fuckyeahmarxismleninism:

By Gloria Verdieu and M. Matsemela-Ali Odom

The abundance and frequency of the current spate of fires, however, can be seen as the result of anarchic capitalism and the drive for profits in real estate. And the serious consequences in death and destruction can be blamed on the lack of social planning to confront emergencies, complicated by an ultra-right president.

The fires themselves are the direct result of overdevelopment of formerly unsettled parts of California — for divergent yet related reasons. In Southern California, the Woolsey Fire has largely consumed high-priced real estate in beautiful, pristine areas sold to people with money.

The Northern California Camp Fire, on the other hand, has affected many poorer and older Californians — some of whom have been pushed out of overpriced urban areas: in other words, due to gentrification.

By using “volunteer” prison labor, the state says it saves $90 million to $100 million a year. It also claims to help inmates learn new skills while working in a team environment. Of course, no jobs in this field are guaranteed for ex-prisoners.

Trump continues to deny that human behavior produces global warming and that this is a major cause of more incidences of drought. The vegetation becomes dry and flammable, providing more fuel for fires. Poorly laid electrical lines may start a fire and then Santa Ana winds spread it.

California wildfires are symptoms of a crisis in capitalism.  Exploitation and disregard for the land and resources and for poor and working people have created this annual terror residents experience.

California fires are crises of capitalism