The political economy of carbon



The political economy of carbon

Carbon is the backbone of life. Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon. Carbon dioxide is the food of all plants. More carbon dioxide increases the carrying capacity of the earth. More carbon dioxide makes the earth a greener place. Carbon dioxide, at 0.04% in the atmosphere, is a very scarce resource for all life.

The current temperature is among the coldest in the last sixty six million years since the beginning of the Cenozoic era . We are in a interglacial period in an ice age. The increase of carbon dioxide, which makes the earth a warmer place, helps reduce the chance of the earth slipping back to the dreadful ice age and ensuing mass starvation. If so, why do almost all mainstream institutions condemn carbon? We have to find answers from political economy.

The dominant ideas in a society are the ideas of the dominant class. For the dominant class, one of their major goals is to increase the wealth transfer from the working class to the ruling class through taxation. Since the ancient times, tax collectors are the most hated people. But in modern days, dominant media, controlled by dominant class, often portray tax spending as a common good. They need a narrative to justify increasing taxation. Carbon tax, which is supposed to save the world, is implemented under such a narrative. Carbon tax transfers wealth from poor people, who can only afford low cost gasoline cars, to wealthy people, who can afford high cost, high performance electric cars. 

The dominant institutions like to point out that science is behind them. There is an overwhelming consensus among scientists on climate research. But scientists are employees, who work for the interests of the employers. The overwhelming consensus in research is generated by the overwhelming one sidedness in funding. 

Science has a reputation for truth. The ruling class is capitalizing on such a reputation. But the reputation for truth is largely built on early scientific pioneers who were mostly amateurs, such as Copernicus, Mendel, Darwin and Wallace. With massive government funding, the ruling class has successfully turned the scientific community into a servile accomplice. In the process, science will squander its last reputation.