Joel Kotkin at Forbes has a piece in which he argues Copenhagen's climate summit is nothing short of suicide for the West. Here's a portion:
So why do leaders like Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown continue identifying themselves with the climate change agenda and policies like cap and trade? Perhaps it's best to see this as a clash of classes. Today's environmental movement reflects the values of a large portion of the post-industrial upper class. The big money behind the warming industry includes many powerful corporate interests that would benefit from a super-regulated environment that would all but eliminate potential upstarts.These people generally also do not fear the loss of millions of factory, truck, construction and agriculture-related jobs slated to be "de-developed." These tasks can shift to China, India or Vietnam--where the net emissions would no doubt be higher--at little immediate cost to tenured professors, nonprofit executives or investment bankers. The endowments and the investment funds can just as happily mint their profits in Chongqing as in Chicago.
Global warming-driven land-use legislation possesses a similarly pro-gentry slant. Suburban single family homes need to be sacrificed in the name of climate change, but this will not threaten the large Park Avenue apartments and private retreats of media superstars, financial tycoons and the scions of former carbon-spewing fortunes. After all, you can always pay for your pleasure with "carbon offsets."
So who benefits from this collective ritual seppaku? Hegemony-seeking communist capitalists in China might fancy seeing America and the West decline to the point that they can no longer compete or fund their militaries. A weakened European Union or U.S. also won't be able provide a model of a more democratic version of capitalism to counter China's ultra-authoritarian version.
The Chinese may win a victory in Copenhagen greater than anything accomplished so far in the marketplace--and our leaders will likely thank them for it. Forget bowing to the emperor in Tokyo; like vassal states at the height of the old Middle Kingdom, the new requisite diplomatic skill for Westerners will be kow-towing to Beijing.
Copenhagen and Obama's environmentalism is really nothing more than an end run around the vast majority of the American people. Political leaders have determined that they don't need the consent of the governed because they will just force their will on them, elections be damned. Business leaders see dollar signs in their eyes with all the new regulations coming down the pike that will kill any competition from smaller companies. GE is one of the companies that stands to profit big with Obama's environmental policies. These big companies won't need to worry about the cost of hiring American workers because they can just outsource everything to the "emerging" countries.
Kotkin is right. Obama's environmental polices and his EPA are suicide for America and the West. Copenhagen is the new Jonestown.



Comments (16)
Some people just can't stan... (Below threshold)1. Posted by glenn | December 8, 2009 10:35 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Some people just can't stand prosperity.
1. Posted by glenn | December 8, 2009 10:35 AM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 10:35
2. Posted by Justrand
| December 8, 2009 10:43 AM | Score: 5 (7 votes cast)
Kim, your headline "Copenhagen: the New Jonestown" is the best, and most apt EVAH!
I wonder if they'll have Kool-Aid fountains next to the cavier pyramids?!?
Jim Jones (aka: alGore), will be there in all his plumpness to lead them to drink it! Would that it were real. *sigh*
2. Posted by Justrand
| December 8, 2009 10:43 AM |
Score: 5 (7 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 10:43
3. Posted by Les Nessman | December 8, 2009 11:02 AM | Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Perfect opportunity for the Republican party to make a stand.
One of the planks of any candidate should be to oppose, repeal and reject any of these anti-capitalist, anti-American wealth transfer schemes.
China and India have already announced that they won't abide by these restrictions and we already have lost millions of jobs to them. Do we want to lose more to these 'poor' countries?
And if we do agree to these suicidal restrictions, the U.S. will follow the rules; many of these banana republics will simply cheat and lie.
As unemployment reaches 20% this is a message that will really reasonate with the people. If it goes down as bad as I think it will, the Pols will be lucky not to be strung up.
Repub or third party can make huge gains from this.
Oh, well. The Repub leadership is probably too dumb to really jump on this.
3. Posted by Les Nessman | December 8, 2009 11:02 AM |
Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 11:02
4. Posted by Zelsdorf Ragshaft III | December 8, 2009 11:37 AM | Score: -2 (6 votes cast)
May be time for watering the liberty tree. Ever wonder why the 2nd Amendment was written into the bill of rights? Obama is the answer.
4. Posted by Zelsdorf Ragshaft III | December 8, 2009 11:37 AM |
Score: -2 (6 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 11:37
5. Posted by 914 | December 8, 2009 11:47 AM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Ohh thats beautiful, Obama spouting off His yap again about all the jobs He lost and or destroyed. "Government is not a substitute for job creation." and "Small business tax relief is not proper ingenuity for jobs creation." Or some such nimrodity.
What a F-n idiot..He needs to follow THE MODEL of Jim Jones AKA and all the rest of the commie green carbon abusers need to follow suit.
5. Posted by 914 | December 8, 2009 11:47 AM |
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 11:47
6. Posted by Steve Green | December 8, 2009 11:51 AM | Score: -7 (9 votes cast)
Wackjobs get wackier - film at 11.
