Two ARCs Are Better Than One

The importance of implementing ARC-ES – the Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act – has been a frequent topic here because its enactment into law or policy – either by an act of Congress or executive order – would protect our most reliable and affordable resources and guarantee the energy security of Americans for generations to come.

But another movement with the same “ARC” acronym is empowering citizens worldwide to ensure prosperity for families and entire nations. The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship “is drawing together a unique alliance from around the world, covering politics, business, technology, culture, law, academia, the arts and more” to “develop a more hope-filled vision for the future,” as described in its mission statement.

ARC-ES and the ARC international alliance go hand-in-glove with their shared vision of pushing back on decisions and edicts which are harmful to economic prosperity and human growth, and are driven more by political correctness than fact-based evidence. The belief that our time-tested and proven across-the-board society foundations must be rediscovered and reasserted anchors both movements.

Headquartered in London, the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship believes that “we are at a defining moment in our societies,” and that growth in the West “has stagnated,” accompanied by skepticism “about the sustainability of human development.” Further, “there is a sense of fragility and crisis which pervades everything from the basics of individual identity to the heart of our democratic structures.”

Check out the alliance’s impressive international advisory board, including U.S. luminaries like Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), noted scholar Victor Davis Hanson and entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

The alliance presents its initiatives in the form of ARC Research, “a not for profit company which exists to advance education, promote research, and develop ideas about the keys to human  flourishing and prosperity.”

The research is divided into five basic categories: “A Better Story,” which examines the meaning of citizenship and foundational democracy; “Social Fabric,” which emphasizes the importance of family; “Business and Governance,” addressing prosperity and entrepreneurship; “Identity in a Digital Age,” examining our place in an interconnected world grappling with the AI revolution; and “Energy and Environment.”

That last topic is of primary interest for our purposes. The alliance’s energy perspective can be viewed as countering the “clean at all cost” movement that has been extremely detrimental to Western Europe’s industrial base. As of this writing, the alliance offers six essays and/or reports examining energy and environmental issues, ranging from “Energy Is GDP: Building Societies of Superabundance” to “The Green Gamble: The Geopolitics of Net Zero” to “Powering the Unplugged: Overcoming the Barriers to Electrification in the Developing World.”

For me, particular insight is provided by an essay entitled “Energy for the 21st Century: A Declaration of Guiding Principles,” jointly authored by Mark Mills, executive director of the National Center for Energy Analytics, and Dr. Scott Tinker, CEO of Tinker Energy Associates. The essay opens by noting that numerous national and local governments “are proposing and  implementing policies to propel or mandate an ‘energy transition’ to minimise society’s use of fossil fuels” based on climate change fears.

The authors write, “We believe that civilisation can indeed produce sufficient, affordable energy, and that diversification of the energy portfolio is healthy, but not to the exclusion of fossil fuels – oil, natural gas, and coal – as primary energy sources for decades to come.” Amen!

The essay suggests nine “energy principles, three each in three domains – Economics, Politics, and Science and Technology” which are “underpinned by the laws of nature, fundamentals of economics, and standards of civil governance, rooted in what history teaches, and what is possible, practical, and reasonable.” The essays available at the website are well worth exploring.

The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship is preparing to host “ The ARC Conference: The Age of Reconstruction” June 23-25 at the Olympia exhibition center in London, featuring an all-star array of speakers and panels pondering the essential question, “What does it take to rebuild?” The slate of international participants is impressive; from the U.S. they range from actor Kevin Sorbo to investor and Thiel Capital director Eric Weinstein to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Energy Secretary Chris Wright (both joining online) and many others. Check out the entire roster.

“This conference is a call to the builders. To those who choose gratitude over cynicism,” organizers say. “To those who see calling, not catastrophe. To those who create, not complain. To those committed to human flourishing. The decisions we make in the coming years will sha…