As she grows up in her bitterness, Greta Thunberg—the poster child of the eco-movement—comes out of the red closet. Her embracing of the left proves that climate activism taken to its final consequences will always lead to anti-Western communist ideology.
When climate activist Greta Thunberg appeared on the scene some years ago, the media celebrated her as a child hero intent on saving the earth’s environment. She scolded world elites for depriving her of her childhood, an act that made her an overnight sensation. Time magazine selected her as its Person of the Year. Now, as the 19-year-old Swedish activist matures into adulthood, she is showing her true colors. And the color is red, not green.
At a recent book launching in London, Greta shocked some observers by targeting the West’s “oppressive” capitalist system as the cause of all climatic ills. The move is surprising since she has always made generous use of this oppressive system to spread her alarmist message. Indeed, Greta has no problem using the capitalist marketing system as a platform for promoting her new book. She also sees no harm in sacrificing plenty of trees the publishing industry needs to print up books for a mass audience.
However, what surprises many is that this strange darling of the greens would align herself so clearly with Marxist ideas. Part of her effectiveness was her ability to display a naïve childlike attitude that psychologically disarmed those who heard her. She seemed immune to leftist propaganda and incapable of a hidden agenda.
Coming Out Red
As she grows up in her bitterness, the poster child of the eco-movement comes out of the red closet. Her embracing of the left proves that climate activism taken to its final consequences will always lead to anti-Western communist ideology. The various doctrines of the left all eventually merge into one. Catholic thinker and man of action, Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, likens this to a thousand individual fires that come together to form the unity of a single forest fire. So also, the ecological cause melds into the Marxist pot.
Thus, “exploitation” of the earth seamlessly becomes synonymous with economic oppression. Greta is now calling for “system-wide transformation.” She rails against “those in power,” which she identifies as the cause of climate breakdown. All these things are part of “the exploitation of people and the planet.” She imagines the system as having “roots in racist, oppressive extractivism (sic!)” that only desires to “maximize short-term profits for a few.”
Greta now minces no words, calling for the overthrow of the whole capitalist system that is “a system defined by colonialism, imperialism, oppression and genocide by the so-called global North to accumulate wealth that still shapes our current world order.”
No Marxist attack is complete without a tirade against the opposition, which she instantly labels as “fascist movements offering easy, false solutions and scapegoats to complex problems.”
All these attacks are read straight from the Marxist script.
A Book Greta Did Not Write
The broadside against capitalism did not get in the way of the business of selling her book. The de-growth activist appeared at London’s prestigious Royal Festival Hall in late October to launch her 464-page manifesto, The Climate Book: The Facts and Solutions. The liberal establishment pulled out all the stops to welcome this book that desires the West’s destruction. Amazon’s algorithms are already hard at work turning this full-color tome into a bestseller. Penguin Press is drumming up publicity as it releases it in the U.K. and worldwide. Americans will have to wait for the official U.S. release on February 14, 2023.
The hullaballoo is all about a work that Greta did not write entirely. Following sound marketing practice, her name is attached to the work. She merely stitches together a compilation of essays from 100 leftist “experts,” which make up most of the title’s content.
Scattered inside its pages are well-known leftists like writer Naomi Klein, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, eco-writer Bill McKibben and French economist Thomas Piketty. However, for the most part, the diverse collection is a who-is-not-who of obscure scientists, novelists, indigenous leaders and other “experts” that make up the closed eco-world of activists peddling their tired narrative of doom. Most people will not recognize the “experts” or follow their pseudo-science.
Finding Merit
The new book does have some merits. It shows that while the leftist experts manifest themselves differently, they all come together to promote a single cause. The book also documents Greta’s transformation from a climate change campaigner to an anti-capitalistic, anti-everything leftist militant.
The launching makes it clear that Greta is a creature of the media, supported by the liberal establishment that she hates. The carbon-heavy production of the work shows how activists break their own rules when it comes to advancing their revolution.
The shame, however, is that it is a waste of good trees….
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The featured image, uploaded by, Raph_PH, is a photograph of Greta Thunberg at Glastonbury in 2022. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
If Mr Horvat and his Imaginative Conservative readers stopped to think about it, they just might see that Ms Thunberg calling out the flaws in today’s model of capitalism is not tantamount to Marxism. The latter is a failed ideology, but capitalism in its current form is unsustainable; among other things, it exploits externalities, promotes political corruption, and produces massive imbalances of wealth.
Capitalism is by the far the best “ism” we’ve come up with, but it has been thoroughly gamed, and is in need of a re-boot. I’m no fan of Ms Thunberg’s overly simplistic rants, but she has – however imperfectly – given voice to the very real frustration of a generation with a status quo that, I’m sorry, is not worth preserving.
