James Freeman of The Wall Street Journal writes about the folly of degrowth environmentalism.
- The degrowth climate movement believes that the best way to address climate change and other environmental issues is by reducing the economic output of prosperous societies while increasing the size of government.
- The best way to address climate, energy, and environmental issues is with economic freedom and implementing policies to spur innovation.
- Economic prosperity allows societies to invest in reliable energy, waste management, and other infrastructure which reduce disaster-related fatalities and improve standards of living.
- The answer to climate change is economic freedom not economic degrowth.
“Less-necessary production is often in the eye of the beholder, but fuel, food, clothing and transportation might not be the first sectors that come to mind when consumers consider things they can do without. As for the goals of fewer private jets and a reduction in purchasing power among the rich, even ecological economists ought to understand that there will be a downside for those who produce what the rich purchase. The authors might consider what happened to shipyard workers when the U.S. Congress sought to soak the rich by applying a heavy tax on yachts in 1990. Sales plummeted, and so did jobs.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
