The Great Divorce: How Wealth and Dogma Engineered Our Climate Crisis

By Andrew Klein  

12^th November 2025

The climate crisis is often presented as a universal human failure—a consequence of the “Anthropocene,” the age of humanity. This framing, while sounding dire, is dangerously misleading. It suggests a shared guilt that obscures the true lines of responsibility. The crisis was not caused by humanity in the abstract, but by a specific set of ideologies: an economic dogma of endless extraction, a theological dogma that justifies planetary neglect, and the calculated actions of a wealthy elite who believe they can insulate themselves from the consequences. We are not all in this equally; we are in the midst of a great divorce between the interests of capital and the future of life on Earth.

I. The Economic Dogma: The Gospel of Shareholder Value

For decades, the prevailing doctrine in corporate boardrooms has been the Friedman doctrine, which asserts that the only social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits for shareholders . This theory, articulated by economist Milton Friedman, became “the biggest idea in business,” creating a pervasive focus on short-term financial returns above all else .

The Consequences of a Narrow Faith:

· Systemic Short-Termism: This doctrine pressures companies to prioritize quarterly earnings over long-term investments in sustainability, research, and development. While some argue that macro-level data on R&D is strong, the culture of short-termism persists as a powerful defensive rhetoric, used to deflect demands for corporate accountability and frame market pressures as inherently myopic .

· The Buyback Blowback: A direct consequence has been the epidemic of stock buybacks—a practice where companies spend vast sums repurchasing their own shares to boost their stock price. Critics, including prominent US senators, argue this diverts funds from productive investments, suppresses wages, and enriches executives with stock-based compensation at the expense of the company’s long-term health and its lower-paid employees .

· The Fantasy of Decoupling: Underpinning this system is a quasi-religious faith that capitalism can perpetually decouple itself from the planet it depends on . This is embodied in economic models that, as climate communications expert Dr. Genevieve Guenther points out, deliberately ignore the risk of climate catastrophes and tipping points, leading to “ridiculously lowballed” estimates of the true cost of the crisis .

II. The Theological Dogma: Eschatology and Exploitation

Parallel to the economic driver is a powerful theological one, particularly within strands of evangelical fundamentalism that actively deny climate science and obstruct action.

The Pillars of Climate Denial in Faith:

· Distrust of Science: Rooted in historical conflicts like the Scopes “monkey trial,” a deep-seated antagonism toward scientific authority persists. Groups like the Cornwall Alliance present lists of thousands of scientists who they claim reject the consensus on human-induced climate change, creating a false equivalence in public debates .

· The Priority of the Poor (Abandoned): While mainstream Christian initiatives like the Evangelical Climate Initiative frame action as a moral duty to protect the poor, denial groups argue the opposite. They claim climate policies harm the poor by increasing energy costs and delaying economic development, thereby subverting a key moral imperative .

· The Influence of Eschatology: For some, a focus on the “end times” and a physical, corporeal return of Jesus de-emphasizes the importance of long-term stewardship of the Earth. If the world is destined to end, planning for its sustainability over generations becomes a theological irrelevance, a dangerous perspective when influencing policy .

This worldview is part of a broader Eurocentric and colonial mindset that treats the Earth as a resource to be dominated and owned, a stark contrast to many Indigenous worldviews that see rivers, forests, and land as living relatives, not commodities .

III. The Shield of Wealth and the Reality of Tipping Points

A pervasive and fatal assumption is that wealth can provide a permanent shield from the worst impacts of climate change. This is a dangerous illusion.

Wealth provides adaptation, not immunity. As Dr. Guenther argues, the idea that the rich will be fine is a lulling complacency . The climate crisis is not a problem that can be entirely walled off. It threatens food systems, supply chains, political stability, and health security in ways that will eventually breach even the most exclusive enclaves.

The concept of tipping points shatters the myth of manageable, linear change. These are thresholds in the Earth’s system—such as the collapse of the Atlantic Ocean circulation (Amoc), Antarctic ice sheets, or the Amazon rainforest—where a small change can lead to dramatic, irreversible, and catastrophic shifts . As Guenther states, if the risk of a plane crashing was as high as the risk of the Amoc collapsing, no one would ever fly . Yet we continue with business as usual on our planetary spaceship. This is not a chronic, manageable illness like diabetes; it is a cancer that, if unchecked, becomes terminal .

IV. Contemporary Catalysts: The New Frontlines of Action

While the forces of denial are powerful, they are being met with courageous and innovative responses, often from those on the frontlines of the crisis.

· Indigenous and Youth Leadership: From the Bolivian activist Dayana Blanco Quiroga, who uses Indigenous Aymara knowledge to restore wetlands polluted by mining, to the global youth movement sparked by Greta Thunberg, new leaders are emerging . They are not waiting for permission from the old structures.

· Grassroots Entrepreneurship: Young innovators are creating tangible solutions where governments and large corporations have failed. In Algeria’s Smara refugee camp, Mohamed Salam developed a nomadic “sandoponic” farming system to provide food in the desert . In Kenya, Lawrence Kosgei tackles plastic pollution by turning marine waste into school desks, simultaneously addressing an environmental problem and increasing educational access .

Conclusion: A Fight for Life, Motivated by Love

The climate crisis is the direct result of an economic and theological divorce from reality. It is the product of a system that values profit over people and a worldview that devalues the only home we have.

Overcoming this requires more than just new technology; it requires a philosophical revolution. We must move beyond what philosopher Todd Dufresne identifies as the Western “values of freedom and individuality” that have become “inseparable from consumerism” and have given us a “freedom to harm the planet and others without accountability” . We need a globalization of empathy and a new collectivism.

This is, ultimately, a fight for life. And as Dr. Guenther reminds us, we must draw strength from a power greater than greed or hate. “I believe love is an infinite resource and the power of it is greater than that of greed or hate. If it weren’t, we wouldn’t be here” . It is this fierce, protective love for our children, our communities, and our living world that must now become the driving force of our economy, our politics, and our philosophy. The alternative is a world designed for the short-term profit of a few, at the long-term expense of us all.