At another level, the polarized paralysis of America’s “left” vs “right” might make for emotional media, but it’s rendering the nation incapable of dealing with Xi’s authoritarian “communism”. The world needs a renewed, not a debilitated America, one that recognizes the strength in diversity.
A pawn of the Left. Thanks, John, your articles are always insightful.
The polarized delusion is strong with this one (MVS). I’m very much a centrist; the pawns are all clustered on the extremes of “left” and “right”, playing into the hands of those who profit from a crippled America.
One further point on this. Mr Schmidt’s rush to file me into a convenient slot that he can safely ignore is a powerful example of the mindset that IMO is destroying conservatism.
As a former conservative, now a centrist, I was excited by statements like this in this blog, “I am yearning for conservative voices offering great depth, thoughtfulness, and dare we say, grace. Is it possible to be strong in conservative principles and to present those principles in a manner which is attractive, persuasive and genuine?” Depth, thoughtfulness and grace have been sorely lacking on the “right” side of the dysfunctional divide, which seems to have taken a fearful look at America’s changing demographics and plunged down a Trumpian rabbit hole that, if victorious, can only end in autocracy.
Another article linked here describes Valkyrie, the attempt on Hitler’s life. My father was one of two people from the plot who survived, ironically thanks to a heart attack he had under interrogation at the main SS prison in Berlin. He passed long ago, but was equally troubled by communism and dictatorial tyranny. As am I.
“A nation divided against itself cannot stand.”, and yet here we are, deeply divided. “The Imaginative Conservative is an on-line journal for those who seek the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.” These things are highly subjective, and the ability to embrace contradictory points of view with empathy leads to higher truths, more noble good, and more resplendent beauty.
From another post,”Is the American Republic beyond hope?” Quite possibly. That said, a renewed America would be a much-needed beacon in these dark times.
I thought Mr. Schmidt was referring to Thunberg as a pawn of the Left.
I mean…only people (mostly on the political Left) who either don’t understand ecologism, its pseudo-intellectual history, or G. Thunberg’s own words and actions before “coming out red” (thank you for the phrase!) should be surprised G. Thunberg has become a Marxist in ideology and even adopted intuitive (if not deliberate) Leninist — that awful combination of fanatical Marxism and extreme, even murderous revolutionary political pragmatism — “they will sell us the rope” tactics
How to put it? Greta Thunberg might have found in Marxism-Leninism a more or less worked out ideological and political expression to what she was already saying and doing and already believed anyway.
The so called climate disaster is exaggerated. By Newton’s transport law, excess atmospheric carbon dioxide will become absorbed in the ocean, with a turnover time of one century. Also, excess atmospheric carbon dioxide boosts ecosystems, for greater harvests in agricultures. Indeed, free market capitalism favours, fossil fuels for poor nations, nuclear power for all nations, and renewable energies for rich nations. The alleged over population disaster is a false myth. Capitalism proper implies distribution of private property to citizens. And people can between one another create cultures, services, industries, agricultures, and all kind of jobs. There is no shortage of resources or foods. Even city waste water can be cleaned, to reach quality of environmental demands for lakes and rivers. But propaganda of world fear begets all kinds of organized crimes and even wars that always impoverish people. Politics often worsen small problems, by socialization and dehumanization. On the other hand, religion proper based on personal human dignity leads to friendships. Thus, the human being is capable of God, and indeed of virtues, and immortality. And can live the imaginative conservative life of study, prayer and song, in obedience, poverty, and chastity. Ancient philosophy and traditional religion offer the main answer to exaggerated world fears. And the science is also crystal clear. Namely, the exaggerated internet rumours of atrocious wars, ecological collapses, pandemia conspiracies, inflationary economies, and hosts of poors. The fake news are worse than actual phenomena. Politics will blow up the problems to crises. On the other hand, religion proper hands over this world to God, who is the uncreated word in the Holy Bible, and in return God grants biblical peace. It begins with personal human dignity. And all the scientific and technical challenges then deflate, and become manageable in little private life. That is why it says: Liberty. In God we trust. But in the world, there is always chaos.
The Bolsheviks are not about to “destroy the ‘West'” or take over the world. Greta has always been intemperate and this stuff lets her rip. But that is not the disaster that awaits the world. This sort of reaction is like “fighting the last war,” which has led to many disasters. I do not think that she or her admirers are a danger. But the radical change across the planet in its climate will be a transformation beyond anything evil Marxists every dreamed of.