The Third Annual Neoliberal Darwin Award…
The “Glasgow climate pact” was adopted despite a last-minute intervention by India to water down language on “phasing out” coal to merely “phasing down”.
The pledges on emissions cuts made at the two-week long Cop26 summit in Glasgow fell well short of those required to limit temperatures to 1.5C, according to scientific advice. Instead, all countries have agreed to return to the negotiating table next year, at a conference in Egypt, and re-examine their national plans, with a view to increasing their ambition on cuts.
- Cop26 ends in climate agreement despite India watering down coal resolution, Guardian
By Gregg Wall (11-13-21)
This year’s Neoliberal Darwin Award winners were easy enough to identify… not only does this industry consistently lie about its products, contribute immensely to destroying the planet, receives billions and billions in government welfare annually, but the Oil & Gas industry plays a key role in demonstrating just how corrupt Western democracies have become. So right up on the metaphorical podium, right beside the Oil Majors and OPEC, we would have to place highly corrupt politicians, who always find an excuse or a means to sabotage any moves to eliminate fossil fuels.
Of course, I witnessed -- and breathed -- planetary destruction this summer here in Calgary, with climate fires burning up the Western United States and Canada. At one-point British Columbia had no fewer that 300 fires burning, and entire towns were evaporated. Farmers also took a hit, with Big Oil destroying crops and livestock, and the resulting higher food prices, due to scarcity, are showing up as workers are still dealing with an exceptionally nasty pandemic.
The timing of all this matches up perfectly as COP26, finally, winds down. And as many predicted, COP26 is a bust. It seems that the endless finger pointing game, America’s failed political duopoly has turned into an art form, readily transfers to the global stage. Nations that earn huge revenues from trading in oil & gas are reluctant to give up their gravy train, developing nations – dependent upon fossil fuels – do not want to make the sacrifice required for a green transition, and so-called developed nations don’t want to spend the money to save the planet. Oil despots say they a perfectly willing to let the planet burn, as they move to extract every last barrel from the ground. And so, the finger pointing begins, nothing is achieved, politicians can shrug – they tried, and the planet chokes and floods (burning under the weight of too much humanity and an utterly failed libertarian/neoliberal economic model).
Almost everybody recognizes Big Oil & Gas as a malevolent force in the world. America has fought endless Middle East wars, sacrificed thousands of troops… for what, so that Oil majors could lay claim to Iraqi oil fields? So that we could continue to prop up the Royal House of Saud? So that military industrial complex stocks could rise higher and make the day traders in Congress wealthier still? But Big Oil & Gas – with their Wall St. buddies – took things to a new level this year, when fossil fuels supplies were deliberately cut by OPEC, the Texas Oil patch deliberately held back on production, and Wall St bid up oil commodities to make a killing and manufacture inflation. Of course, the billionaire/corporately owned MSM did its part and promptly picked up the narrative that POTUS Biden’s progressive promises have created inflation, even though – surprise, surprise – very little of Biden’s promises have been enacted and passed into law.
So at a time that labor has been crushed for three to four decades, wages have stagnated, the wealthy have cleaned up from entirely rigged Western economies, governments, and stock markets… Western labor & essential workers must deal with a pandemic and soaring food & fuel prices (in large part manufactured by cartel, monopoly, monopsony, foreign supply chains, and highly corrupt Western government officials that profit from all this).
Oh, the sweet irony of watching the UK’s PM Johnson chastise world leaders on the coming of pitch forks and torches, as humanity rises up, while the Tory party is mired - are you ready for it – in its very own ‘sleaze scandal.’ And speaking of corrupt politicians, Canada’s own, Mark Carney, former head of the BOC and BOE … and now with Brookfield Asset Management (bespoke purveyors of financial engineering and private equity chaos… not to mention fossil fuels and pipeline investments) … has been chairing a Net-Zero committee. Per Bloomberg, seems that the Net-Zero committee is a complete disaster, w/ no scientists and no global government, formally, signing onto Mr. Carney’s project. And yet, the fossil fuels industry loves it, Wall St and shadow banking loves Net-Zero, and politicians love the Net-Zero paradigm that merely enriches the 1% for trading in carbon credits. That’s a whole lotta love for a failed, half-baked ‘markets will save us’ proposition.
Have I left anything out? This product, this year’s award winner has it all: It’s killing the planet; destroys crops & livestock; manipulates the economy – by manufacturing inflation; is driving mass migrations of humanity; manipulates governments and politicians so as to thwart humanity and a progressive agenda; collects billions in corporate welfare & tax cuts (while seemingly, there’s no money for green initiatives); it continues to make Wall St. & politicians fabulously wealthy; while its known and social costs are passed onto the disenfranchised suckers who actually pay taxes (such as myself).
It’s as if the devil himself developed a product and turned it loose on humanity, as a direct affront to Goddess, her creation, and so as to stack heaven & hell with fresh souls.
This year’s award winner clearly demonstrates the nihilism that ensues, when too much economic power is transferred into the hands of a predatory few (as Big Oil & Gas shows its complete stranglehold over democracy and the aspiration of effective and sound government).
In the last twenty-four months I’ve attempted to expand my horizons by reading up on Freud and Jung. One of many theories Freud advanced was the theory of the pleasure principle and a death drive. While Freud is widely read to this very day and many of his theories, or modifications of same, still hold sway… his death wish principle remains among his most controversial.
In the heavens, Freud should rest easy… Big Oil & Gas and failed neoliberalism are just the latest manifestation of humanity’s outward obsession with death and planetary destruction. Ironically, the higher up the food chain some members of society climb, the more megalomaniacal & psychotic they become… the more intransigent, tyrannical, and obsessed with control & power they become, all at the expense of humanity, productive change, and the planet.
No wonder this same criminal class of billionaires is constantly looking to Mars and space stations to escape the hell they’ve created here on Earth.
Big Oil & Gas… its management, ownership, and owned politicians … are not only this year’s Neoliberal Darwin Award recipients, but they are the death drive defined. As for a solution, it’s obvious by now that we need to take the path to a green future out of politicians’ hands, and demand that the process be placed on autopilot, with: concrete goals and objectives, the ramping up of renewable energy, third party audits, and draconian penalties for failure achieve goals, annually.
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2021
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