Attributing All Weather Extremes to Human Climate Change is Irresponsible, and Socialists Need to Challenge Such Irresponsibility, Part One

Climate change 1 Minute

John Clarke, former major organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), recently posted the following on his Facebook page:

John Clarke
·
The extreme heat that is now gripping Toronto brings with it major health risks and considerable hardship for those who can’t escape it. It is also another manifestation of the intensifying climate disaster that confronts us globally.

In this situation, the inevitable media photos of people sitting on beaches must be viewed as so many editorial decisions to conceal the seriousness of what is happening.

Does Clarke provide any evidence that the current heat wave is “another manifestation of the intensifying climate disaster that confronts us globally?” Not at all.

It of course could be the case that the current heat wave (with temperatures entering the low 30s Celsius, with humidity making it feel like the low 40s Celsius) is indeed such a manifestation–but then again, it could be the case that it is not. To determine what is the case, it would have been necessary to engage in inquiry–and Clarke provides no evidence that he has engaged in the necessary inquiry to draw such a conclusion.

Clarke’s assertion is not a conclusion at all but mere opinion. Such an approach does the socialist movement no good. It will not convince the regular worker, citizen, immigrant or migrant worker about the seriousness of climate disaster. On the contrary, it will likely tend to discredit socialist arguments.

Should not socialists challenge such irresponsible assertions?

Unknown's avatar

Published by The abolitionist

I come from a working-class background. My lost paid job was a teacher, substituting for a number of years before obtaining a permanent position. I obtained my doctorate in 2009. I am an unapologetic critic of capitalism and the way in which various institutions and ideologies reinforce it.

Published