In 2023 a federal report published by Health Canada openly advocated for the dismantling of capitalism itself, equating it with white supremacy and colonialism – attributing them all as core drivers of the climate crisis. Another term for “capitalism” is “free markets”.
The report also advocated for collectivism and decried individualism as “one of the core values of society that has to change”:
“The hopes expressed by participants encompassed such a vision of collectivism”
“there are 3 core values in western society, and for that matter, in global society, that have to change. One core value is about growth and materialism. The second core value is liberty and individualism, which has to be rethought because the kind of individualism that is preached by neoliberals is part of the problem. It advances the individual over the collective… it leads to a huge number of problems, and it undermines the collective process”
“If we don’t address capitalism, if we don’t address colonialism, racism, the patriarchy, et cetera, we’re going to tread water for a long time until we eventually drown …”
As I remarked at the time: this was not a think piece or a screed from Vox or Jacobin Magazine – it was an official Canadian government report issued in the name of
“His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Health, 2023”.
Canadian politicians across all parties have been coalescing around climate authoritarianism for decades. In 2007, Canada’s Laurentian Elite
met in Merrickville, Ontario to discuss how best to advance the climate agenda – and was later analyzed via a
series of interviews with the participants who comprised a who’s who of Canadian dynastic wealth, corporate power, politics – and media.
They transcended party boundaries: Former Prime Minister Joe Clark, Justin Trudeau bagman Stephen Bronfman, Patrick Daniel (Enbridge), Stéphane Dion, former Quebec premiere Pierre Marc Johnson, WE Charity co-founder Mark Kielburger, the list goes on.
From the “strictly confidential” briefings which are
openly linked from this UCLA professor’s web page we learn how Canada’s elite ruminated about the lack of action on climate change, and how untenable the required societal mobilization would be in a democracy:
“It is impossible to have real conservation in a democracy! What is needed is a benevolent dictator—globally, and in Canada.”
During the proceedings…
“…many speakers express a longing for an authoritative decision process that somehow takes the issue out of the political arena. Some express this as the need for a “benign dictator;”
Today we have Canadian Members of Parliament attempting to advance legislation that would
imprison people for speaking in favour of fossil fuels.
This move toward climate authoritarianism is spreading throughout the neoLiberal world order – most recently in Germany a “Climate Justice” report by the German Ethics Council concluded that
“restricting freedoms may be necessary to fight climate change”.
The
original is in german, although there is
an english summary here, I had the full PDF run through DeepL
and is here.
From the summary, we do get the juicy bits:
“Responsibility presupposes freedom, and freedom includes responsibility. This principle also applies for climate change; it is crucial for our free and democratic society and safeguarded and guaranteed by law. Social coexistence requires mutual restrictions of freedom, in order to provide equitable freedom for all.“
“The inner and rationally guided realisation of the necessity for action leads to self-commitment as an expression of one’s individual freedom. This may imply that people question their former lifestyle or adapt their behaviour, for example by voluntarily abandoning certain vacation, consumption or mobility practices.”
And the Orwell Award goes to:
“On grounds of justice, it can be morally required to contribute to measures to tackle climate change. If one’s own exercise of freedom interferes in an unjust manner with the freedom and welfare of others or of future generations, for example through consumption that is harmful to the climate, the authorities may intervene with restrictions of freedom.
As long as there is no regulatory obligation, it is left up to the individual to accept a moral obligation to co-operate.”
This would be a good place to ask yourself: what do you think the relentless attacks on Bitcoin’s Proof of Work mining has
really been about? It isn’t to save the environment from Bitcoin’s electricity consumption –
it’s to create the pretext for asserting authority over all energy usage.
We could probably even riff out one of those Martin Niemöller “First They Came For…” poetic reboots:
“First they came for the Bitcoin miners (but I didn’t care because I was a no-coiner)…” (or one of those PoS retards).
“Then they came for…” yada yada yada – guess how it ends?
“Then they came for me, because of my heated bathroom floors”
There’s only one other problem with all this…
#Degrowth For Thee, But Not For Me
It’s not bad enough that
your consumption choices are being decided
for you by unelected technocrats informed by garbage computer models predicting an unfalsifiable eco-Eschaton.
What’s worse is that while you’re personal standard of living is going to be attenuated, metered, capped and regulated (this is what the coming CBDCs are all about) – the apparatchiks, functionaries and career politicians who force this on you will not ratchet back their own consumption patterns, not at all.
When I reported on COP26’s takeaways (basically,
they’re coming after your meat consumption), what stood out the most was the hypocrisy of a strategic objective emerging from an elite conclave that was arrived at almost exclusively by private jet, and whose culinary menu contained some of the most carbon heavy delicacies available. High grade Scottish haggis and venison were served,
soy protein and bugs were not.
This is the rule, not the exception. Canada’s environment minister, who doesn’t mince words that
“fighting climate change is about limiting your energy usage”:
Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault rather blithely answering a reporter who asked "will the government limit natural gas usage in the winter?"
(Short answer: "Of Course! That's What fighting climate change looks like!")
Watch:
pic.twitter.com/sau9p2CMnW
— Mark Jeftovic, The ₿itcoin Capitalist (@StuntPope)
November 25, 2023
But has no qualms around spending millions of dollars flying his entourage out to COP28 and staying in a $2,000/night luxury hotel suite.
Everybody else needs to ditch their cars, eat bugs and decolonialize extractive capitalism so that “proud socialists” like this fuck here can fly out to COP28 on a private jet and live large…
https://t.co/a7fYsH52sy
— Mark Jeftovic, The ₿itcoin Capitalist (@StuntPope)
March 20, 2024
Never forget this: whenever you hear politicians, “experts”, policy wonks
and especially celebrities talking about the need to dial back consumption, energy usage, travel, meat consumption and
even owning pets in order to “Save The World” they aren’t talking about their own lifestyles.
They’re talking about yours.