RogersWrite

My good friend Roger put me on to blogging. His own blog, XDA, is a paradigm of conservative political argument, always insightful and well-argued, if sometimes infuriating to those of us of a more liberal ilk! Even so, I was surprised to find Roger, during our somewhat-harsher-than-usual Colorado winter, arguing against the notion that global warming is being measurably exacerbated by human emissions. After all, that's science, not politics, surely, and that's what the scientists were telling us. Or at least, at that time, that's what some of them were telling Al Gore. And didn't the intergovernmental report seal the deal? Certainly, says Roger, if you're a "Warmie", one who is predisposed to accept that Gobal Warming is a Global Crisis. It seems the "science" of climate prediction is controversial, such that one's political (or emotional) leanings may influence how you read and interpret it.

One of Roger's arguments, that I at first found ludicrous, kinda stuck with me, like some films do - you find yourself continuing to think about them for days, nay months (The Lives of Others did that for me) afterwards. It is that lefties support the global warming idea so passionately not because of their worry over the future plight of others, but because they harbor a present guilt over the "excesses" of western capitalism, and GW is another in a line of scapegoats with which to condemn it. Ridiculous, right?

Not according The Week (UK) editor Jemima Lewis, who notes that Jan Grzebski, the Pole who awoke after 19 years in coma, is troubled by contemporary countrymen who never stop complaining, despite their new-found western-style "blessings". Jemima generalizes from this one case to muse that "those who benefit from capitalism are seldom made happy by it". We are then treated to this Faustian conclusion: "We may enjoy the forces it [capitalism] unleashes- creativity, entrepreneurialism and the chance to get filthy rich - but they often feel like guilty pleasures, paid for with a slice of the soul...with capitalism comes guilt - ...some day, we must pay heavily for our good fortune". Like when the earth is 10 degrees warmer, perhaps?

I am reminded of fundamentalist Christians, who argue that AIDS is the price of the sin of homosexuality. There is a relationship between homosexual practice and AIDS, but it's not one of sin and punishment - it's the simple physical causality whereby infections like HIV can be transmitted to others sexually. Gays should note this effect of promiscuity (as should we all, of course) and adjust their behavior accordingly. But this brute fact alone does not imply gays should now feel guilty for being gay. Similarly, there's a link between capitalism and the exacerbation of global warming by humans, but again it's not sin and punishment. The release of carbon hitherto hidden in fossil fuels, and the like apparently acts as like a greenhouse. Who knew? If the Warmie science is correct, we should be planning ways to curb our carbon, certainly, but we should not all suddenly feel guilty about our carbon-releasing behavior to date. We weren't all deliberately flying to Sydney and back or running our dishwashers constantly, or driving round and around for hours in dastardly plots to warm the planet. We were just living our lives, and it turns out we need to make changes, that's all. How will we come up with ways to counter the warming problem? By using the weapons that capitalism has always used to solve human problems (infection protection, information processing, getting ourselves around, , etc etc...) - creativity, entrepreneurialism and the chance to get filthy rich.

It's interesting that the English love the pejorative "filthy" to describe wealthy folks. Riches gained immorally may warrant the adjective, but that's not the implication, which is that riches gained through skillful execution of entreprenuerialism are filthy. Why is that? Branson and Gates are smart opportunists, capitalisms' poster children - are they to be damned as filthy? Should they be feeling guilty? Are they the least happy amongst us, who will need to pay the heaviest for their good fortune? No doubt with wealth comes certain obligations, but Ms Lewis' piece apparently condemns all of us for making a pact with that devil Captialism. If her words indeed resonate amongst Europeans, and Roger is even half right, it is little wonder the Warmies have won the day in that neck of the woods. Shame...I would really like to know which science to believe, free of the shackles of a guilt-ridden angst.

I must personally report that I am happy to be living in the cusp of capitalism; I enjoy its forces and revel daily in its achievements to date! I like being able to take advantage of modern medicine, read about brain science, have an air conditioner cool the house, and write blogs on the amazing internet. And I think it's good that we don't have slaves, child labor or human sacrifices any more. We should be proud of capitalism's achievements, not looking for apocalyptic evidence of its inherent evil. How absurd. Yes I pay dearly for my modern life, but only because I occasionally have to replace car engines, repair air conditioners and buy cell phones!

thanks for the blog, Roger - I don't get there as often as I'd like, but when I do it's always rewarding!