The collapse of the Vestas wind turbine production facility on the Isle of Wight highlights the often irreconcilable conflict between the demands of a rapidly warming planet and the commercial realities of capitalism. The market dictates that if a business is meeting customer needs and is competently managed, it will succeed. If it fails to do so, it will fold. Preachers of free-market capitalism claim that the market will always deliver fairness because if one provider tries to manipulate the sector, then a competitor is free to enter the market and the customer will simply choose the better option. The principle seems sound, but in reality there is not a level playing field, which undermines the basic foundation of the system and leads to inequality, exploitation and abuse. Governments accept this to the extent that they attempt to regulate the market through anti-competition legislation, but it is widely known and accepted that certain industries are simply too important to fail. This may be because it provides an essential service, or because a large number of jobs rely on it, or because the industry has an effective and vocal lobbying machine. In some sectors, the free market has always been a myth.
This brings us back to Vestas. This is not even a UK company, but it is the only facility manufacturing wind turbines in the UK. It doesn't employ thousands of people and were it not for the involvement of some passionate green activists and some intransigent workers, it's collapse would barely have caused a ripple. However, measured against recent high-profile government support for the banks and the car industry, the failure to step in to assist Vestas looks weak, short-termist and naive. Preaching the merits of a green economic revolution in this country appears very hollow in the face of the first small test of government commitment and resolve. We need more energy security, we need to take advantage of our massive wind resources and we need to move away from fossil fuels. Not only should the government assist Vestas, it should nationalise it if necessary and provide grants to other companies looking to develop similar technologies. Vestas decision looks all the more finance-driven in light of the expected increase in demand for wind turbines highlighted here in The Times.
The truth is, no-one cares if their energy company is competitive, or what the brand is. The whole concept of a market in energy services is a ridiculous example of capitalism at work – the consumer cannot differentiate between the end product of any provider, so competition is redundant. We want our lights to work and most of us want to avoid a global climate catastrophe. The government owns our banks, but not our future energy supply. When it comes to vital services to protect us and our planet, then the free market becomes less of a driver of efficiency and choice, and more of a chaotic anachronism – a relic of more carefree and more careless times.
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