Green Capitalism as the New “Civilizing” Mission
The city’s response to the climate crisis is being shaped by the logic of the bifurcated state, creating a climate apartheid. Mamdani’s framework reveals “resiliency” planning as a new “civilizing” mission where the “settler” neighborhoods receive fortified infrastructure while “native” communities in coastal areas are designated as sacrifice zones. Green capitalism offers market-based solutions that further enrich the elite while doing little to stop the flooding and heat waves that will devastate the poor. This is not a failure of policy but its intent: to manage the effects of collapse along existing colonial lines. A Marxist-feminist solution demands a radical, decommodified approach: public ownership of energy, a city-wide retrofit led by a civilian climate corps, and a planned relocation that prioritizes community integrity over real estate value, fighting for a just transition that leaves no one behind.
