Dan Gillmor calls out libertarian exec TJ Rodgers for his “hypocrisy” in entering the solar power business, a business that’s heavily subsidized by the government. Supposedly it’s “phony libertarianism” to rail against big government while participating in an industry that benefits from government largess. That doesn’t seem right to me. As the article puts it:
The solar-cell industry is reliant upon government subsidies, to the consternation of Mr. Rodgers, an outspoken libertarian. “The culture that got built is what I call a grant culture,” he said. “They’re all pitching to the U.S. government, looking for funding.” Such criticism aside, the subsidies are in place, both in the United States and Europe, and Mr. Rodgers is ideally positioned to capitalize on the government support he has long railed against. “I can make a good profit for my shareholders,” he said, “and provide a lot of good eco-stuff to the world as well.” The paradox is that Mr. Rodgers, 58, who has long been a free-market iconoclast, even by the tough-guy standards of the valley’s chip industry, may end up striking pay dirt by moving from the cutthroat world of computer processing power to the more sensitive realm of solar power.
It doesn’t mention whether his company is getting subsidies directly from the government, or whether the adoption of solar power is merely being driven by subsidies to his customers. If it’s the latter, I don’t really see how that’s hypocrisy. Solar power is a perfectly legitimate business, which would exist (albeit in somewhat smaller form) in the absence of government subsidies. As long as Rodgers isn’t himself actively pursuing government handouts, I don’t see why he should be expected to avoid the sector entirely merely because some of his customers are getting them.
More to the point, the long-run success of the solar power industry will be driven by the underlying economics of the energy market, not government handouts. If the cost of solar panels drop to the point where they become an economical alternative to the grid, (or the price of other energy sources continues to rise), there will suddenly be a huge market for solar panels. The government handouts obviously don’t hurt, but they won’t be what makes or breaks the effort. Libertarians have as much right to compete for that market as anyone else.
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