Over at National Review, Andrew Stuttaford writes about the war against cars:
Some of those directing climate policy genuinely believe that climate change poses an existential threat to our species, but many others see it as a way to force the construction of the kind of society that certain strains of the Left have long wanted to see. Their policy prescriptions are about control, not the climate. And the car, with its promise of freedom and autonomy, is, both symbolically and in reality, the opposite of that.
Huh. I'm pained to report that, like the War on Christmas, the war on cars is going badly. As usual, in 2021 we suffered yet another setback:
You'd almost think there's no real war at all. Or, if there is, the folks running it are so incompetent there's nothing to worry about.
But what I really wonder is whether Stuttaford even believes what he says. There are certainly a handful of people who use environmental concerns as a cover for larger societal ambitions, but does Stuttaford seriously think that even these folks object to cars because they let people go wherever and whenever they want? Where does this strain of conservative paranoia come from? I've never come across even a hint of anything like this. Am I not reading the right eco-fascist publications?
Well, where would these National Review types be in a world without paranoia? In a world where they have to face the consequences for their actions and decisions?
No, much better to say "X is out to get me", and then you never have to change anything at all. In fact, in this scenario, not changing and doing exactly what you wanted to do in the first place becomes a righteous decision, which makes you feel ever better. Win-win.
Hmm. Unlike the War on Women™️ or the War on Blacks (sponsored by your local police) which are 100% real things?
However the NR is not completely insane in its analysis, in the sense that there is something to what they are saying. I draw your attention to:
https://www.allsides.com/news/2023-10-02-2028/climate-change-41-french-support-lifetime-limit-4-flights-person-combat-climate
Obviously this is the usual idiot virtue signaling, but idiot virtue signaling at some point can and does turn into reality (eg Germany's stupid, and backfiring exactly as you would expect, virtue signaling on nuclear power...)
There are low rung idiocies on both sides. The real question is whether you want to wallow in the mud with the idiots; or think at a higher level.