The regular appearances on this blog of the Great Chelker Windfarm Debate should have alerted readers to the fact I hail from the north, even though I am currently exiled in Sussex (very nice, but no hills to speak of). It'll come as little surprise then to learn that I was unimpressed by the Policy Exchange's report suggesting many northern cities are beyond revival.
Of course, part of my rationale is chauvinism - the north in general, and Yorkshire in particular, is a fantastic place to live and if parts need a little help at the moment, so be it. There are other reasons, however, to agree with David Cameron in dismissing the report as 'barmy'.
First, northern cities should not now be forced to suffer at the hands of a mercernary southern elite having seemingly served their useful, industrial purpose.
Second, mass internal migration is as realistic as assuming a labour market can ever be truly free. It may come as news to 'economists' but the 'rational human' doesn't exist. Our lives are not solely based on economic decisions. Factors such as cultural and familial ties must therefore be taken into account, not ignored for the sake of following the dictates of pseudo-scientific economic rationalism.
Third, how sustainable would it be for 3,000,000 people to up sticks and head to the south? The answer is clearly 'not at all'. Think, for a start, of the waste of the embedded energy in all those northern homes, offices and factories (there are still a few) that would be abandonned. It would be a terrible irony if abandonning the cradle of the industrial revolution was a costly to the environment as the industrial revolution itself.
Then consider the energy and resource consumption required to build new houses, offices and, yes, factories in the south. What about the inevitable car-reliance and thus CO2 production that will result? The list is almost endless.
Without wishing to sound like a broken record, doesn't this once again suggest that 'economics' as it is widely understood and preached simply can't deal with the concept of sustainability?
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Comments (3)
"Yorkshire in particular, is a fantastic place to live"
Well then, you know what to do :)
I just read the report and was impressed. I think your arguments are poor in comparison. You've built a series of straw men and then knocked them down.
Posted by Commenter | August 20, 2008 1:32 PM
Posted on August 20, 2008 13:32
Aha, it's the welcome from the natives that makes living in the south so enjoyable...
Those straw men would include not turning real people into 'rational' automatons, then, or considering that the CO2 emissions associated with 3 million new homes (and associated infrastructure) is not a cause for concern?
It's the fundamental premise of the report - that political economy is the best way to determine how and where we live - that's wrong; sustainability is the best way to expose this fallacy.
Posted by Paul | August 21, 2008 12:36 PM
Posted on August 21, 2008 12:36
I agree with your analysis, but not your grammar.
No need for the t' in "It's grim up t'north". What's it signify? 'The'? Surely not.
You've been in Sussex too long!
Posted by Get Sust | September 3, 2008 10:48 AM
Posted on September 3, 2008 10:48