the Barbaric Heart is civilized

has always happily clad itself in the decorous togas of Rome

the pinstripes of Wall Street

beyond its strength and pride and willingness to take on difficult tasks, there is something dangerous to itself and others in the Barbaric Heart. The Barbaric Heart is a great and energetic actor, but it is no better at questioning itself about the meaning of its actions than capitalism is at asking why the unlimited growth of the Gross Domestic Product is good.

This is the barbaric calculation: if you can prosper from violence, then you should go ahead and be violent.

for every polluting source that we turn off (or “mitigate,”

another two pop up in its place.

For example, at the very moment that we seem to have become serious about reducing our use of petroleum, here comes coal

and tar sands from Canada, the dirtiest and most destructive energy sources of them all.