Edward Luce at the Financial Times says the political left in America has a “NIMBY problem.”
This pinpoints two problems with America’s left. The first is an instinct for moral gesture over practical action. Many philosophers judge the goodness of an action by its outcome — in this case, sharply cutting carbon emissions.
Others say an action’s morality should be judged by its intention – in this case, refusing to compromise on your reputational virtue. If you want to know why New York still lacks a congestion pricing system, or California’s high-speed rail system is a white elephant, you must confront the left’s moral preferences. In neither of those stymied projects are Republicans the main problem.
The left’s second failing is hypocrisy. The “not in my backyard” instinct is hidden everywhere in plain sight. It explains why ultraliberal San Francisco’s housing is unaffordable: rich people do not want their property values marred by construction or their neighbourhoods filled with the wrong people.
It explains why residents of the wealthy holiday island of Nantucket are blocking an offshore wind farm on the flimsy claim that it would disturb the local whales. The reality is they do not want their view spoiled. This could have been America’s first major offshore wind farm. The previous attempt in nearby Cape Cod was partly killed by the late Ted Kennedy, the local senator and scion of the family’s Hyannis Port compound.
Nimbyism captures both of the left’s worst traits: it is often those who most loudly profess their principles who are quickest to veto any disruption to their own lives. The economist Tyler Cowen labels the problem “banana” – build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything. The left and Republicans are strewing banana skins in the way of America’s clean energy transition.
Listen Here:
