Trahison Des Clercs

The invisible hand will often fall flat in the rationality rally. We can't expect selfish swine to generate a 'skipping through the meadows' nimble nirvana when our economic environment is so characterised by maddening market flaw, failure and flounce. The tragedy of the commons, for example, will guarantee over-exploitation as short termism kicks kitten-kitsch 'thank the Babylonian Brotherhood for a low sperm count' comment cliché into pleb pole position. With negative pollution externalities, in contrast, we fall foul of the orcish organisations multiplying Mordor madness manor as they gorge on the glutinous gravy created by the moral hazard of 'it wasn't us, honest' fibbing. And perhaps the most elegant example of all is climate change. Here, the macroeconomic misadventure is a global grief. But how do people react? Do they exhibit the rational reaction related to risk management?

Arguably the most strident soloist in the sense stakes are the insurance companies. An objective review of the scientific studies leads to one crystal clear conclusion: react now and ensure radical result. Thumbing through the tremendous threats treats us with one truth: the current economic environment is not sustainable. But don't be glum, gloomy and grim. This isn't just another faithless funereal flop. It is also about created opportunity, thereby providing an investment in green technologies that favours flamboyant technical innovations (the engine room for economic growth). Sadly, such thinking is in a minority.

It is perhaps fashionable today to whinge and whine about one obvious homogeneous heap: the contemptuous cocky conservative cultist. Characterised by an authoritarian personality, whereby they become manipulated muppets for the crafty cunning of capitalist control, they reject all rational reasoning and replace it with righteous rant scoffed at the trough of anti-intellectualism. Science just becomes the playground for media hacks; overwhelming climate change critique just becomes some loony tune lefty chant dreamed up to harm the apple pie eaters of the fake individualism dream. But is that really sufficient to summarise the sense vampires that visit the vacuous and vacant with such churlish crowing? Of course not. We can also kick the middle class liberal in the shins!

So what's the issue with these cardigan wearing jessies? They assuredly make the right grunts and groans. Golly gosh they'll even give up a goat's cheese and cranberry panini so they can donate to a donkey sanctuary. That's prance to the pinnacle of ponce peak. Understanding the inevitability of climate catastrophe doesn't pose a problematic proposition to decipher. The problem, however, is how they go too far in the search for shallow script. Recycling, for example, becomes a religious event. There's little care, however, for the repercussions of the sham involved. Burning our waste plastics in the far east? Oh dear! Cancers to African children employed full time stripping unwanted computers, deemed to be too slow to be part of the campaign to save Old Knobbley from the lumberjack's lipstick? Oops! It doesn't really matter. Results aren't important. Its all about how you can peep 'I'm doing my bit' at the next dinner party or the next church picnic. And in the mean time? The farcical foxtrot and fandango is exposed and the right winger gets to blubber 'told you so'.