Posted on 12/26/2008 8:34:53 AM PST by St. Louis Conservative
When I was younger, I thought he had just showed why free-market capitalism is the fairest, freest and most productive, why would he allow any scope for anything else? Now I realize why.
What nearly 40 years of intellectual debate on these issues has taught me is that the Left's adherents are not interested in reason or truth. They fight instead with a religious fervor that reflects blind faith in socialism, and what they are after is nothing other than total power to implement their catechism. They are not the slightest bit interested in facts or logic or any counterarguments. They are busy implementing the Inquisition, and the Salem witch trials, and refuse to consider any new ideas, thoughts, or real world results.
As a young idealist, I didn't want people to suffer from the follies of left-liberalism. But now, after seeing that I am not in an intellectual battle with the Left, but a religious war, my view on this has changed. Now I do want liberals to suffer under the follies of liberalism. Because I see now that this the only way that they are going to recognize their foolishness. But just liberals. I want to keep the rest of us free of their insanity.
NOZICK'S VISION of utopia is the answer here. We can implement his vision by delegating as much power as possible back to state governments. They each should have maximum feasible control over economic policy, taxation, environmental policy, education, welfare, health policy, crime, even entitlements. If only we could figure out a way to give them each control over their own policies on immigration, terrorism, and foreign policy as well.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
What nearly 40 years of intellectual debate on these issues has taught me is that the Left’s adherents are not interested in reason or truth. They fight instead with a religious fervor that reflects blind faith in socialism, and what they are after is nothing other than total power to implement their catechism. They are not the slightest bit interested in facts or logic.......
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Without the slightest doubt. Their entire fanatic, rabid effort is to install socialism as a vehicle to their ABSOLUTE EMPOWERMENT. NOTHING else matters. Nothing.
Good read. Thanks for the post.
***Reading the book as a younger man, I was most interested in the parts dealing with anarchy and state, and his moral arguments for limiting the powers of government to those necessary to stop and punish the use of force and fraud, all of which I still find true and correct.***
Ah, limited government. We have nothing of the sort now.
ping
Ah, federalism. We should try that one sometime.
Outside of the United States, the most common expression of the free market can be found in the local market square, be it a day market where farmers directly sell their produce or a city market where all manner of goods are sold in a public area. My experience has been that when you ask one of the sellers what their major obstacle or impediment is, they will name some arm or subdivision of the government (Police, city government, tax collector, other "civil servants").
Yet socialists rule the vast majority of these comparatively poor countries. Usually the keep power through force and corruption which moves from governing group to the successor group.
Ironically, most places in the world that have overcome this economic slavery of socialism have needed a "strongman" to do so (ie. Singapore or Taiwan).
Pinging you to this thread which offers in part support for the idea of a “religious” impulse on the left . . . and a challenge to the idea that it is ultimately the desire for power that motivates the left.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2129475/posts
Also remember F.D.R. . . . 10 years of economic failure and depression did not persuade American voters that socialism (pump priming) didn’t work . . . and the left controlled Congress for 66 out of 78 years after . . .
They fight instead with a religious fervor that reflects blind faith in socialism,
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And this is the religion preached in our government temples of Liberal Marxism ( misnamed “public” schools).
Dude, what took you 40 years?
It became apparent to me about 5 years into adulthood.
Every generation has to learn anew the principles of sound government
Alas our educational system for the last 40 years has been markedly changing to teach social studies, GAIA, mother earth, environmental protectionism, political correctness.
As our society as a whole has accepted the licentiousness of movies, and Television programing, IE blatant sexuality as the focus, and center of life and; also demean character plus many other sources in the public arena, music, art, etc.
Our youth do not know history. World, American, or State.
We do not know what we do not know. Our education is lacking in many areas of sound critical thinking, political science, history, Geography, Science . Thus the “theory of evolution” is taught as truth. ETC.
Socialism is enslaving. Communism is enslaving. Marxism is enslaving. Totalitarianism creates tyranny.
The ELITE could care less about the individual. The ELITE all live like KINGS. The Congress is approaching this state of being ... big time. Many of them are very rich now.
“As a young idealist, I didn’t want people to suffer from the follies of left-liberalism. But now, after seeing that I am not in an intellectual battle with the Left, but a religious war, my view on this has changed. Now I do want liberals to suffer under the follies of liberalism. Because I see now that this the only way that they are going to recognize their foolishness. But just liberals. I want to keep the rest of us free of their insanity.”
This country was founded as a federalist nation, with very strong state rights. The founders were wise enough to know that they didn’t know the recipe for a “perfect” governmnent, so they set up the framework of states and states’ rights where each state would be free to set up its own laws. This would inevitably result in various forms of governments which would be tested in real life and people could choose which one they wanted to live under based on the results they saw.
Unfortunately, this framework didn’t last long - as early as the presidency of Jefferson, states rights started eroding, with the civil war pretty much giving it the death blow. The passage of the federal income tax and the “new deal” did away with any remaining traces of states rights.
It’s unlikely that the type of federalism the author fantasizes about can ever exist under one country. When states become so different politically the forces for separation become unstoppable. His experiment is happening today - but not in states within a country, but in independent countries within the world.
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