As eco-socialists disagree with the elite theories of capitalism , which tend to label a specific class or social group as conspirators who construct a system that satisfies their greed and personal desires , Kovel suggests that the capitalist system itself is self-perpetuating , fuelled by extra-human or impersonal forces . He uses the Bhopal Union-Carbide industrial disaster as an example . Many anti-corporation observers would blame the avarice of those at the top of many multi-national corporations . Conversely , Kovel traces systemic impulses . Union Carbide were experiencing a decrease in sales that led to falling profits , which , due to stock market conditions , translated into a drop in share values . The depreciation of share value made many shareholders sell their stock , weakening the company and leading to cost-cutting measures that eroded the safety procedures and mechanisms at the Bhopal site . Though this did not , in Kovel 's mind , make Bhopal inevitable , it illustrates the effect market forces can have on increasing the likelihood of ecological and social problems
Bhopal
Bhopal disaster
Joel Kovel