Maybe We Should "Put Democracy on Hold"

Just temporarily, of course.

Is it just a coincidence that environmentalism always seems to loop back to fascism? My theory is that people who are so vain that they believe that they can control Mother Nature’s hot flashes and sudden chills also believe that they should be in control of those of us who do not share their vast intellectual heft. Exhibit A (emphasis added):

Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change from radically impacting on our lives over the coming decades. This is the stark conclusion of James Lovelock, the globally respected environmental thinker and independent scientist who developed the Gaia theory.

It follows a tumultuous few months in which public opinion on efforts to tackle climate change has been undermined by events such as the climate scientists' emails leaked from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit.

"I don't think we're yet evolved to the point where we're clever enough to handle a complex a situation as climate change," said Lovelock in his first in-depth interview since the theft of the UEA emails last November. "The inertia of humans is so huge that you can't really do anything meaningful."

One of the main obstructions to meaningful action is "modern democracy", he added. "Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while."

Put democracy on hold for a while? How does Lovelock define “a while”? Just until the next ice age or until humans evolve to the point where they can control the Earth? In either case, I’d rather keep my democracy and let the free market do its thing to create technologies that energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

But where’s the fun in that? Environmentalists would rather wreck the economy in coal producing states and increase energy prices for all of us than allow the market do what it does best. Of course, the market works best when regulated least and for the environmentalists it is all about control.

Most of all, I don’t think that country without democracy is a country worth living in.