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Global Warming - Global Wealth Can Heal the Planet
Jonah Goldberg
Climate Change: Global Carbon Footprint
(c) M. Ryder
As the
Bolivian president
Zimbabwean dictator
Right. That is, unless Mugabe kills them first.
The big name in the anti-capitalism club was, of course,
I don't know how to say "chutzpah" in Spanish, but you've got to hand it to the leader of the world's No. 5 supplier of oil for bemoaning the system that keeps his regime afloat by buying his product.
Now, I know that nice, moderate progressive types are rolling their eyes at my cynical effort to associate their noble activism with support for socialism and thugs. Fair enough. Let us concede that many, perhaps even most, proponents of draconian restrictions on carbon emissions have no sympathy for socialist dictators and do not want to chuck capitalism in the dustbin of history. But surely it should trouble these responsible greens that they're in bed with a "Star Wars" cantina of villains and monsters.
Also, if environmentalists want to avoid the "watermelon" charge ("green on the outside, red on the inside"), maybe the delegates and activists in the audience shouldn't have given Chavez such a loud and boisterous round of applause? Perhaps the folks who gave him a standing ovation didn't help either?
The simple truth is that hostility to freedom (i.e., economic liberty and political democracy) and fondness for non-democratic statism suffuses much of the environmental movement. I will confess to having a minor obsession with the
So consider instead
Population control has always been at the heart of the progressive project, so it's no surprise that it's in fashion once again.
But Francis' proposal is particularly disgusting, not least because Francis has two children. I think the hypocrisy charge is overused in political debate these days, but when you tout a totalitarian police state's population policy of, among other things, forced abortions, you might try harder to practice what you preach. Think globally, act locally and all that.
But Francis' argument is also stunningly stupid, as are virtually all of the complaints about capitalism being the root of the problem.
The historical record is clear: Democratic free-market nations are better at protecting their environments than statist regimes for the simple reason that they can afford to.
Mugabe rails against capitalism as if he has a better idea of how to run things. That's almost funny given that Mugabe has destroyed what was once a great cause for hope in
Moreover, capitalism, and the wealth it creates, is the best means of bending down the population curve. Don't take my word for it. The
Want to know the best way to heal the planet? Create more rich countries. Want to know the best way to hurt the planet? Throw a wet blanket on economic growth.
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Global Warming - Global Wealth Can Heal the Planet | Jonah Goldberg
(c) 2009 Jonah Goldberg