As noted by Alan Greenspan in his new book The Age of Turbulence, reducing carbon emissions means a “large number of companies will experience cost increases that make them less competitive. Jobs will be lost, and real incomes of workers constrained." Environmentalists may find it difficult to convince Congress to implement their vision given such daunting costs. To overcome this hurdle, the CSR activists have borrowed a page from the Tucker playbook: If you may not win under the current rules, then change the rules.
Using pressure tactics that would make Jimmy Hoffa proud, CSR activists “encourage” companies to advocate for cap & trade regulations on their behalf. While there is, and should be, a healthy dialogue between the public and private sectors, the manner in which CSR activists pursue this dialogue represents a significant change in the established rules.
Despite hollow rhetoric to the contrary, CSR activists do not represent the private interests of corporations. Instead, CSR activists represent their own personal interests and viewpoints on public issues. If these individuals were to play by the established rules of the U.S., then they would take their grievances on public issues directly to their elected officials.
CSR activists simply ignore the established rules: CSR activists take their grievances on public issues, such as global warming concerns, to private businesses. Once sufficient pressure on these corporations has been applied, corporations have been “convinced” to advocate for public issues on their behalf.
But, this process has unfairly changed the rules. Whereas Tucker’s enemies used the government to advance their own private interests, CSR activists are pressuring private interests to advance their government policies. Both actions violate the proper roles that the private sector and the public sector should be playing – one of the fundamentals responsible for our wealth and prosperity. They are also unfair.