When the first cars arrived, the farriers realized that their work would soon be gone. Public opinion was divided. Many were opposed to these noisy four-wheeled objects and in the end the English Parliament passed a law requiring cars to move at walking pace: literally, in the sense that they had to be preceded by a pedestrian with a red flag as a sign of danger. . That law they called it the Red Flag Act and it did not save the fate of the farriers.
In 2035
by Riccardo Luna
Nor, on balance, can it be said that the auto industry has created fewer jobs than that which previously revolved around horses and carriages. Indeed, at the time the shrewdest of carriage builders converted to automobile construction. This anecdote came to my mind when I read the lamentations of one of our ministers after the decision of the European Parliament to stop the production of petrol or diesel cars from 2035. That is thirteen years from now. The minister says that we risk losing 70,000 jobs. A figure not supported by any serious analysis of the industrial sector; and that does not take into account those that will instead be created by implementing the green plan of Europe: think of the renewable energy plants with which we will replace the dependence on fossil fuels.
After all, the future always has this effect on some: it makes you want to go back to the past. To raise a red flag as a sign of danger. But the only danger here is climate change. The fact that it has gone so far that perhaps 2035 may even be late. Instead, Europe’s decision is sacrosanct. If the postponement party prevails in the Italian government, it would mean that one day we will tell our children that we have not stopped the end of the world because we had to defend those who build connecting rods and pistons.