Coal and the Contradictions of Neoliberalism

Abstract

This concluding chapter examines the contradictions and fissures in the rhetoric of coal industry advocacy. By identifying inconsistencies in the coal industry’s public discourse, the chapter shows where neoliberalism’s footing is not secure and reveals how the coal industry’s rhetoric is a cobbled-together project, not a discursive and ideological monolith. It buttresses a rationality that requires constant rhetorical upkeep, a smoothing and suturing of the various and contradictory neoliberal impulses. The authors argue that these contradictions are sites where environmental and climate advocates can continue to apply pressure and leverage, and that coal is the harbinger of things to come for oil and gas, as climate change awareness, renewable fuels, and regulatory policies continue to apply pressure to the fossil fuel industry.