Environmentalism has been the home of Western Communists and their ilk since the collapse of the Soviet Union. While sharing many of the same philosophical underpinnings, Environmentalism offered what Communism lacked—a crisis.
While cries of impending peril would have fallen on deaf ears (or warranted time in the gulag) under an oppressive regime like the USSR, they are the key to accomplishing a political coup d’état in a free society. Crises are the means by which special interests are able to implement a radical agenda without the headache of subjecting it to a vote. They are often manufactured for the express purpose of bypassing the electoral process, and the media—who love nothing more than apocalyptic headlines—will do their utmost to whip society to a fever pitch over the matter.
Crises, by their very nature, require immediate action. There is no time for costly debate, or to determine the will of hundreds of millions of people. We cannot sit around waiting for the judicial system to determine the constitutionality of a proposed solution, nor can we concern ourselves with long-term ramifications. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.
What actually underlies the Environmentalists’ crisis claims is the desire to eliminate private property ownership. The earth, they say, is too fragile to be left in the hands of individuals. It must be protected (read “controlled”) by the government to prevent further destruction to the ecosystem. But Communism has proven time and again to be far more environmentally destructive than a democracy. With a citizenry bereft of power there are no barriers to government waste and pollution. There is no accountability, so the machine of government marches ahead unchecked leaving behind it a trail of devastation.
The purpose of contemporary Environmentalism is not protection of the environment. If it were, its emphasis would be on keeping the government in check. In stark contrast, Environmentalism seeks to further grow and empower the government by pushing for the seizure of private lands. This is the key to undermining a free society and establishing a totalitarian regime.
When private property ownership disappears, all land belongs to the government, and when that happens there is no safe haven for the individual. The government may police the citizenry anywhere and everywhere they go because all land is public land. Think of political correctness penetrating your life to the extent that your words are not safe even within the confines of your own home and you’ll begin to understand how important private property truly is.
Global warming is just the latest weapon in the Environmentalist arsenal. It is bad science and a gateway to oppression. As long as free societies exist, however, they will constantly be under assault. And when we hear that some crisis or another requires the forfeiture of personal liberty, we can be sure it is happening again.