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The Spectacle Blog
The Global Warming Polcy Foundation, run by a native German if from London, links to and translates an article in Die Welt reporting on, and sounding something of an alarm over, a major recommendation from an influential commission advising Chancellor Angela Merkel, “World in Transition - Social Contract for a Great Transformation”, by Germany’s Scientific Advisory Council on Global Environmental Change (WBGU). That group os led by of all people the top dog at a major scientific institute (but, please, yes, let’s bow to science not as a provider of knowledge but policy advisor).
A telling pull quote from the story is “Germany’s green government advisors admit frankly that decarbonization can only be achieved by the limitation of democracy - both nationally and internationally.”
You can put the piece through e.g., Google translate if you wish. Otherwise, here are some choice excerpts (all emphases in original):
All nations would have to relinquish their national interests and find a new form of collective responsibility for the sake of the climate: “The world citizenry agree to innovation policy that is tied to the normative postulate of sustainability and in return surrender spontaneous and persistence desires. Guarantor of this virtual agreement is a formative state […].”
This strong state provides, therefore, for the “social problematization” of unsustainable lifestyles. It overcomes “stakeholders” and “veto players” who “impede the transition to a sustainable society.” In Germany, climate protection should therefore become a fundamental goal of the state for which the legal actions of the legislative, executive and judicial branches will be aligned.
“In order to anchor future interests institutionally, the Council recommends expanding the parliamentary legislative process with a deliberative “future chamber”. To avoid interference by interest group and political parties, the composition of this chamber could be determined, for example, by drawing lots.
…”[T] the WBGU admits frankly, that the decarbonization of the society can only be achieved by the limitation of democracy - both nationally and internationally.
Internationally, the WBGU calls for a “World Security Council” for sustainability. The members of the proposed “future chamber” for Germany would explicitly not be chosen democratically and would limit the powers of Parliament.
The WBGU requests “civic participation” - but only for the implementation of the national objective of climate protection. The required “problematization of unsustainable lifestyles” would therefore quickly amount to their stigmatization. Those who do not share the ideas of sustainability would be outside of the new state eco-order - thus all the supporters of the modern industrial society.
Assumed general will to climate policy
The strong eco-state would follow a new social contract, which the WBGU derives from the natural law of enlightenment that also forms the basis of parliamentary democracy. This attribution is incorrect because the WBGU assumes a general will to climate protection and decarbonization.
The council justifies this general primarily from the higher moral insight of its expert knowledge. The WBGU is consequently more in the tradition of the political philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His concept of “volotonté générale” was the starting point of authoritarian and utopian Jacobinism in the Western state history.
The WBGU compares the decarbonization of the global economy to the Neolithic and the Industrial Revolution. It is wrong to claim that such a deliberately planned and radical transformation of economic and social systems is without precedent.
At least partial models of such transformations are the industrialization of the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s, or the “Great Leap Forward” and the “Cultural Revolution” in Mao’s China.
Deprivation for generations
Whether planned or not - revolutionary transformations of economic systems always involve large sacrifices for the generation that experiences them. Existing productive economic structures are demolished and new one will have to be built.
This is clearly demonstrated by history - for example by the “social question” in the Industrial Revolution, the temporary deprivation of the workers. The price of utopian climate Jacobinism of the WBGU is too high.
What could possibly go wrong?
Of course, such arguments are not unusual in this issue area, but in fact the norm. It’s simply distrubing to see it so publicly voiced, particularly now, after all that we have learned. Does this represent confidence returning to the movement, or desperation?
By coincidence, a day or so ago I was on a call with conference organizers and an activist mathematician whom I will be debat — wait, he insisted it not be that — presenting with next month. In it he voiced similar thoughts at a much smaller scale. For purposes of our discussion, he will not entertain challenge to his scientific beliefs. They are fact. The only legitimate discourse may be found over the details of doing what it is he and those he and his associates demands.
Because that’s how the world works. Or, at least, how it’s supposed to. According to some people.
View all comments (18) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Chris Horner
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/05/29/climate-dictatorship-of-the-en
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MarkJ| 5.29.11 @ 10:20AM
Oh swell, another "great idea" coming out of Germany. Seems like every time a bonehead pseudo-intellectual activist from that country comes up with a "great idea,' it ends up killing 50 million people.
Cosmic Ray| 5.29.11 @ 10:45AM
Here is WGBU's article 7 as listed in their 'Decree of Establishment' page.
"Members of the Council as well as the staff of the Secretariat are bound to secrecy with regard to meetings and conference papers considered confidential by the Council. This obligation to secrecy is also valid with regard to information given to the Council and considered confidential."
wbgu.de/en/mission/decree-of-establishment/
"Bound to secrecy?" Why? Something(s) to hide?
Michael Richards| 5.31.11 @ 1:19AM
Of course. When you want to break eggs (that are not your own) to make that omelette, you can't allow them to organize a defense for shell preservation, can you.
This is a 'Hate Philosophy', to use the left's PC lingo, that is implicit in promoting genocide - by whatever means they bring it about - but it's there as surely as the Khmer Rouge was there.
Meme Mine| 5.29.11 @ 12:15PM
And they stood beside the treasure,
Opened the ice core door and looked within,
“TROPICAL FOSSILS” was all it said.
Condemning billions of children to a CO2 death for 25 years like fear mongering enviornMENTAL neocons will not go unpunished in history‘s eyes. History is watching this modern day witch burning.
Former believers have been petitioning law makers to have leading scientists and news editors charged for leading us to another Bush-like false war of climate blame. We missed getting Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. so lets get it right this time. They in media and science knowingly exaggerated and condemned my kids to CO2 death for 25 years of needless panic. Call the courthouse people. Do it now.
It was the scientists themselves who also brought us cruise missiles, cancer causing chemical cocktails, plastic, land mine technology, nuclear weapons, germ warfare, cluster bombs, strip mining technology, Y2K, Y2Kyoto, deep sea drilling technology and now climate control? So now their word is good enough to issue CO2 death threats of CO2 crisis to my children? Scientists and their environmental poisonous pesticides and cancer causing chemical cocktails, made environmentalism necessary in the first place. And now? And now they sit silent as Obama never even mentioned climate change, (a "comet hit" of a crisis), in his state of the union speech.
Real environmentalists are happy now that the so called effects of human CO2 were exaggerated beyond reason. It wasn't a conspiracy, it was just a huge mistake of greed and media hype and politicians making it look like they were doing something for us.
If any of you still believe in climate change crisis, at least act like its a crisis and get yourself a sign that says THE END IS NEAR and join the other freaks.
ALGORE is my shepherd; I shall not think.
He maketh me lie down in Greenzi pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still-freezing waters.
He selleth my soul for CO2:
He leadeth me in the paths of self-righteousness for his own sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of reason,
I will fear no logic: for thou art with me and thinking for me;
Thy Gore’s family oil fortune and thy 10,000 square Gorey foot mansion, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a movie in the presence of contradictory evidence:
Thou anointest mine head with nonsense; my fear runneth over.
Surely blind faith and hysteria shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of ALGORE forever.
NikFromNYC| 5.29.11 @ 3:04PM
Hey Meme, isn't this *fun*? All these articles on this newfangled Internet allow citizen journalism! Oh they could toss comments or moderate heavily but then they would lose readership. I got sick of debating though so I switched to graphic art.
OBEY CLIMATE COPS
http://oi51.tinypic.com/2lljzeq.jpg
OBEY CLIMATE CRIMINALS
http://oi51.tinypic.com/1iohe0.jpg
NikFromNYC| 5.29.11 @ 3:04PM
Hey Meme, isn't this *fun*? All these articles on this newfangled Internet allow citizen journalism! Oh they could toss comments or moderate heavily but then they would lose readership. I got sick of debating though so I switched to graphic art.
OBEY CLIMATE COPS
http://oi51.tinypic.com/2lljzeq.jpg
OBEY CLIMATE CRIMINALS
http://oi51.tinypic.com/1iohe0.jpg
Ore Gone| 5.30.11 @ 9:29PM
Nice comment! They truly are leading un into another dark age brought on by power and greed. Never give a scientist money and then tell him what the resullts are going to be. As a famous cartoon character once said "What a bunch of Hoooey!"
NikFromNYC| 5.29.11 @ 3:04PM
I present The Quick Glance Guide to Global Warming:
Denial: http://oi51.tinypic.com/242hnb8.jpg
Oceans: http://oi53.tinypic.com/35b9g08.jpg
NikFromNYC| 5.29.11 @ 3:04PM
Thermometers: http://oi52.tinypic.com/2agnous.jpg
Ice: http://oi52.tinypic.com/2upvlvm.jpg
NikFromNYC| 5.29.11 @ 3:04PM
Earth: http://oi56.tinypic.com/2m7f1qp.jpg
Prophecy: http://oi52.tinypic.com/29bh95e.jpg
NikFromNYC| 5.29.11 @ 3:05PM
Thinker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n92YenWfz0Y
vb| 5.30.11 @ 7:57AM
If you can read German, visit the Focus.de site and read the latest articles on the EHEC problem that has caused kidney failure and deaths, most likely due to contaminated cukes from Spain that were fertilized with "natural" cow excrement. There is also an article on the amount of natural toxins we consume every day when we eat things like brocolli. The dead tree issue stands so many assumptions of the ecologically correct on their heads. It is a sign of the extent of German ecohysteria that it needed to be published.
Meanwhile, the drought in German threatens energy supplies from damns, and if water levels in French rivers sink, French nuclear power plants may also have to be turned down, limiting the a main source of reserve energy for Germany. But who worries about energy when you can protest nuclear power plants!
Bob K.| 5.30.11 @ 8:27AM
If only he could get all Germans to rally around him like Hitler did! Sigh! A new State Eco/Economic Order in which Germany could take the lead in disavowing nationalism and democracy but keeping socialism and once more rule over all Europe!
albert constantine jr.| 5.30.11 @ 9:13AM
Wir arbeiten zusammen fuer ein Neue Deutsche Gemeinschaft, Eine Neues Welt, Nur Einen Fuehrer.
Marc Jeric| 5.30.11 @ 11:02PM
Another hitlerite idea from Germany: not it is not National-Socialist Workers Party, but a new world eco-nazi government.
PattyMor| 5.31.11 @ 10:52AM
Great idea Germany. When you are sitting in the dark, cold and shivering look back to the days of yore when you had plentiful energy and freedom. And how will all those industrial jobs fare when you plan to give them expensive energy. Going, going, gone to China or India. Sounds like a great plan for a country to commit suicide.