{"id":367079,"date":"2025-02-21T08:35:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T07:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=367079"},"modified":"2025-02-21T08:35:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T07:35:08","slug":"denialism-zwolinski-punts-on-climate-science-policy-statism-on-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=367079","title":{"rendered":"Denialism? Zwolinski Punts on Climate Science, Policy (statism on parade)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Master Resource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Robert Bradley Jr.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSomething is very amiss in the \u2018left libertarian\u2019 space where energy\/climate activism is not considered authoritarian and a consumer\/taxpayer issue for \u2018bleeding heart libertarians.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Matt Zwolinski<\/a>, an academic philosopher and \u201cbleeding heart libertarian\u201d [1]<\/strong> who likes to criticize classical liberalism, promoted<\/a> an article by Shikha Sood Dalmia on why she, as a former libertarian, is voting for Kamala Harris and not Trump. [2]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate (screenshot below) turned toward authoritarianism on the Left side, mentioning climate\/energy issues. [3]<\/strong> At this point I joined in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley<\/strong>: \u201cSo Kamala and the Far Left are not about authoritarianism by small and large measures\u2014and with a smile? And does the global energy\/climate issue (global governance vs. CO2) mean anything to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zwolinski<\/strong>: Global energy means a great deal to me. And climate change denialism is a major problem in both the libertarian and Republican parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley<\/strong>: Denialism? Are you familiar with the debate? Let\u2019s start with two questions. One, what arguments made by Patrick Michaels et al in the 1990s for Cato are wrong today? And two, do you advocate global pricing for CO2 that requires \u2018border adjustments\u2019 (international tariff governance)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zwolinski<\/strong>: I really don\u2019t think arguing about this would be productive for either of us. I\u2019ll pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley:<\/strong> Pass? And this issue is important to you, and you accuse me (and the majority of other libertarians) of \u2018denialism\u2019? Fact is, you do not want to answer because you do not know science-wise and don\u2019t want to consider what global CO2 policy entails. And why the latter is the very authoritarianism (note, Shikha) that Trump can stop. (His withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord was one of the notable \u2018classical liberal\u2019 moments in modern political economy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley<\/strong>: Matt: did you block me from this post? We were having a spirited debate but one where I was on top of my points. Your charge of denialism went low and was not scholarly in the least. Response?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zwolinski<\/strong>: You misremember. I said that I did not want to argue about climate policy with you, and you wouldn\u2019t let it go. I think maybe you have this pattern with people, yes? At any rate, I\u2019m not interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley<\/strong>: Using the term \u2018denier\u2019, a crude Holocaust reference, to disparage libertarian and conservative critics of climate alarm, is very poor engagement on your part. My two questions deserve an answer rather than a complete duck\u2026. Any suggestions for venue?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zwolinski<\/strong>:\u00a0You seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that I owe you, my time. I do not. You asked me if I cared about energy policy. I said that I did, and that I thought climate change denialism was a major problem among Republicans and libertarians. Note \u201cClimate change\u201d denialism. That has nothing to do with the Holocaust. Note also \u2013 at no point did I accuse *you* of denialism. I had no idea who you were until you popped up on my feed a few days ago. I certainly don\u2019t know anything about your scientific or philosophical positions. Nor am I particularly interested in learning about them, much less debating them with you. Move along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley<\/strong>: Energy\/climate policy under Biden\/Harris, now Harris\/Walz, is a case study of authoritarianism, statism, fascism, and the Road to Serfdom. Globally too from the elites. Your smear \u201cdenier\u2019 is a well-known term that both sides of the climate debate associate with the Holocaust (want links?)\u2026.. You said that energy, domestic and global, is of interest. Now you say you have never heard of me or IER, and maybe you do not follow the dozens of free-market think tanks that are eager for Trump opportunities. Maybe you favor activist climate policy, nationally and in California. Shikha Dalmia does, evidenced by her climate panel with four climate activists. Something is very amiss the \u2018left-libertarian\u2019 space where energy and climate policy are not seem as authoritarian, fascist, etc. and a consumer\/taxpayer issue for \u2018bleeding heart libertarians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Comment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Left libertarians pushing climate alarm and forced energy transformation have a similar pattern: hit and run. Engage and disengage. Duck the in-depth arguments and wall out dissent. The Jonathan Adler case (yesterday<\/a>) is a case in point. The strange saga of Lynne Kiesling<\/a> (pretend classical liberal) is another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All I can do is document for the future. And maybe, just maybe, inspire some real debate and change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/strong> \u201cIn The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism<\/em> (Princeton), Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi argue that things didn\u2019t have to turn out this way. Zwolinski, a philosopher at the University of San Diego, and Tomasi, a political theorist at Brown, are both committed libertarians who are appalled at the movement\u2019s turn toward a harder-edged conservatism. (They are prominent figures in a faction called \u2018bleeding-heart libertarianism.\u2019)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

