With a Level Playing Field in the 21st Century, Nothing Is Impossible

Reg Wessels of South Africa’s Earth Corporation writes about my piece on the uncertainties of investors in renewable energy:

I often watch this debate with dismay, and as a non-American (but hugely supportive), I can’t help being frustrated by the US having to dance with the enemy. Whatever the solution, the free world looks to America with hope and admiration. Was this not the country that had the courage to pool all its resources for common purpose when the smoke had cleared over Pearl Harbor? Is this not the country that leads the world in innovation and technological expertise? Is this not the country that has shown ‘nothing is impossible’?

Reg:  What a good point you raise here. I too wonder where my country has gone wrong, and I have to think I’m not alone here. Since you’re from a land far away, let me explain: the normal debate lines up along the divide between liberals and conservatives.

Oversimplifying for the sake of brevity, our liberals say that the battle was lost because unbridled capitalism favors the greedy and selfish, who have raped and pillaged the world’s land and exploited her people, so that they and their direct descendents could prosper at the expense of the many. Conservatives assert the opposite, that the ruin was caused by those who would restrict these desires, and use law/government to restrain the passions of those most talented, shackling liberty and free enterprise, forming a kind of socialism where the masses mooch off the hard work and productivity of the few.

We don’t seem to be able to find a middle ground. Coincidentally, the piece on which you’ve commented represents such an attempt. All I’m asking government to do is to create a level playing field in which all forms of energy can compete fairly, and then get out of the way. Of course, it’s quite unlikely that this will happen, but I think it’s an idea worth presenting nonetheless.

Thanks for writing.