We laugh at Andersen’s emperor, yet the same farce plays out on a planetary scale. Systems set impossible goals, individuals pretend to meet them, and everyone nods along to preserve the illusion. China’s numbers, Western markets, Soviet tragedies—it’s always the same play. Nobody moves first. And history never punishes the liars—only the believers.
Every empire is built on a beautiful lie. Ponzi had his postage stamps; Aramco has its oil fields. The con changes shape, not substance. We call it business, progress, valuation — anything but belief. But the moment the music stops, all that’s left is silence and the faint smell of burned confidence.
Europe claims to want clean transport, but what it really wants is moral theatre. Battery and hydrogen trucks pose as salvation while remaining unusable, unaffordable props. Meanwhile, methane fuels—available, scalable, and nearly emission-free—are ignored because they solve the problem too well, too soon, and without the drama policymakers crave.