When all is wrong by David Auerbach
Albert Camus said his greatest temptation was cynicism, and we all share that weakness. There’s a great comfort in a hopeless stupor where the chasm between action and effectiveness is uncrossable…
Moderate, healthy skepticism, when thoughtfully pursued, leads into either utter self-doubt or a superiority complex. Either you become paralyzed with uncertainty like Kafka, or you preach negation as gospel to the masses, like Alex Zubatov.
An exception is the case of E.M. Cioran, a little-known Romanian philosopher who has made it his mission to assault most people’s ideals and beliefs with far-flung rage.
“At any price
we must keep those
who have too clear a conscience
from living and dying in peace.”
Ed Ring at Ecoworld warns and reminds us with brave cynicism that there’s a climate of guile penetrating the green revolution, turning ecology and sustainability into a carbon trading, tax whipping and investor’s windfall orchestrated not by wise policy or smart entrepreneurs but likely by Wall Street:
“In many cases environmentalism, and the policies to enforce it, already constitute the most regressive hidden tax in history, and global warming alarm will catapult these hidden taxes into the stratosphere of economic stagnation. With carbon trading and carbon taxes and carbon offsets set to eclipse rational environmental policy, our economy and our way of life are what is in peril, not our planetary icecaps, and only financial traders, professional accountants, attorneys, credentialed consultants, academic experts, corporate cartels and the public sector will benefit.
“There is a lot of junk science out there on both sides of the environmental debate, as always with all debates, but extreme environmentalist junk science seems to be carrying the day, so that is where we most appropriately ought to shine our scrutiny.
“America is a lucky, lucky nation and perhaps cursed as well with troubles so huge, but complaining will not make the world better – and setting people free to compete, nurturing meritocracy, sustainably improving entitlements everywhere, encouraging building and development – and letting green resume its place within the dazzling spectrum of reality – will create the economic growth and tolerance for pluralism; will create the next step in the ascent of man.”