Democracy May Be An Obstacle To Climate Action Or Something

We’ve already established that a chunk of the Cult of Climastrology is against actual democracy, and would prefer an authoritarian style government. This is just another nail in the coffin (via Watts Up With That?)

Both conservatives and liberals can agree on action on climate change

We tend to assume that democracies, over the long arc of history, work towards progress and justice. But with an issue like climate change, we’re running out of time.

It may come as a surprise, but at the moment, democracy may be an obstacle to the rapid action we need on climate change.

Democratic governments naturally swing back and forth between conservative and liberal control. But environmental issues are increasingly associated with liberal values exclusively in countries like Canada and the United States.

The transition from a liberal government to a conservative one often leads to a relapse of environmental policies, including program cuts, delays and even outright rejections or silencing of the science underlying climate change.

Now, in all fairness, the writer, Christian Elliott, a PhD Student and Researcher, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, attempts to find a way to make sure that climate action continues regardless of which party is in charge, be it the U.S., Canada, or other countries with democracy roots.

Environmentalism is often cast by conservatives as a “regulatory science,” a project of big government. Yet any cursory scan of prominent policy ideas about climate run the gamut of the philosophical spectrum, from initiatives that rely on market innovation and dynamism to complex regulatory regimes, taxes and public sector transformations.

First, ‘climate change’ is not the environment. Second, if one is going to site something like that, it’d be nice if the readers could see it for themselves. That link is behind a firewall. Third, in later paragraphs, Elliot blames this all on meanies like fossil fuel companies and think tanks. Perhaps he should read all the polls about people not wanting to pay for ‘climate change’ out of their own pockets.

We have real world examples of this approach at play. Though by name the “Green New Deal” is associated with large-scale American public investment and thus “big government,” it’s also sensitive to the plight of citizens that might otherwise embody a conservative anti-environment sentiment.

That’s gaslighting. The entire thing is all about massive government intervention in our lives.

In the face of close federal elections, environmentalists may double down on their partisanship. But in the long term, environmental advocates should be thinking strategically about how to engage and build coalitions with voters on the other side of the spectrum, and how to combat and undermine negative stereotypes and frameworks generated by those who benefit from keeping conservatives out of the movement.

Right, right. Try engaging a Warmist on Twitter or other social media. They’ll block you. Or in comments sections. Many media outlets have outright banned Skeptics from commenting, and they will not allow their material on their sites. TV stations will often refuse to allow Skeptics to debate. There’s little attempt to bring us over to their side. Warmists talk a big game, but, they cannot debate their position, they cannot offer rock solid evidence that the current warm period is mostly/solely caused by the actions of Mankind via greenhouse gases, they say the debate is over, and they want democracy voided in order to get their way.

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5 Responses to “Democracy May Be An Obstacle To Climate Action Or Something”

  1. Kye says:

    Democracies in the long arch of history destroy themselves because of stupid people like these. “Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”

    We are in the midst of watching the left destroy ours. And we had the safety valve of being a republic not a complete democracy.

  2. Professor Hale says:

    Democracy is always an obstacle to tyranny. For that matter, current tyranny is an obstacle to future tyranny. Most communist movements are simply future tyranny that hasn’t earned their way into power yet.

  3. Elwood P. Dowd says:

    Actually, the democracies of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany etc etc etc (some nearly 1000 years old) are doing OK. It’s the commie countries that gave up their failed top-down economies for capitalism, proving that an authoritarian/capitalist economy is a viable policy (Trump’s Objective). It allows billionaire style grifting (Putin and Xi) while lining the pockets of their closest associates, with no oversight (Trump’s Objective). China and Russia are very pleased with Mr. Trump.

    In the US we’ve elected a president unmoored by American ideals, freedoms, mores, human decency and any sense of community or commonweal. He represents a slice of Americans, but not all Americans.

    We recognize the far-right belief that the US is in decline with the only solution to blow it all up with a benign dictator (a disruptor!) to override objections from “silly” Congress to get rid of “commies”, immigrants, Muslims, non-believers, etc.

    As we’ve said before, Trump is appeals to anti-immigrant, anti-abortion, anti-diversity, anti-worker, pro-protectionism, and now “America-firsters”. He’s supported fervently by white, fundamentalist Christian conservative men and reluctantly by wealthy elites, i.e., the evolving constituency of the GOP over the last several decades. Whereas Nixon, Reagan and especially the Bush presidents kept it on the “down-low”, the crude trump leads with it.

    • formwiz says:

      Actually, the democracies of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany etc etc etc (some nearly 1000 years old) are doing OK.

      Actually, they aren’t. Most of them would rank among the poorest American states. And England doesn’t have an economy. The UK does.

      an authoritarian/capitalist economy is a viable policy (Trump’s Objective). It allows billionaire style grifting (Putin and Xi) while lining the pockets of their closest associates, with no oversight (Trump’s Objective).

      No, the grifting is by the Democrats. And Xi’s job is hanging by a thread, so I doubt he’s crazy at all about the God Emperor of the Cherry Blossom Throne.

      You don’t know any more about International relations than you do economics.

      In the US we’ve elected a president unmoored by American ideals, freedoms, mores, human decency and any sense of community or commonweal. He represents a slice of Americans, but not all Americans.

      English translation: Donald Trump is a real American and he doesn’t want the kind of Commie Uni-party that prevailed under Zippy.

      PS He’s a good 5 points higher in approval than Zippy was at this point.

      We recognize the far-right belief that the US is in decline with the only solution to blow it all up with a benign dictator (a disruptor!) to override objections from “silly” Congress to get rid of “commies”, immigrants, Muslims, non-believers, etc.

      Hewlett-Packard, please pick up the white security telephone. Someone is using your projector.

      As we’ve said before, Trump is appeals to anti-immigrant, anti-abortion, anti-diversity, anti-worker, pro-protectionism, and now “America-firsters”. He’s supported fervently by white, fundamentalist Christian conservative men and reluctantly by wealthy elites, i.e., the evolving constituency of the GOP over the last several decades.

      English translation: He won’t let the Demos have their way no matter how many tantrums Pelois Galore throws.

      Whereas Nixon, Reagan and especially the Bush presidents kept it on the “down-low”, the crude trump leads with it.

      English translation: We got rid of Nixon, tried to neutralize Reagan, the Bushes turned out to be too nice to deal with us, but Trump won’t let us get away with anything.

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