Hyper-capitalism has guided our economic choices throughout the centuries to become a society that is centered upon consumerism. Hyper-capitalism can be best defined as system that places greater importance on consumption than it does on the welfare of the citizens. It is within this system that economic and social inequality is greatly exaggerated and the only response to an economic crisis is to persuade consumers to purchase more goods. It is through this economic evolution that decision-making regarding our land-use choices has been directly influenced by the hybrid economic structure that has become a flagship for progress, success and freedom.
While natural competition and free-market economies are better left to economic discussion forums, the influence that hyper-capitalism has had on our society can be seen through a majority of our developmental choices. These choices have been based on principles that repeatedly and deliberately ignore the principles of sustainability.
In the United States, the role that hyper-capitalism has played in our development can best be illustrated by the adoption of an auto-centric mindset by our society. The most obvious example of this influence is in the design and implementation of the Eisenhower Interstate System. The Interstate System was always intended to become more than an aspect of our nation’s defense policy. The approval and implementation of the interstate system signified how important the automobile (and its related industries) was to the daily maintenance of what would become our hyper-capitalist economy.
Since the design and construction of the system, Americans have become increasingly enamored with automobiles, regardless of the fact that throughout their history the technology associated with the design and operation of these vehicles has changed very little. The United States government spends more money on road-based transportation than on any other mode, including the airline industry. In addition to added government expenditures, the number of registered vehicles (240,059,464) in the United States exceeds the number of licensed drivers (203,000,000), demonstrating our appetite for automobiles and the required infrastructure to operate these vehicles.
Discussing definitions and economic theories belies the driving reasons the United States in particular and other nations with imperiled coastlines must address the needs of sustainability even within the bounds of a hyper-capitalistic drive. The damage inflicted to the landscape of the Gulf Coast of the United States as a result of the pursuit of hyper-capitalism extends beyond the auto-centric nature of governmental transportation planning.
“The Federal Government, directly and indirectly, through the laws it writes, the programs it enacts and the regulations it issues, has contributed more than its share to the ugliness of our landscape.” -Sen. Harrison Williams (1919-2001)
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