I was pleased to see that my comments on GM’s announcement of the upcoming Chevy Volt were picked up by several blogs and websites. Greenstocks, a site that watches environmental businesses, did a particularly good job of understanding and therefore restating the beliefs of this blog. Greenstock has inspired me to expand on the belief that capitalism is an environmentalist’s tool.
Greenstocks’ Hannah Wiggins wrote:
Over at the Mind your Own Damn Business Politics blog, the name might lead one to suspect a negative review, but the results are quite the contrary. Excited about the opportunities to individual drivers as well as mankind as a whole, the writer simply hopes that environmentalists and conscientious motorists make the effort to pick up on this new trend in time.
Wiggins comment, the name might lead one to suspect a negative review, is a very understandable expectation that shows just how far I, and the people that share my views, and environmentalists, have to go in our environmental work.
The name I have chosen for this blog means that I believe that government (and therefore the people) should stay out of other people’s business. It is because of that philosophy that I believe that the Chevy Volt and other electric cars present environmentalists such an incredible opportunity.
I have hiked the path of receding glaciers and seen my share of smog overhanging cities. I also have followed world politics for almost 40 years. I don’t question the need to clean the environment and I know we need to cut the world’s use of oil dramatically if we are ever going to see peace.
Mind Your Own Damn Business Politics means that I can support environmental causes because that is what I choose to do. I will probably buy a hybrid for my next car and I hope to buy an electric car after that (probably sometime in 2012-2013). Mind Your Own Damn Business Politics means that while I choose to make those purchases, I am not going to try to get laws put into place forcing others to buy those cars. I believe it is up to environmentalists to demand (I use the word “demand” in the Economics sense) green products. It is neither government’s role nor within their ability to manage these decisions. If consumers demand green cars, thereby creating a market for green cars, than car manufacturers will rush to supply those cars.
Supply and Demand are fundamentals of Economics and of free markets. Like it or not, free markets are, despite their many flaws, still by far the best economic system we have. That means that free markets are the best means for distributing goods including food to the rich and the poor. I believe free markets are the best way to solve the environmental problems as well as other issues including poverty, hunger, hate, and tyranny.
Thanks to the Chevy Volt, the Nissan Leaf, and consumers that are (I hope) ready to buy these cars, GM and Nissan will make lots of money. That will cause other car companies to enter the electric car market with innovations that improve the electric car and lower its price.
As the quality improves and the price falls, the demand for electric cars will rise even further. I am willing to bet that in a few years, the electric car will be the choice of price-conscious consumers who care nothing about the environmental benefits the cars provide. Meanwhile, news sites like Greenstocks will deliver news about green companies, helping investors to make decisions that lead to the sale of the stocks and bonds that will provide the capital for even further improvements to green products.
Dirty, filthy, sinful money, generated by the evil forces of capitalism will drive green businesses to provide the products that clean our environment. All because environmentalists, those that cared, bought, while everyone minded their own damn business.
No government regulations needed when you use capitalism as an environmentalist’s tool.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Isn’t the proper way… “own damnED business”? Besides, little pyramids like businesses, full of servitude (working FOR instead of with) are definitely damned, morally. But so is the big pyramid scheme called capitalism, which all the little pyramids support and serve. AmWay stands for American Way, yes?
The pyramid scheme symbol is right there on the back of the USA dollar. And, I believe that symbol is from the Colombian Freemasons. And where is the USA gov? District of Colombia? Its not even part of the USA! Pretty blatant, eh? Not a single other living thing on the entire planet… uses economies and ownership. Its a man-made thing. And there’s nobody to lynch for the free mason/marketeers con/sham servitude-infested pyramid scheme called capitalism… its inventors are long ago dead of old age. The capitalists just need to escape the thing, now. And that won’t happen as long as they’re doing “join or starve” (get a job aboard the imperialism, or die) to their 18 year olds. Sad. Outlaw economies/ownership immediately, gang. Economies cause rat-racing, and rat-racing causes felony pyramids like capitalism. Do a Google IMAGE SEARCH for ‘pyramid of capitalist’ for more embarrassment.
Larry “Wingnut” Wendlandt
MaStars – Mothers Against Stuff That Ain’t Right
(anti-capitalism-ists)
Bessemer MI USA