A recent essay by the former director of what is now Michigan's Department of Naturalists made that comparison.
Yes, really.
"The Berlin wall came down and communism collapsed in Eastern Europe, but the socialist ideology is alive and well and has found a new home in the modern day environmental movement. The environmental movement has been likened to a watermelon — green on the outside and red on the inside. Most environmentalists would not consider themselves socialists, much less communists, but the policies they support in the name of saving the planet almost always sacrifice individual liberty for central government control."
The full essay is here, and it speaks for itself. Presumably, the author has not considered the restrictions on liberty that will result from polluted waters that limit swimming and fishing, climate change that undermines fish, wildlife and human enjoyment of the outdoors, and the hazards to children that result from all manner of toxic chemicals in products and the environment.
"Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Add a little red-baiting and conservatives always have an argument or so they think.
Alan L. Maki
Russ Harding is director of the Mackinac Center's Property Rights Network, an initiative launched in 2007 to elevate public awareness of property rights, encourage policymakers to respect property rights, and organize Michigan property owners into an effective public coalition. In the three years prior to directing the network, Harding was the Center's senior environmental policy analyst.
From 1995 through 2002, Harding served as director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, having previously held senior management posts in environmental and natural resources departments in Arizona, Alaska and Missouri. Before joining the Center, Harding was senior director for environment and energy affairs with Scofes, Kindsvatter & Associates, a consulting firm.
Environmentalism Is a Threat to Liberty
By RUSS HARDING | 8/24/2010 10:30 AM
The Berlin wall came down and communism collapsed in Eastern Europe, but the socialist ideology is alive and well and has found a new home in the modern day environmental movement. The environmental movement has been likened to a watermelon — green on the outside and red on the inside. Most environmentalists would not consider themselves socialists, much less communists, but the policies they support in the name of saving the planet almost always sacrifice individual liberty for central government control.
Fighting global climate change, which has become the defining issue for environmentalists, is the perfect vehicle to exert control over every aspect of Americans' lives, from the type of cars we drive to the light bulbs we are allowed to use in our homes. The environmental movement knows that if the government controls energy, they control virtually every aspect of modern life in America. Global climate change is also the perfect issue to advocate for one-world governance, as air knows no national boundaries.
Politicians may campaign on promises of change and a new way to govern. However there are really only two ways to govern: reliance on individual freedom and support of free markets, or rule by the political elite who decide what is best for the people. America, which has prospered to become the economically most prosperous and freest people in the world by supporting individual freedom and free markets, is quickly moving in the direction of government control by the political elite — and appeals to save the planet is a major highway to get there.
Protecting the environment and being good stewards of natural resources are important to America's future. However, it is a bad bargain for Americans to sacrifice their liberties in the name of saving the planet. The best road to environmental stewardship is a free and prosperous America, not one controlled by government mandates
