Winning Earth: Naomi Klein Takes On Nathaniel Rich

Last week I wrote a review about Losing Earth, Nathaniel Rich's huge article for the New York Times Magazine. I found that, despite Rich's remarkable work of documentation and sourcing, beautifully portrayed in a 30,000-word piece with spectacular images, he had missed the key detail in any whodunit: The culprit. As I exposed, it was neoliberalism, embodied in the story by John Sununu, who murdered climate. Due to space constraints, I couldn't develop that idea as much as I wanted.

Luckily, there's Naomi Klein. Here you have the review that I would have liked to write if I had had ten times piqd's word allowance. All similarities (including the title) are completely coincidental, although I must admit that my point of view towards the history of climate change policy is heavily influenced by Klein's book on the topic.

Klein begins by praising the New York Times' commitment to climate change coverage, and criticizing how the media have largely ignored the issue so far. However, early on she shows her discomfort with Nathaniel Rich's main thesis: That the failure to implement binding climate policies at the end of the '80s responded to human nature, and not to the strength of the neoliberal global architecture at the time.

The late ’80s was the absolute zenith of the neoliberal crusade, a moment of peak ideological ascendency for the economic and social project that deliberately set out to vilify collective action in the name of liberating “free markets” in every aspect of life.

This is a key point, as Klein highlights, as the reasons for failure are crucial to choosing our future strategies. If human nature had killed the climate movement back in the '80s, it would be pointless to even try again. 

But, if capitalism killed the climate... well, then we got ourselves a task.

The article ends with Klein pointing out to a new eco-socialist movement that may be, she thinks, exactly the way to go. I think that answer is too slow, but, sadly, I run out of words again.