Consumer democracies are eating their own futureWhen The Present Eats The Future

Consumer democracies only hear the voice of the present. Politics, culture and markets all reward instant gratification, so nobody invests in the future.

The Achilles heel of consumer democracies is that there is precious little constituency for the future in the present. All the feedback signals — in politics, culture and the market — are geared to short-term gratification.

The present eats the future

From fast fashion to electoral contests to quarterly earnings reports, the system is responsive to happiness defined by the near horizon, and it swallows long-term sustainability whole.

China switched lanes with five-year plans

China is one of the few major powers that has taken control of its future without sacrificing the present. Over recent decades it has lifted hundreds of millions into prosperity while conquering the industries of a sustainable future: electric vehicles, batteries and solar.

At the 2012 G20 meeting in Mexico, a Chinese diplomat said the incoming leadership's top priority would be 'ecological civilization', and laid out a roadmap: electric vehicles, battery storage, massive R&D. Nobody believed him, because China wasn't even in the car race then.

Today nearly 70% of new cars sold in China are electric, and half of all EVs sold globally are Chinese-made. China produces around 80% of the world's batteries and holds 70% of battery patents. Of the large-scale batteries installed in California, 90% of the cells and core components come from China.

Quotas beat tariffs

China's green products are cheap and overproduced. They advance the world's climate fight, but they also leave the West dependent on an adversary.

Instead of banning imports, set a quota: duty-free up to a limit, tariffs beyond it. That limits the damage while letting competition from abroad push domestic industry to grow.