This is a follow-up to my post about left-wing unreason. I was particularly struck by a comment about whether I was going to be down on chaps on the right who like incandescent light bulbs and SUVs, who were the big exemplars of consumption. That struck me as just so typical. This guy really thinks that cutting consumption is only something that affects his imaginary right wing redneck with the giant SUV powered by incandescent light bulb.
I at first thought that I was going to make this an in depth post, but various reasons have gotten in the way of that, so I will simplify. I have met numerous people complaining about “consumption”. They have invariably been upper middle class (or upper class) members of the first world who enjoy standards of living that would make the maddest roman emperor envious.
Meanwhile two billion people live in abject poverty. There is one, and only one solution to poverty and the Green movement is determined to block it. By preventing the building of hydroelectric dams and power stations, by stopping GM food aid and otherwise preventing industrialization it contributes massively to human misery. This weighs far more with me than some creationist bigmouth whining in the US. I really am an internatonalist on these points.
