In a recent post, my former co-blogger Morning’s Minion lays out an all-too-familiar list of what he views as the real culprits behind inaction on the issue of climate change:
(1) Gnosticism: Creation is evil, so why save it?
(2) Calvinism: Material success of a sign of virtue and divine favor, America is an exceptional country, and its citizens have the right to use natural resources as they see fit.
(3) Liberalism: The free market embodies efficiency and virtue – any interference diminishes freedom.
(4) Anti-intellectualism: Climate change – a “lib-uh-ral” conspiracy!
(5) Modernism: Man must become the master of nature and always better himself (for the latest version of this, see Ross Douthat: “a warmer world will also be a richer world”).
(6) Individualism: I have the right to my SUV, regardless of what is going on in Africa, and regardless of future generations.
(7) Nationalism: Why should America pay?
Of course, these ideologies are not necessarily consistent with each other, but they do spring from the same root – the nominalist revolution. Thanks a lot, William of Occam!
I know what you’re thinking. How is it that Manichaeism was left off the list? Is MM feeling under the weather or something? But that’s not important right now. My real question is: William of Occam? (or Ockham, or Hockham, or however you spell it) How did he become the climate criminal of the century? (was George Bush unavailable?)
Posted by Blackadder 
The American Catholic 