By Iain Murray
Tuesday, December 01, 2020
One of the most interesting results of our recent
elections was that Americans rejected socialism — or at least its close
American equivalent — despite its seemingly
growing popularity. Successfully labeling their opponents as socialists
propelled many Republican candidates to victories in down-ballot races,
particularly in areas with immigrants who had fled avowedly socialist regimes.
Socialist-style policies were also defeated in ballot-measure votes, even in
progressive states such as California.
Many commentators have noted that Joe Biden’s record of
moderation in the Senate made it difficult to paint him as socialist. That does
not mean, however, that socialism in all its variations has been defeated
outright. As we are seeing in other parts of the world, what we once would have
called socialism has evolved: Its future is green, not red.
This is most apparent in Europe. Across the western half
of the continent, old-style socialist and social-democratic parties have seen
their vote shares plunge in recent years. Green parties have risen in their
place. Indeed, the Guardian characterized their successes in the 2019
European Parliament elections as a “quiet
revolution.”
Yet the Greens are no less radical than their red
predecessors. As the Guardian put it, “they have consolidated a
manifesto that puts social justice and human rights at the heart of the fight
for the planet, drawing in voters disillusioned with mainstream centre-left parties.”
We can discuss what the Greens mean by “human rights” on
another occasion.
Meanwhile, the British Green Party is touting not just a
Green New Deal for energy, but ones for housing (building 100,000 new
state-owned homes) and income (introducing a universal basic income of $120 per
week), among many others.
Climate change is at the heart of this radicalism. It
represents the perfect excuse for socialist central planning. Industry and
individual choices such as automobile driving, the argument goes, are wrecking
the planet, and therefore must be centrally controlled and regulated so that
emissions are reduced to a level that constrains climate change.
The regulations to achieve this end must be introduced
now on an emergency basis and exist in perpetuity. According to the climate
warriors, there is virtually no aspect of American economic life that does not
have some effect on climate. It’s misbegotten, of course, but to be expected:
If climate is at the heart of your policy, you will need to control all the
myriad human actions and interactions that might affect it.
Since the early days of the Biden campaign, climate
activists have happily proclaimed that his climate agenda is “a Green
New Deal in all but name.” The Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force document
on environmental policy, coauthored by the newly named special envoy for
climate, John Kerry, is entitled “Combating the Climate Crisis and Pursuing
Environmental Justice.”
The transition team’s summary memo on how to approach
climate aspects of the transition includes policies not just for the
Environmental Protection Agency, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic
Administration, and the Departments of the Interior, Energy, and
Transportation, but for the Departments of Agriculture, State, Justice, and
Treasury, as well as the Office of Management and Budget. Personnel is policy,
goes the saying in Washington, and, evidently, the Biden transition team’s plan
to staff all these departments with climate activists.
The memo envisages “new authorities that allow for
structural and systemic changes.” Without control of the Senate, the new
administration will find it difficult to set these up. However, thanks to
excessive delegations of power from Congress to the executive over the years,
President Biden will be able to do a lot through regulation via executive order
— with the power of the “pen and phone,” as President Obama put it.
We can expect significant restrictions on the use of
fossil fuels and machines that use them. Massive amounts of public funds will
be spent on promoting “green jobs” — and the administration will use its powers
under labor law to ensure that these are union jobs. Non-union jobs such as
independent contracting will come under increased fire, with emissions-heavy
delivery services probably in the crosshairs once the COVID crisis eases. Trade
tariffs will be raised on the basis of emission levels in the trading partner’s
country — which will hit the developing world hard.
Even financial regulation will likely play a role in this
bout of central planning. Regulators can use an array of supervisory powers to
intimidate bankers into not lending — or denying other banking services — to
fossil fuel-related businesses. This was the model the Obama administration
used to try to drive the payday loan industry out of business, in something
called Operation Choke Point. We can expect the new administration to try
again, with a wider array of targets this time.
The tech industry is likely to be another target. We have
already seen how tech companies have used the power of moderation to target
sources of “disinformation” regarding the election and the pandemic. The threat
of antitrust action by the new administration is likely to make them take more
action against climate-change skeptics. The chances of an article like this
being shared over social media will diminish.
“Red” socialism may have been vanquished at the ballot
box, but Americans need to be aware that its green successor is just as much of
a threat to their freedoms.
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