Thread by @PnictogenHorses

@mattyglesias let's count crises, shall we? @dick_nixon might have done the same. @mattyglesias isn't good at recognizing crises (or much else), so let's *help*.

1. #capitalism has wrecked the usual equilibrium of the Earth's carbon cycle, causing a growing excess in atmospheric CO2.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon 1a. #capitalism profits from turning solid forms of carbon (fuels) into gaseous CO2, and the ordinary mechanisms of Earth's climate and geology are not able to "fix" enough gaseous carbon in order to correct for the man-made imbalance. hence, #GlobalWarming is occurring.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon 2. #capitalism is addicted to #debt and unearned income made from collection of perpetually accruing interest payments. capitalists like one thing: bank accounts whizzing ever upwards. infinitely accruing interest gives the *appearance* of infinitely increasing #money.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon 2a. hence the natural state of prolonged #capitalism is infinitely increasing money *on paper*, backed up by less and less actual production, because capitalists hate expenditures. making actual goods and providing actual services is mere loss and waste, to a capitalist.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon 2b. the astute reader (i.e. not @mattyglesias or any of his friends) will realize that I have just described #inflation: too many dollars chasing too few goods. capitalists "create wealth" devoid of material value.

the ideal industry, in #capitalism, produces nothing.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon 3. hence the crisis of runaway #investment in the *purely destructive* #business of #blockchain technology, #cryptocurrency, #NFTs, and similarly worthless excrescences of #HighTech #entrepreneur culture.

"the blockchain" is a completely unproductive, useless "#industry".

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon 4. but really, *most* money made in #capitalism is completely unproductive—it's money gained through speculation, trickery, gambling, sweetheart deals with governments—the average #entrepreneur wants to do zero work for their money. this has reached crisis point.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon (@mattyglesias has tuned out and is looking for laughs elsewhere. perhaps @jbarro or @MattZeitlin can share notes with him later—Mr. Yglesias is a poor student; I can tell from experience.)

5. #GlobalWarming, ocean acidification, etc. is poised to wreck our food supply.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon @jbarro @MattZeitlin 5a. I hardly should have to explain why #GlobalWarming and ocean acidification from excess atmospheric CO2 will wreck our food supply—especially because #capitalism encourages spending the absolute minimum amount possible on supply chains for feeding the people.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon @jbarro @MattZeitlin 5b. furthermore #capitalism prioritizes profit-making luxury crops over growing food to feed the general population. #capitalism has yielded an extremely inefficient system in which far more food is grown than gets eaten, because of this priority on growing luxuries.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon @jbarro @MattZeitlin 6. this priority towards serving the luxury market, inherent in #capitalist #agriculture, along with #GlobalWarming and the general #ClimateEmergency caused by the disruption of Earth's carbon cycle, means we're likely to run short of potable water.

~Mona

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon @jbarro @MattZeitlin SIX crises, just like @dick_nixon wrote about. and that's off the top of my head.

well, @mattyglesias?

does this meet your definition of a "polycrisis"? assuming, that is, that you ever had a definition in mind.

~Mona Drafter of Pnictogen

@mattyglesias @dick_nixon @jbarro @MattZeitlin @threadreaderapp unroll