Heatin Up

Not that anybody's paying much attention but global temperatures are shattering records. When talking about "industrial policy" the IMF and World Bank are all about "free markets" but will admit that "There are gains, if they are done right and used to address an extraordinary market failure, like the dangers posed by climate change, the I.M.F. says." An extraordinary market failure. Heard that before. Ocean temps are shattering records and bleaching coral reefs. Average land temps are also setting records with the arctic off the charts. And now the antarctic is showing signs of rapid melt. To combat this existential threat, America has Earth Day ( or week or month) where they get good folks to plant trees and pick up trash and plant more trees. Maybe have an art show and a tour of electrified homes. It makes people feel better, which is the whole point. A very confused op-ed in today's New York War Crimes tries to make the point that the USA should try less free market and more industrial planning China style. Of course the IRA and Infrastructure Act are hardly "free market" solutions but whatever. The authors point is that industrial techno-climate innovation will get us out of this mess if we just learn to cooperate a little. What is fascinating is the ideology subtly embedded in the piece, for example: "entrepreneurial dynamism" is what allowed China to "crawl out of poverty". Nothing to do with planning by a one party state? Then there is this history of US "dynamism" post WWII: "America entered the fight late but with industrial power it emerged on top...the era of American dominance began." Nothing to do with a ruined Europe while we went mostly unscathed. (the lesson: always fight in their backyard) Anyway, according to the liberal author, because Xi is embracing "Communist-sounding slogans like ecological civilization", China is "the world's leader in climate friendly technologies". If we don't wish to be left in the capitalist dust, we better start collaborating rather than imposing protectionist policies. Gee whiz, maybe I should buy a Chinese EV and save the planet.