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Bureacrash and Al Gore: Is CEI on a problem-solving, "libertarian" mission, or just another cynical supporter of statist beneficiaries of status quo?

May 15th, 2009 No comments

CEI funds, staffs and supports the relatively young, growing and interesting Bureaucrash” grassroots libertarian social action site, by which CEI tries to tap into some of the discontent with government that has bloomed over the Bush presidency.  I`ve opened an account there and cross-posted some of my blog posts.

I received the attached by email from Bureaucrash:

A message to all members of Bureaucrash Social

Crashers,

Be sure to visit http://cei.org/1984
to see how politicians and bureaucrats are trying to turn 2009 into
1984 by taking control of the entire economy via energy policies.  CEI
has produced a video showing that Al Gore and those like him are really
just Big Brother in green clothes.

You can write your Congressman today and make your voice heard by clicking on the “Write Your Congressman” link on the page.

In liberty,

Cord Blomquist

Visit Bureaucrash Social at: http://social.bureaucrash.com

I responded directly at the Bureaucrassh post (which may be accessible only to those who have registered); I copy my response below

Cord, I think CEI has been playing a counter-productive role for quite some time, and is still doing so.

Rather than taking the lead in (1) finding property-rights based or related approaches to blindingly obvious commons problems
– caused either by open-access without property or by government
regulation and favoritism/kleptocracy – in important local, regional
and global resources (tropical deforestation (theft of native title),
the atmosphere (AGW and pollution in US, China & India) and oceans
(crashing fisheries, dead zones & rising pH), or (2) calling for
deregulation to enhance competition, consumer choice and efficiency in
the “public utility” sector, CEI has played a denialist, delayist and ad hom game, all in ways quite contrary to libertarian principles
– principles that seek ways to resolve problems by enhancing the
ability of people to express their preferences through market
transactions.

This is puzzling, since there are many topics on which libertarians can
productively engage with enviros, who are starting to see the merit of
property rights approaches to fisheries, and whose frustration on power
issues is readily understandable, as Lew Rockwell has noted: The Real Cause of Blackouts

Given CEI`s unproductive and in-your-face approach to environmentalists, despite all of obvious problems and unexplored ground, one is tempted to wonder whether CEI`s purpose is not to achieve any positive action, but
– by talking about how environmentalists are always wrong and by
talking a great game about market principles while steadily ignoring
the way that government has long been used to benefit particular
special interests –simply to defend the status quo, which obviously
is NOT based on pure free markets, but massive governmental
intervention that benefits particular firms and investors.