I hope there are "Don't Save our Planet" protests in Copenhagen. The world needs to see how crazy the right wing in America has become.
6. Posted by Steve Green | December 8, 2009 11:51 AM |
Score: -7 (9 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 11:51
7. Posted by 914 | December 8, 2009 12:30 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
"I hope there are "Don't Save our Planet" protests in Copenhagen. The world needs to see how crazy the right wing in America has become."
These libs especially Barry are not capable of saving one job ( not even His ), let alone the planet.. You sir are the crazy one.
7. Posted by 914 | December 8, 2009 12:30 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 12:30
8. Posted by Steve Green | December 8, 2009 2:58 PM | Score: -4 (6 votes cast)
"Zelsdorf Ragshaft III, ignorant piece of shit that he is, advocates for the assassination of the president. And Wizbang has no problem with that."
Wizbang is the pea-nuttiest blog around -- hands down -- thanks to Ragshaft and the other small bus clowns that frequent the comment threads spewing hate and advocating violence against the government, poor people, gays, etc...
Gotta love it.
8. Posted by Steve Green | December 8, 2009 2:58 PM |
Score: -4 (6 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 14:58
9. Posted by Les Nessman | December 8, 2009 5:01 PM | Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
"...small bus clowns...
9. Posted by Steve Green | December 8, 2009 2:58 PM"
Nice Steve. Insulting retarded kids.
You should apologize.
9. Posted by Les Nessman | December 8, 2009 5:01 PM |
Score: 0 (4 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 17:01
10. Posted by Staylor | December 8, 2009 5:03 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Unfortunently, Obama doesn't even need the Copenhagen summit to do an end run around the American people. With yesterday's endangerment finding by the EPA he can enforce his regulatory plans through bureaucratic fiat; almost makes one wish for the days when we only had awol judges to worry about. With the EPA being given the power to regulate CO2 expect gas and electricty prices to rise and from there everything else to follow suite. Copenhagen doesn't need to have any effect for whatever nacent recovery we have going to recieve a bullet to the head thanks to the EPA.
'I for one welcome our new environmentalist overlords.'
10. Posted by Staylor | December 8, 2009 5:03 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 17:03
11. Posted by Mac Lorry | December 8, 2009 5:29 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Saylor,
The difference is that EPA rules or any US law can be changed or repealed by the next Administration and/or Congress. If Obama is able to get the Senate to ratify a treaty that has no escape clause, then there's nothing the next Administration and/or Congress can do about it as a treaty has the same weight as the Constitution under US law. Obama doesn't want the EPA to act as he knows it could create a political backlash in 2010 that could give the republicans the numbers to prevent ratification of such a treaty.
11. Posted by Mac Lorry | December 8, 2009 5:29 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 17:29
12. Posted by Staylor | December 8, 2009 5:45 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Yes I agree. But despite that the EPA has gone ahead and issued the endangerment which means they have the full legal means to regulate CO2 as they see fit. They would only have done this if Obama had told them to. I guess that means we have long term good news and short term bad news.
The bad news is that we are probably screwed economically for the immediate future.
The good news is that Obama is not as smart as you think he is.
12. Posted by Staylor | December 8, 2009 5:45 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 17:45
13. Posted by 914 | December 8, 2009 6:02 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Liberal troll dip shit ~
"Zelsdorf Ragshaft III, ignorant piece of shit that he is, advocates for the assassination of the president. And Wizbang has no problem with that.
What the fuck is this world coming to?"
You dumbass, He is pointing out the necessity of citizens right to bear arms against an out of control Government set up as King to determine all our rights and liberties.
There is nothing else between us accept the ability to self defend against serfdom being pushed by a Monarchy REP or DEM.
13. Posted by 914 | December 8, 2009 6:02 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 18:02
14. Posted by Flu-Bird | December 8, 2009 11:06 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
The radical new age pagan movment of today is the enviromental movment based on the pagan GAIA concept that the earth is a living being as was the rediculous idea from that science fruad JAMES LOVELOCK
14. Posted by Flu-Bird | December 8, 2009 11:06 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 8, 2009 23:06
15. Posted by Brian Richard Allen
| December 9, 2009 7:44 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"" Obama's environmental polices and his EPA are suicide for America and the West. Copenhagen is the new Jonestown. ""
Suicide?
Jonestown?
Nah!
Betrayed and/or offered up as human sacrifice, perhaps and/or for mass murder!
As (when bits of it still mattered worth a damn) was all of Europe.
At Munich.
15. Posted by Brian Richard Allen
| December 9, 2009 7:44 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on December 9, 2009 07:44
16. Posted by Paul Hooson | December 9, 2009 4:55 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
China is the nation that most needs to reduce pollution. The air quality in 500 of their cities is worse than smoking a pack a day for children living there. And much electronic scrap is shipped there, polluting the villages with lead and other substances.
16. Posted by Paul Hooson | December 9, 2009 4:55 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on December 9, 2009 16:55