Hervé Kempf, journalist: ‘The super-rich like Musk and Bezos promote a cultural model that represents an ecological disaster’

In 2007, French journalist Hervé Kempf, 67, published the book How the Rich Are Destroying the Earth, and now he’s releasing a graphic novel in Spain in which he goes after millionaires even more fiercely. In this new publication, titled How the Rich Plunder the Earth, Kempf appears as a character himself, alongside illustrator Juan Mendez, taking the lead in the fight against private jet owners and vast fortunes. According to Kempf, what is happening in the U.S. government with super-rich figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk shows that “capitalism is becoming radicalized.”

Question. What has changed in the 17 years between the book How the Rich Destroy the Planet and the graphic novel?

Answer. The overall ecological situation has worsened enormously. And the rich, the super-rich, have become even richer. Capitalism has become radicalized; it has no regard for social issues, inequalities, or ecology. We continue moving toward an increasingly digitalized world, even heading toward the creation of a class of “superior” people, while disregarding a large part of humanity.

Q. Why do you blame the rich for global warming or biodiversity loss?

A. On the one hand, the impact of the rich on climate change emissions is very significant. It is estimated that the richest 10% of the world’s population generates approximately half of the planet’s emissions. This is already a very important factor. And here we must keep in mind that this richest 10% includes almost half of the population of France, Germany, Italy, and possibly Spain. Or 60% of the population of Canada or the United States. On the other hand, the super-rich like the Musks, the Bezoses and the Zuckerbergs promote a cultural model that represents an ecological catastrophe.

Q. What do you mean by that?

A. Here we draw on the theory of a 19th-century American economist, Thorstein Veblen, who explains that the cultural model propagated by the richest people influences all social groups below, because in all social groups we are subject to an ostentatious rivalry of symbolic status, which leads us imitate the lifestyle of those at the top. In a world with historically exceptional levels of inequality — unseen in the past 2,000 years — the wasteful habits of those at the top shape the behavior and lifestyles of all societies.

Q. But, as you said, in that top 10% includes many people who don’t own private jets or wield much influence.

A. That’s right. I make a clear distinction between the ultra-rich and the rich. The richest 10% of the planet includes approximately 800 million people, and this represents a good part of the population of France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, the United States... This may be surprising, but anyone who earns twice the average salary can be considered rich. In Spain, that would be someone who earns about €3,500 [$3,900] net per month. Obviously, most of these people have nothing to do with the Musks, the Bezoses, and the ultra-rich. In fact, they are closer to the middle class or even the poor in their society than to those at the very top. Inequalities have grown enormously. It’s no longer shaped like a pyramid, like the one at Giza — it’s more like a needle.

Q. To reduce inequality, you advocate, among other measures, for higher taxes on the super-rich. Is that right?

A. From an ecological perspective, which is mine — I’m an environmentalist — reducing inequalities is key. There’s a proposal called the Zucman tax, which was discussed at the G20 in Brazil a year ago and supported by the Spanish government. It proposes collecting 2% of the wealth of billionaires. It’s a very small reduction in inequality, but it would mean hundreds of billions of euros to lift people out of poverty and reorient the collective economy in favor of public transportation, organic farming, cycling in cities, energy retrofitting...

Q. But in the graphic novel, you say it’s not enough to change the super-rich — we need to change the system.

A. For me, it’s the same thing, since the current system of capitalism is based on extreme inequality in which billionaires are in power. What has happened in the United States, which remains the world’s leading power, is quite mind-boggling. The person in power is a billionaire, Mr. Trump, surrounded by other billionaires, like Musk, in particular, but also Bezos and the Zuckerbergs, who support him. The system no longer has any objective other than to maintain these extreme inequalities. That’s why it must change.

Q. What do you think of the measures implemented by the Trump administration?

A. It confirms what Juan Mendes and I have been saying — something that brings me no satisfaction: that capitalism is becoming radicalized and has chosen to go against democracy and support the far right. This is very serious, but in a way, things have become clearer — we now know where we stand. As one billionaire said, “There’s a class war, and the rich are winning.” Those were the words of Mr. Warren Buffett. Now we need to take a firm stance of rejection — these people are our adversaries. The good news is that there is growing opposition to all this and many alternatives to manage society differently.

Q. You say that in order to change things in favor of the environment, sobriety must be made desirable. But some green measures are generating a lot of public backlash.

A. I fully support the need to move toward greater sobriety. But what you say is true: the political battle is to make ecological alternatives realistic and credible. The left and environmentalists need to take climate change, drought, water, agriculture, and also inequalities seriously. [Addressing] the issue of inequalities is an essential condition for changing things.

Q. In the graphic novel, you are very critical of future humans enhanced by technology.

A. This comic is not fiction, but a journalistic work supported by documents and a lot of work. What we describe is the technocapitalist project developed within Silicon Valley, California, with the theories of Ray Kurzweil, which foresees a fusion between technology and humans. Those who hybridize with machines will become a new species, a new step in human evolution. The shocking thing about this vision is that only a fraction of people will participate. It’s a new inequality that divides the species; it’s racist.

Q. You don’t rule out the possibility of sabotage or violence against the super-rich. Isn’t that too radical?

A. I insist: it’s capitalism that’s becoming radicalized. They are the radicals, they are the ones who apply repressive laws and increasingly tighter control of the population. We’re not saying that this should be done; we’re journalists. What we’re saying is that an author like Kim Stanley Robinson, the famous American science fiction writer, anticipates in his book The Ministry of the Future that if things continue like this, there will be people who want to blow up private jets.

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