How can our standard of living withstand such an assault?
Are we “rich enough” as a country?
It seems absurd to ask that, since we should be continuously trying to be wealthier and wealthier.
After all, per-capita GDP is the best way of identifying how our standard of living fares.
We have a much higher per capita GDP than 100 years ago, and that tracks with the fact that the average Canadian is better off than people were 100 years ago.
The idea that each generation does better than the last is deeply embedded within our society, as it should be.
We should always be seeking to raise our per-capita GDP, striving to greater things and higher levels of achievement, and the accumulation of human knowledge and innovation in a free society should make us wealthier.
Previous instances in history have proven wrong those who claimed that ‘growth was over’ or ‘growth’ was impossible.
The ‘expert science’ at one time held that India couldn’t sustain a growing population and that mass starvation would ensue, yet human innovation led to rapid advances and India now not only feeds itself, but is also an exporter of food.
The same is true around the world, as we are capable of sustaining a much larger population than was previously thought feasible.
I mention this because the political discussion around ‘climate change’ often sounds like a throwback to discredited ways of thinking.
Just like the Malthusians, governments like the Trudeau Liberals have an extremely pessimistic view of the future.
To do so, they are launching a co-ordinated, all-out-assault on our standard of living, by attacking the pillars of what makes abundance possible.
We need cheap and abundant energy, and affordable food. Without that, advanced and prosperous civilizations are not possible.
The Liberals seem either unwilling or unable to comprehend the power of human creativity and innovation, and seem to think that we are ‘rich enough’ as a country and that we should stop trying to grow the economic pie but instead put the government in charge of dividing it up.
Consider what the Liberals are proposing in the their cap-and-trade system, which would exist alongside the already-existing carbon tax.
The Liberals are demanding that the oil & gas sector cut emissions by about 40% by 2030.
By 2030, the Liberals want all emissions to be reduced by 40-45% compared to 2005.
Such drastic targets can only be achieved with a huge reduction in our standard-of-living, and a much lower per-capita GDP when adjusted for inflation.
Emissions have fallen without government action
One thing that doesn’t get enough attention is that emissions have already been steady, and falling in many Western countries, including Canada.
Indeed, emissions in both Canada and the United States fell, even when pro-energy sector governments were in power.
The reason is that each civilization seems to go through a very emission-heavy process when transitioning from an agrarian to an industrial economy. When that transition finishes, the transition to a more information-based and ‘dematerialized’ economy leads to stable emissions, and often declining emissions.
That has already been happening in Canada for some time. And it was happening at a reasonable pace, in line with market incentives and still allowing for economic growth, because it was a decentralized process, rather than a state-mandated process.
So why are governments pushing draconian targets, attacking the energy sector, and even now going after farmers?
Because it’s about control.
If they were honest and admitted that ‘civilizational evolution and human innovation are already leading to lower emissions without government action,’ they wouldn’t be able to convince people to accept a power grab.
The only way that anyone would go along with a cut to their standard of living is if a fear-based, war-like atmosphere can be generated, where everyone is ‘in danger’ and ‘sacrifice’ is necessary.
And that’s the rhetoric we see today.
The endless effort to keep people in a state of fear and crisis is all about ensuring that people won’t realize how their standard of living is under deliberate attack from the government.
Spencer Fernando
***
If am funded by Canadians like you, not the Trudeau government. If you support my writing, you can make a contribution through PayPal, or directly through Stripe below.
[simpay id=”28904″]
