On this day in 2014. Nigel Farage, then of the UK Independence Party, rubbished links between floods in Somerset, and climate change, and the need to do anything. Farage, that well-credentialed climate scientist, is fairly typical of a strand of what some sociologists call anti-reflexive thinking.
Most families have that uncle who refuses to accept what the science is clearly stating. Because it’s a “bunch of leftists complaining about industrialization.” Physics is apparently “woke.” And if you look at Risk Society, by Ulrich Beck, this sort of thing is predicted.
Why It Matters
We need to have understanding if not necessarily compassion for these people, and where they come from and why they think like they do. I guess.
What happened next?
Well, the emissions that contribute to the sorts of 1 in 100 year weather events happening every five years or so, have continued to climb. The total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has continued to climb. Mr. Farage was able to intimidate David Cameron into a referendum on UK membership of the European Union. And I don’t need to tell you how that turned out. Rip Joe Cox.
Categories: Anti-reflexivity, United Kingdom