Season 1, Episode 9

Shi-Ling Hsu on Capitalism and the Environment

On this episode of Free Range, Mike Livermore speaks with Shi-Ling Hsu, a professor at the Florida State University College of Law. His work examines the intersections of environmentalism, law and economics. In the episode he discusses his book, “Capitalism and the Environment: A Proposal to Save the Planet”, addressing misinformation about the concepts of capitalism and economics, and highlighting the importance of decision-making within the economy. He tackles the idea of capitalism amplifying impacts of individual decisions and the distrust of economic analysis within environmental law. 

Episode is an appropriate teaching tool for but not limited to the following topics & courses:  environmental law, economics, politics

Discussion Questions

  • Do you think market-based mechanisms like environmental taxation are the best way to address environmental problems? What are the relative advantages and disadvantages compared to other policy approaches?
  • How has the politics around market-based environmental policies like cap-and-trade changed over the past few decades? What explains this shift?
  • Can a capitalist system effectively deal with environmental problems? Why or why not? What evidence supports your view?
  • What are the risks of market actors “capturing” or manipulating government policies? How can this be prevented or mitigated?
  • Is taxation more or less susceptible to manipulation by special interests than government subsidies? Explain your reasoning.
  • How feasible is it politically to implement significant environmental taxes like carbon taxes? What stands in the way and how might this be overcome?
  • Is the critique of capitalism coming from the political left substantively justified? Why or why not? How should environmental advocates respond?
  • What is the appropriate role for government subsidies and industrial policy in promoting clean energy? What are the tradeoffs involved?
  • How can the political middle ground on environmental economics be recovered in the current polarized context? Is this desirable and realistic?
  • What are the merits and limitations of using cost-benefit analysis in environmental policymaking? Should distributional impacts be considered?
  • How might education help change perspectives on environmental taxation or other market-based policies? What specific ideas do you have?

Additional Readings