QUICK BITS no. 16

Aline Robert  posts (21 November) EurActiv.fr   HERE

https://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/global-climate-action-pushing-ahead-despite-slim-pickings-at-cop22/

“This view is shared by anti-globalisation group Attac, which warned that “the invisible hand of the markets is naturally no greener than it is social or just”.

An idea that is particularly resonant in Marrakesh.  In this oasis that marks the border between northern Morocco, where agriculture can flourish, and the arid southern part of the country, the shortage of water is ever more keenly felt.

It has not, however, stopped the city from constructing its ninth golf course; a project that demands enormous quantities of water. Golf courses also increase the value of the surrounding buildings, further demonstrating the weaknesses of Adam Smith’s “invisible hand of the market”.

And it shows just how necessary regulation is in driving climate action, even if the road is not always easy. The influence of lobbying on the European Commission’s directives is a case in point.”

COMMENT

ALINE ROBERT announces that ““the invisible hand of the markets is naturally no greener than it is social or just”. 

FACT: there is no “invisible hand” of the markets. That is a modern myth, usually, though wrongly, atttributed to Adam Smith in the 20th century and at variance with that which Smith wrote in the 18th century.

FACT: Moreover, the golf case in question is wholly erroneous for allegedly demonstrating “the weaknesses of Adam Smith’s “invisible hand of the market”.

Again Smith’s use of the metaphor of ‘an invisible hand’ did not refer to ‘markets’ particularly.