Al Gore lends his voice to reforming the system much in the way he pushed for increased attention on climate change. Today, the ex vice president and environmentalist raised the notion of “sustainable capitalism” to supplant the model that predominates now. Instead of short term investment that is focused on reaping the greatest profits, Gore is calling for the financial industry to embrace practices that will lead to lasting growth in the economy. He says that as things currently stand, the financial sector does not take into consideration how its practices impact society and the planet at large.
While conservatives will invariably rail against Gore’s call for reform in the financial industry, let’s consider one thing that is often relegated as background noise. Namely, the Occupy movement. In a political climate where this movement has placed much focus on the machinations of Wall Street, this call comes at an interesting juncture. When hedge funds are the working model for trading, and so many notions in the public consciousness about corporate wrongdoing, Al Gore is on to something. It remains to be seen how this call for reform will be by progressive forces. What we do know is that the man behind An Inconvenient Truth is influential, and at the very least wont be ignored by the media.
Marc W. Polite