It’s been the same pattern for well over a hundred years. Private enterprise and free markets get all the accountability for mistakes and none of the credit for their progress.
Francesca Hong, a Democratic socialist running to be Wisconsin’s governor, leveled a barrage at free markets, arguing that because of capitalism, the world must now deal with global warming. What won’t she address? How, putting aside whether you believe in global warming, capitalism is currently the only bulwark against it, and the only system providing any effective, scalable solution.
Francesca Hong: "Global warming is an evil product of capitalism. It is wrapped up in buzzwords like 'technological advancement,' 'market competitiveness,' and 'fiscal responsibility,' but what we've learned is the climate crisis is America's celebration of white supremacy." pic.twitter.com/XT7A7bj4OT
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 4, 2026
"Global warming is an evil product of capitalism," Hong said. "It's wrapped up in buzzwords like technological advancement, market competitiveness, or my favorite, fiscal responsibility. What we've learned is that the climate crisis is America's steadfast celebration of white supremacy. It is a testament to the same values that motivated Jim Crow, enslavement, redlining, settler colonialism, and the violent theft of indigenous lands and lives."
Putting aside the word salad of the progressive left’s favorite buzzwords, free markets and capitalism are going to be the only systems that actually save the world from a radically changing climate. Let’s begin with the modern left’s favored solutions: green energy and technology, from electric cars to solar panels to wind power. None of these would be efficient enough, widespread enough, or popular enough to matter without the power of the free market.
Consider the hypocrisy: many of these technologies are produced using fossil fuels, yet their viability depends entirely on capitalist innovation and competition. Solar panels used to provide little energy and were virtually unable to compete with fossil fuels. Running a car on a battery was laughable. All these technologies were insanely expensive. Where are they now? Vastly more efficient, vastly cheaper, and vastly more widespread than they ever would have been if Francesca Hong had used government to cram down green energy mandates on the world. And she has nothing but capitalism to thank for that.
Solar panel costs have plummeted from around $100 per watt in the 1970s to about $3 per watt today, while efficiency has more than tripled. Electric vehicles, once a niche novelty, now make up over 20 percent of new car sales globally, driven by competition, innovation, and consumer demand. Wind and solar are now among the cheapest sources of new electricity generation, outcompeting fossil fuels on cost alone.
The lesson is clear: it’s not mandates or moralizing that will solve the climate crisis, it’s markets. Capitalism has turned green tech from a pipe dream into a practical, scalable solution.
What's gotten in the way? Government.
Our best shot at renewable energy is nuclear energy. Unlike wind and solar, which depend on weather and require vast land use, nuclear power delivers reliable, carbon-free electricity 24/7, with a fraction of the environmental footprint. It’s also safer than almost any other energy source. If capitalism and free markets have driven down the cost of green tech, imagine what they could do for nuclear, scaling it safely, efficiently, and affordably.
Why can't they right now? Because Democrats' favorite tool has deemed it so: government.
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