As Wolfgang Munchau points out in his blog, no one is really concerned with possibly the greatest danger facing humanity (barring an “accidental” nuclear holocaust), climate change.
There are protests, gilets jaunes, there is a great reaction to the economic conditions imposed, a reaction conveniently denigrated by the nebulous term “populism”. There is discontent and growing violence everywhere.
Barring the British school children’s demonstration there are hardly any mass popular (sorry for the term) manifestations to show genuine and deep concern over this danger.
And this will not change. Politicians everywhere are certainly not bothered by this “problem”. They have a short time span to worry about. The next elections. As for mass movements, again the time span is important. The great wave of discontent in Europe, and elsewhere is a reaction to neo liberal economics and the debilitating austerity imposed. When incomes are being slashed, welfare dismantled, education restricted to those who can pay (through the nose!) in the so called civilized world, who will or can worry about something that seems very far away in time?
Politicians of the revolving door species which dominates the world at present (also as a result of the neo liberal economy prevailing) are the last creatures likely to worry their pretty little heads over such a matter.
Francis Fukuyama informed us that the demise of Communism had signaled the “end of history” since the capitalist system had prevailed.
He was quite right, This dominant system, to which there is no alternative, just about ensures that the world will either be drowned in a great big global flood (rings a bell?) or demolished in some raging global fire (hell on earth?).
The triumph of the system so celebrated does not auger well for the future of humanity. Which as likely as not is in for real trouble, trouble that the Markets not only cannot cope with, but will have triggered.