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The primary justification for the Trudeau government proceeding with its plan to impose a federal carbon tax on provinces without a provincial one is that climate change requires a government policy response. When faced with any problem or challenge, our society reflexively asks what the government intends to do.

Looking back at the source of major changes in our society, one wonders where this reflex comes from? Almost all the major transformations in our economy and lifestyle have bubbled up from millions of people deciding to do the same thing in the absence of any government directive or technological innovations by firms independent of government policy.

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The 1960s saw a monumental shift from societal to individual rights, which affected everything from civil rights, divorce, the role of women in the labour force and regulation in subsequent decades. The emphasis on the individual is still playing out every time you buy a specialty coffee in the morning on the way to work or a craft beer after work. The 1960s also saw the rapid secularization of society as religion lost its hold, especially in Western Europe, which encouraged the increased profanity and declining quality of culture and public discourse.