Our economy may or may not evolve into something postcapitalist (and I expect in the future people will be arguing about whether or not is has) but we can not afford to make our environmental objectives dependent on major changes to the economic system.

But capitalism (or at least the way it has been implemented) is holding back the transition to renewable energy. Renewables have a very different cost structure to fossil fuel power; they're more capital intensive. Currently the financiers are taking a big cut, which pushes up the price, making it uncompetitive so subsidies are required. ttbn has already highlighted the economic absurdity of this, but it is almost as bad from an environmental standpoint as the availability of subsidies becomes a limiting factor. If the government were instead to make concessional loans available for renewable power infrastructure, we could have both cheaper power and much less reliance on fossil fuels sooner.

Every western style economy rests on just two support pillars! Energy and capital! And we pay far too much for both or either! And would pay double for renewables, wind and solar voltaic, if we transitioned to them! And would continue to do so regardless of the style of government and its ideological imperatives. And simply selling the farm and everything not nailed down to foreigners, is a zero-sum game that could eventually enslave us or worse? We don't need foreign capital. When WE have a two trillion dollar plus super fund. We just need to deploy an investment vehicle that shepherds it back here and leverages that much again as foreign capital that doesn't come with foreign control or ownership! And that vehicle is popular everywhere else, are self-terminating thirty-year bonds. And ours could also be tax-free for the first ten million? Now if we did what I've also suggested and tied ou energy wagon to MSR's and thorium, to reduce the per KwH o just 2-3 cents? Then followed that with genuine tax reform that made the top tax rate 1% flat? And minus any deduction or any way avoidable. It would gather more revenue lower collection costs, end the money churn that's our costly tax system. Return all tax compliance costs to the bottom line! Thereby making the corporate tax rate an effective 8%. After that, all we'd need to do would be to thoroughly embrace cooperative capitalism as the preferred economic model o turn this place into a virtual paradise, every boy and his dog would want to belong to. Along with every energy dependant high tech manufacturing company, ditto every fully cashed up, self-funded retiree! Those that can't see or want that? have to be willfully blind or be intellectually crippled!

Venezuela is a prime example of a socialist, post capitalist nirvana.

Shadow, what was the point of your post?

Nobody's claiming Venezuela to be a nirvana. They've implemented a particularly stupid anti-business version of socialism that only a total idiot would want to replicate. Even so, their biggest problems stem not from the socialism but from keeping the official value of their currency fixed against the US dollar.

Have you failed to comprehend that what Venezuela did is not the only alternative to capitalism?

will 'friends of the earth' and environmentalist ever get back to something useful like picking up the rubbish?

Will you stop littering so they don't have to?