste without damagingthe environment and exhausting all the resources?

Some of the solutions that Environmental economists tried to give a practical solution and ‘an attempt was made to translate environmental choices...