This is a brief excerpt from an article from 1994 which was suggesting that, back then, it would be beneficial if Environmentalists and Libertarians would form an alliance. The situation we find ourselves in today makes that suggestion even more relevant. I strongly believe that attempting to rely on Big Government to solve our problems is a futile and dangerous tact to take. If we build strong Green businesses, and create viable solutions to global warming, and alternative energy as a coalition of concerned individuals, we can force Government to go along with us, instead of depending on them for an Entitlement. Take control of our own destiny, and DON'T depend on the Government to solve our problems for us.
The Big Government Bogeyman
In addition to thinking of the economy as an ecosystem, libertarians should keep a few other things in mind when talking with environmentalists. First, environmentalists are end oriented: they want a cleaner environment. The libertarian argument is that the best means to this end are markets and property rights, not big government.While environmentalists are suspicious of markets, they are also suspicious of big government. Few feel happy with any of the federal agencies originally created to protect the environment; these agencies have become environmental destroyers, not saviors. The hard part is to convince environmentalists that markets will do any better.
The answer lies in a basic understanding of environmental issues. Every environmental problem consists of a market resource that threatens a non-market resource. The conclusion that environmentalists erroneously reach is that markets caused the problem. The reality, of course, is that non-markets caused the problem. The solution is to create markets for environmental goods. This isn't always possible, but it is possible more often than not.
http://www.ti.org/liberty.html
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