Despotic Green Policies Led to Impoverishment and Unemployment

As many have predicted, including in this column, the economic terrorism of government green extremists in one country after another has succeeded in splitting their left-wing constituencies by alienating practically the entire working class and huge numbers of other consumers, especially those of middle or modest means, by the economic punishment that the majority of individuals and families suffer as the green despotism intensifies. This process sharply separates those theoretical dogmatists who were prepared to sacrifice practically unlimited amounts of the financial security and disposable income of others in exchange for a reduction of carbon emissions in the overconfident belief that they are somehow making a contribution to the salvation of our planet, from those who have to foot the bill for this ecological wild goose chase. All sane people dislike the pollution of the air and water and soil but that is the issue: to find the most practical midpoint between reducing environmental pollution to a viable minimum, without inflicting unsustainable or unnecessary economic damage on any segment of society.

The government of Germany severely trespassed into the unjustifiable when it shut down the country’s advanced nuclear programme. Further public ruminations about such insane and despotic measures as banning weekend pleasure automobile trips have been bandied about in Germany, which despite its great importance and success remains over-accommodating of ideas of public regimentation that would not be entertained in most other Western countries.

The latest manifestation of this commendable hostility to excessive climate change zeal has come from leaders of the British labour movement. Gary Smith, leader of the GMB Union, Britain’s largest labour confederation with over 500,000 members, last month denounced net zero policies for “hollowing out working class communities.” This came after Tata Steel announced 2,500 permanent layoffs following the closing of the last remaining blast furnaces in the United Kingdom. This will make the UK the only major industrialised economy in the world without any capacity to produce virgin steel, which is critical for defence and other highly-refined industrial uses. The UK retains electric arc furnaces that produce recycled steel with much less employment and a limited range of steel grades.