I’m no fan of Al Gore. He exemplifies much of what I dislike about the so-called liberals in the US. He’s an arrogant, wealthy, statist who wants to expand state power and remove power from individuals.
He’s promoted the real threat of global warming with gross exaggeration and alarmism, in a manner which does not help the debate surrounding the issue and possible solutions.
However, he has said one thing which I fully agree with:
For whatever reason, the business world rewards a long-term perspective more than the political world does.
Of course, being a politician, he fails to identify the reasons - politics is about short term results, its about doing well in the polls, keeping your constituents happy and about winning that next election. Even for the Liberal Democrats who have little prospect of winning a majority in the Commons, the goals are very short term.
Business however is concerned less with public opinion (although brand protection leads to some short term efforts) and more with creating returns for investors. That means creating a stable company and looking for new ways to make profit in the long term.
That is why business is more likely to come up with methods to reduce oil consumption and to make money from recycling than government. Its why private holdings preserve resources much better than the state or public ownership.
So, full marks to Al Gore for recognising a simple fact which is beyond the grasp of most statists, but he needs to follow the reasoning through.
