Green dictatorship

It was exactly a week ago today that I was trying to make a point at London Remade's 'Green and Thrifty' seminar, about a political-economic pendulum swinging back and forth between two polar opposites: A no-holds-barred free market; and total state intervention. Trying to derive a lesson from the Utility Scheme, one of my main arguements was that no matter how benign the intentions of an authoritarian action are, history shows us that the public never fully abides by what has been put forward as mandatory. It is very interesting to see that this argument can in fact strike a chord in today's current affairs.

A recent piece of news talks about a decision by the German civic authorities to make solar panels mandatory in the town of Marburg. This legislation sets a rule for "every new house or those whose roofs or heating systems are being renovated to install solar panels".

Looks like killing two birds with one stone: Battling climate change and surviving at a time when energy prices are soaring. Nothing wrong up to this point? Don't be so quick to judge.


Just like its predecessors from history has shown us, this legislation too, has not been greeted with a warm welcome by some townspeople, if not many.

"We are facing a green dictatorship but nobody dares to say anything," said opposition politican Hermann Uchtmann.

"It's not by force that one gets people to comply," said Haus und Grund, an association of property owners.

In the talk about the Utility Scheme, I was calling such government intervention paternalistic, very similar to the initiative a father would take for his children, with positive intentions but without asking their opinion. (pater=father)

An important question arises from this metaphor: As the children of Mother Earth, can we save our mother—and, of course, ourselves—on our own? Or will we have to wait for our father to take control and abide by what he thinks is best?