[3]<\/strong>\u00a0Here is my documentation since the link to the exchange has been blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matt Zwolinski, an academic philosopher and \u201cbleeding heart libertarian\u201d\u00a0[1]\u00a0who likes to criticize classical liberalism,\u00a0promoted\u00a0an article by Shikha Sood Dalmia on why she, as a former libertarian, is voting for Kamala Harris and not Trump.\u00a0[2]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":367089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691829997,691827000,691833441,691833442,691833440],"class_list":{"0":"post-367079","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","9":"tag-climate-change-denialism","10":"tag-energy-climate-activism","11":"tag-global-energy-climate-issue","12":"tag-matt-zwolinski","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0-authoritarianism-on-the-Left-side.jpeg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1xuD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":223292,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=223292","url_meta":{"origin":367079,"position":0},"title":"Placing The Blame for Europe\u2019s Energy and Economic Crisis","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/10\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Over in Europe, things are looking bad for the economy, largely driven by a rapid increase in household and business energy bills.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-510.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-510.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-510.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-510.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":271303,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=271303","url_meta":{"origin":367079,"position":1},"title":"How Warmists Turn the Public\u00a0Off","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Climate activists have the commanding heights. What do the so-called deniers have? A few of my cranky libertarian friends.\u00a0 .\u00a0 . And voters.","rel":"","context":"In \"climate activists\"","block_context":{"text":"climate activists","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-activists"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OIG-2023-07-29T184338.269.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OIG-2023-07-29T184338.269.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OIG-2023-07-29T184338.269.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/OIG-2023-07-29T184338.269.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":204263,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=204263","url_meta":{"origin":367079,"position":2},"title":"\u2018Libertarian Seeks Burial of \u2018Dead Hand\u2019 DOE (Natural Gas Week, February 6, 1995)","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"14\/06\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Robert Bradley Jr. \u201cToday, the libertarian Cato Institute releases its \u201cPolicy Handbook for the 104th\u00a0Congress,\u201d a 39-essay proposal to dismantle the federal government\u2026. The essay on energy was written by Cato camp follower Robert L. Bradley Jr. of Houston \u2026 president of his own energy think tank \u2013 well,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0decarbonization-removal-of-carbon-from-flue-gases-.jpg?fit=900%2C506&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0decarbonization-removal-of-carbon-from-flue-gases-.jpg?fit=900%2C506&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0decarbonization-removal-of-carbon-from-flue-gases-.jpg?fit=900%2C506&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/0decarbonization-removal-of-carbon-from-flue-gases-.jpg?fit=900%2C506&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":379206,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=379206","url_meta":{"origin":367079,"position":3},"title":"Are Scientists who Contest the Climate Emergency \u201cPublicity-seeking Contrarians?\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Ecologist author Tom Hardy has pulled out all the stops, from John Cook\u2019s 97% study to accusing the GWPF of having friends like Ian Plimer.","rel":"","context":"In \"climate denial\"","block_context":{"text":"climate denial","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-denial"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/OIG2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/OIG2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/OIG2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/OIG2.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":349542,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=349542","url_meta":{"origin":367079,"position":4},"title":"Libertarian Party Platform: Energy and Climate","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cWhile energy is needed to fuel a modern society, government should not be subsidizing any particular form of energy. We oppose all government control of energy pricing, allocation, and production.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"Economic Liberty\"","block_context":{"text":"Economic Liberty","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=economic-liberty"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0GettyImages-545421500-b33a5256887c440db0418c64e6ed5e53-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0GettyImages-545421500-b33a5256887c440db0418c64e6ed5e53-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0GettyImages-545421500-b33a5256887c440db0418c64e6ed5e53-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0GettyImages-545421500-b33a5256887c440db0418c64e6ed5e53-1024x683.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":279322,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=279322","url_meta":{"origin":367079,"position":5},"title":"\u2018ExxonKnew\u2019: More Correction","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A sober look at the \u201cExxonKnew\u201d campaign reveals an anti-fossil-fuel agenda inspiring a myopic view of the company\u2019s old investigations into carbon dioxide (CO2).","rel":"","context":"In \"anti-fossil-fuel agenda\"","block_context":{"text":"anti-fossil-fuel agenda","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=anti-fossil-fuel-agenda"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image-552.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image-552.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image-552.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image-552.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image-552.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=367079"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":367091,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367079\/revisions\/367091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/367089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=367079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=367079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=367079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}