Function Dictates Form

“Function dictates form” is a belief that the on-the-ground, real and specific changes that any group or person advocates for are a reflection and an embodiment of the new reality that this person or group would create. In other words, the “function” of the group—the policies it advocates for, the actual reforms it pushes—exemplify the “form” of the change the group is promoting. The function of large scale government investment dictates a form for society that is new, forward-oriented, and empowering.

We here at Breakthrough (Generation) are often accused of wanting to techno-fix our way clear of any serious social or cultural change. In other words, a will to create clean energy so that we can maintain our overly consumerist, overly isolationist, and overly self-involved American lifestyles is often projected onto BTI and BTGen. This is far from the case. Instead, we are believers in what I call the “function dictates form” model of social change. A discussion about function versus form might benefit all of us who wish to bring change to the world, be it to solve climate crisis, lift billions out of poverty, redefine the American city, or achieve energy independence from foreign oil.

Energy Independence and Investment is What Captures and Stores Public Support

Lieberman-Warner has been stopped way short of the finish line, and this provides us with an opportunity to look at how, and if, the Lieberman-Warner bill, and the coalition surrounding it, is effective. Did the people come together and throw their collective support behind L-W? Was the public outcry against the pro-coal politicians so loud that it could not be ignored? Did even its most ardent supporters realistically think this bill would pass? No. Perhaps the time has come to stop treating our climate bills as a roadmap about where to go next, and actually look at where the country is and see where our people stand, and help build this into real, actionable, cohesive legislation.

As studies have shown time and again, Americans are highly motivated and show broad support for achieving energy independence, and are incredibly receptive of and confident in large scale investment in accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy and infrastructure. This is partially because of America’s priorities in terms of tackling problems that face the country, and also because a solution like investment in energy independence lines up with where Americans feel our strengths as a nation lie. Investment in new areas of research and implementation relies on American ingenuity, a quality that many Americans believe is our best means of overcoming any crisis facing our country. For reasons of national and economic security, energy independence is widely supported issue amongst the American people. In addition, Energy independence has proven to be much more important to the American people than global warming action.

The Market: Means, Not Ends

Debate on Lieberman-Warner—the “Climate Security Act” which emphasizes curbing carbon emissions using cap and trade but pours pitifully small amounts of money into clean energy—began this week on the floor of the Senate. Even if it does nothing else, the legislation draws attention to the unequivocal connection between our free market and our carbon emissions. It is worth understanding the connection to bring us to an understanding of how to overcome ecological crisis.

It’s high time we examine our assumptions about the politics of and surrounding market capitalism and how it affects climate change action. The typical liberal view is pretty much one of market-dirtiness—the market is a naturally greed-oriented, self-oriented and corrupting institution. In the minds of these leftists, the public sector exists to help the public, and the private sector exists to help themselves. Liberals then take this view to one of two places: the first is a socialist tendency to want to control as much of the market as possible, expanding the public sector and shrinking the private. The other place liberals go is to ignore the market, wash their hands of its dirtiness and condemn it as irredeemable.