Over the last few decades, I have followed the philosophical twists and turns of the environmental movement. As a student, I participated in the first Earth Day back in 1970 by inviting a Sierra Club leader to speak in my high school. I also noticed how environmentalism became almost a religion. The philosophy of pantheism began to gain more prominence in the movement. And earth worship almost became a foundational tenet of environmentalism.

I also noticed an increasing condemnation of a free market within the environmental movement. And there was always a belief that the only solution to many of our environmental problems was a global government.

Nevertheless, I was always uncomfortable when a speaker at a political event or a guest on my radio program would link environmentalism to communism. You have probably heard the line: the environmental movement is like a watermelon – green on the outside, red on the inside.

The latest environmental declaration makes me think that those observations aren’t so far off target. Environmental activists from 130 different environmental groups call for an end to capitalism and the free market system. The Margarita Declaration, which was drafted in Venezuela, declares that global warming cannot be stopped without ending the capitalist system.

Actually a free market and private property are important tools in dealing with most forms of pollution. If you own land, you are more likely to take care of it. If everybody owns the land (socialism), often nobody takes care of it. Professor Garrett Hardin called this the “tragedy of the commons.” You could also call it the tragedy of the public restroom. Think of a mess in a typical public restroom. Now compare that to the bathroom in your home. When something is held in common, no one feels the same responsibility as when they own it themselves.

We may have environmental problems to address in our world. Ending capitalism is not the way to solve them.