Quote of the week

 "To put a limit on the use of fossil fuels without adequate economically viable alternatives is to condemn the Third World to perpetual structural poverty."

Deepak Lal 
(in Poverty and Progress: Realities and Myths about Global Poverty)

On taboos and political correctness in Germany (and Europe in general)

Focus magazine columnist Thomas Wolf has written a brief, but so true article on political correctness in Germany:

There are taboos in Germany. The person who is against the euro and makes it know publicly, will almost always have a hard time. Do-gooders of all colors denounce people with eurocritical opinions in talks shows as anti-European and revanchist.

Also the person who questions human caused climate change is not likely to find apologists. "Such people do not have any sense of responsibility for the future of our children" is the killer argument. And the person who thinks that the victims themselves are to blame for poverty and social problems, is callous and totally lacking solidarity. You are only allowed to reject Christianity. Because the Pope forbids the pill and priests live a celibate life. However, any criticism of Islam is forbidden. It would be xenophobic. 

When differing opinions are not expressed anymore, because their holders are castigated as immoral, every debate runs dry. 

Political correctness and taboos have created a climate without any alternatives in the German Federal Republic, which the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk describes in this way: "Whether you confess to social democracy or not, has for long ceased to mean anything, because there cannot really be any non-social democrats among us, the society is per se social democrat, and the person who is not, is either in a madhouse or abroad ..."

Wolf's and Sloterdijk's descriptions are, of course, not only applicable in Germany. Exactly the same taboos and political correctness prevent any meaningful discussion and debate in many other European countries. 

Merkel's senseless energy transition brings poverty to Germany

More and more Germans have to disconnect the electricity supply becayse thhey cannot afford to pay the high energy prices. 

Germany is often described as the rich powerhouse and paymaster of the eurozone. This description is not false, but it does not tell the whole truth. There is also a flip side of the German euro coin: 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has come under renewed attack for its record on fighting poverty, which a new study says is increasing despite low unemployment and Germany’s status as the euro zone’s economic powerhouse.

The Paritätische study follows a report from the research body at the Economics Ministry earlier this week which said young people are at the highest risk of poverty, particularly those from immigrant backgrounds and single-parent households.

According to Paritätische, which questioned 830,000 in a survey, the percentage of the population as a whole threatened by poverty in Germany increased to a post-reunification high of 15.1% in 2011–up from 14.5% in 2010, despite a year-on-year increase in the country’s economic output of about 3%. In the capital, Berlin, one in 10 inhabitants is at risk of poverty.

The Merkel government's senseless energy transition policy is one major factor contributing to the growing number of poor in Germany. Thousands of Germans, among them many elderly people, are now living in houses and apartments without heating and electricity, because they cannot afford to pay the high energy prices. A new study by the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft shows that the burden of the higher energy prices is above all hitting Germany's poor. Well to do people are the ones profiting from the wind and solar energy subsidies. During the next few years the energy costs for German consumers are expected to further rise with about 70%, sending more and more Germans into energy poverty. Next year alone, "green" energy subsidies will amount to more than €18 billion ($23.32 billion).

The question is, how long are Germans willing to put up with this renewable energy madness? 

New research: "Green economy" increases poverty

The "green economy" is another favorite slogan of the enviro-fundamentalist movement. However, new studies show that this trendy catchword is anything but beneficial:


The rapidly-growing appropriation of land and resources in the name of 'green ' biofuels, carbon offsetting schemes, conservation efforts and eco-tourism initiatives – is forcing people from their homelands and increasing poverty, new research has found.


Ecosystems being 'asset-stripped' for profit is likely to cause dispossession and further poverty amongst already-poor land and resource users, according to a set of 17 new research case studies from Africa, Asia and Latin America, published in a special issue of the Journal of Peasant Studies.

Examples of green grabs include: in Guatemala, conservation agencies, ecotourism companies and the military are 'protecting' the Guatemalan Maya Biosphere Reserve as a 'Maya-themed vacationland', violently excluding local people. In Eastern and Southern Africa, businesses are revaluing soil systems and farming practices for 'biochar', dispossessing farmers and pastoralists from land and resources important for their livelihoods. Meanwhile evidence is mounting that some Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD and REDD+) schemes are dispossessing local forest users of vital resource access.


(image wikipedia)