Representative democracy and climate change
vulnerable to the disastrous effects of pollution while being severely handicapped in combating it. However, analysing the data of pollution fromvarious sources, one can also infer that developing states are also liable for trace amounts of pollution compared to superpowers such as USA and China. This requires developed states to implore even more severe measures, not only to fight pollution domestically, but also to help out countries which can’t combat the challenge themselves. So now that we’ve established the importance of an elected government in shaping the incentives of both individuals and corporations, we can finally tackle the titular question: if it is as simple as just ‘ vote them more taxes ’, why isn’t the whole world going green? The problem with how representative democracy can handle the climate crisis is exactly the same as the conundrum it tries to solve – citizens’ incentives. To illustrate the problem, let’s take a different example of a phenomenon that is destructive to the economy and is a problem widely addressed in the media: inflation. When inflation levels are out of control, a typical John Smith will notice this immediately in his daily life. Though he earns the same salary as he did a few months ago, the prices in his local Sainsbury’s go up. Corporate management at his job had to let go a few people due to the firm ’ s revenue falling, at least in real terms (i.e. unadjusted for inflation). Mr. Smith will also save less, fearing for his savings to become more and more worthless, which in turn increases his spending. The list goes on: inflation is a problem that manifests itself in many parts of daily lives of the majority. Climate change and pollution is a completely different story. When Mr. Smith’s neighbour burns rubbish every Thursday, the effects of this reckless behaviour are barely visible, though could be more damaging to the economy than inflation. Because the sequence of cause and effect isn’t as apparent, any damages made by the action can be merely attributed to a different source. Sure, Mr. Smith’s aunt living two blocks down the street died prematurely of lung cancer, but these things happen on their own sometimes. Besides, in his neighbourhood it is normal for people to suffer from respiratory problems. It may seem that I am drawing too much attention to this causality, but it is an essential part of the problem. Representative democracy is highly dependent on how the voters want the government to look like. As long as the people do not realize that pollution, global warming and overall damage to the environment are equally, if not more, harmful to them as other aspects of social life, economy, foreign and domestic policy, the problem will, a s I have stated at the beginning, ‘hang like a toxic cloud’. So, should we just lay down on the floor and await the apocalypse? Not necessarily. The twenty-first century marks a remarkable emergence of the problem of climate change in the public view. Both organizations, such as the Extinction Rebellion or the International Youth Climate Strike, as well as individuals, such as Greta Thunberg, increasingly remind the public about the danger posed by ignoring the issue. However, as ambitious and priceless as the help of such youth organizations may be, this form of activism may not be enough. According to Ross Gelbspan, the reluctance to embrace changes beneficial only in the long run may, combined with democratic systems’ natural slow pace of decision-making, render democracy completely hopeless. 6 This fatalistic approach has been since called into question (for example by Graham Long); 7 however, all sources agree that the status quo does
6 Gelbspan 1997. 7 Long 2011.
204
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software