When it comes to the unwillingness of politicians to act on peak oil and global warming you are left wondering – do they know something we don’t? In the USA, as Al Gore perfectly pointed out in “An Inconvenient Truth” the US Administration’s refusal to enforce new automobile efficiency standards not only threatens US Energy Security but undermines their competitiveness. Why would any sane rational human being deliberately do something that is so obviously against the public interest? Why pursue such narrow self-interest even if it is so self-evidently suicidal?
The answer is simple. Politicians do not operate in the Public Interest. They operate in the interests of wealth and entrenched power. What they know is that measures to benefit untold millions on unborn children won’t fatten their pay cheques or bring them the power and prestige they crave. Research undertaken by Noam Chomsky in “Failed States” (2006) revealed how every major policy decision arising in the last US Election actually went in the opposite direction to Public Opinion. He most obvious example was Medicare. The public wanted more but the Politicians delivered less. Why? What do they know?
The truth is, although the public vote for Politicians the actual policies are largely directed by special interest groups. In the
Democracy is a little more vibrant on the European side of the pond. However, the result is much the same. The continued inaction of Aviation Fuel Taxation across
This is why two forms of action are necessary. Firstly grass roots, and secondly, international. There is no future for International Trade so GATT must be scrapped and placed by International accords on Energy Security, Food Security and Energy Taxation. If every country acts in the same way then no country gains unfair advantage over any other. Hence Politicians can point to international needs for why the economy doesn’t grow or there is less choice on the shelves. Of course, no politician wants to be the first to say this unthinkable thing. Sacrifice. Who will step up to the plate? Who will go that extra mile? It is a modern marvel of our western democratic model that it is so able to over-rule the will of the people in the interest of a minority. What does the minority know that we don’t? Why doesn’t his powerful minority act in their own self-interest and seek to protect that planet and the people on it?
Methinks they have a big rocket ship and all planning to take their money and power to some other corner of the universe leaving the rest of us to burn. Absurd? Of course. But how do sane people behave so irrationally? The Documentary “The Corporation” provided an answer to this. The Corporation’s excuse is that it is legally bound to maximise profit in the present day not sustainability in the longer term. In this way it could be demonstrated that the psychology is essentially that of a psychopath. Well, if Incorporated Business’s have no collective responsibility, but are legally individuals who behave as psychopaths, where does this leave democratic Government? Are they axe murderers? They are meant to be accountable but are not.
Final analysis: the human triumph over energy shortages and Climate Change will be, essentially, triumphs in the reformation of Democracy. Either that, or the people we elect really do know something we don’t.
Please write in with your pet theories as to why Politicians won’t do anything. Here’s an example: Politician’s won’t do anything because they know they have captured Flying Saucers at Area 51. These flying saucers have some wonderful technology that replace all Fossil Fuels. As soon as Fossil Fuels run out it will be revealed to the World. Likewise with Global Warming, they have a special shield they will put around the planet to deflect excess solar radiation negating the Greenhouse Effect. However, if they have all of this why aren’t they using it? For some unnecessarily complicated reason that have to wait for it all to get really bad so that the public will give them a licence to do something about it. In the meantime they can use the chaos caused to enhance their power by going to war over scarce natural resources or blame terrorists for extra security blah blah.
You can be as conspiratorial as you like. We’ll publish the best theories right here! You never know. Some important person might actually read them and start to think that all this secrecy and inaction is really not in their best interest at all. Or we might be spot on and suddenly find that this dot com is suddenly an un-web-site. But conspiracy theories are fun aren’t they? The more you think about them rationally the more ridiculous they are. This only leaves one conclusion.