Why do politicians the world over love environmentalists and hate libertarians? Why is environmentalism taught in schools and libertarianism never? If you carefully look into the reasons behind this phenomenon, you will find that politicians and bureaucrats hate libertarians because libertarians wants to cut back the State, get rid of arbitrary powers, abolish many taxes and so on. Libertarians talk and write about all the wrongs the State does to human society.
Now look at environmentalists. They hate human beings – the “population problem.” They see all human activity as a threat to the world – and they call upon the State to fix things. As with “global warming” and “climate change” – the environmentalists have thought of a new tax, the “carbon tax.” No wonder Al Gore loves to be an environmentalist.
Next: look at the different “utopias” of libertarians and environmentalists. Libertarians idealise the most perfect freedom. Environmentalists idealise “pristine” Nature. They are all from cities – but they love the jungle. They love beasts – the tigers and the elephants – and never consider what life must be like for someone who lives near wild elephants and tigers. These forest-dwellers are enemies of the environmentalist. Their greatest friends are the State forest guards – the very people the forest-dwellers hate.
Environmentalists are therefore enemies of Man, enemies of Freedom, and friends of the State. This should always be borne in mind. They are all “watermelons”: green outside, but red inside.
This is not to say that libertarians are against the conservation of nature and energy. But the approaches chosen by the libertarian are very different from those of the environmentalist. To the libertarian, forests and wildlife are best conserved (and trees are best looked after) under a system of Private Property. Environmentalists want the State to take over the forests and wildlife (and minerals). Their policy prescriptions are the root cause of Maoism. It is they who murdered Veerappan, who could have well been a sandalwood farmer. In Goa, every beach belongs to the State because of the environmentalists: the Coastal Zone Regulation Act passed by a Parliament 2000 miles away from the coast!
As for conservation of energy: libertarians believe man naturally conserves energy if market prices hold sway. We buy fuel-efficient cars to conserve petrol. We stitch off lights, fans and air-conditioners when we leave the house. We turn off the taps.
On this score, too, the environmentalists suggest strong State action. In India, they want to BAN ordinary filament bulbs in order to FORCE all the people to buy expensive, new-fangled fluorescent lamps. Truly laughable in a poor country. Do not forget that Laloo Yadav’s electoral symbol is the kerosene lantern, far more energy inefficient than Edison’s bulb.
Thus, environmentalists want to impose heavy taxes on certain sources of energy in order to promote “clean” energy – that which is still not “economically feasible.” No wonder the State loves them and hates us.
Environmentalism is thus a new sort of Interventionism that has been sanctioned by gullible public opinion. It is this opinion that must be changed. In the final analysis, what the public must consider is this: Do you love human beings? Or do you love the State? In India, at least, the answer should be obvious. In India, environmentalism should be thoroughly rejected in favour of the idea that human beings are the “ultimate resource”; that Liberty from the State is what we all need; that cities are our natural environment; and that jungles should belong to those who live there.
Finally, it must be noted that Nature is a merciless enemy of man. My garden would be overrun by weeds and bugs if I did not protect it from nature. The history of civilization (cities) is but a story of man’s conquest over the forces of nature.
Even pretty birds are a threat to man. Notice the scarecrows on every farmer’s field. Yes, look at scarecrows most carefully next time you see one. They tell a story about the romantic delusions of environmentalism.
[This is the concluding post of a 5-part series on Interventionism. To read the others, click on the label "Interventionism" on the right-hand bar.]
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