Why is it “social conservatives”, almost all of whom are Evangelical Christians, think Darwinian evolution is the work of Satan, but Social Darwinism is just fine? They share this last with the Libertarians, and not to their credit.
I have always admired the self-righteous presumption of self-confessed “libertarians”. It is like when conversing with Marxists or Freudians. A closed philosophical system, that begins, not ends, in the assumption that the possessor of The Truth is absolutely correct, and everyone who disagrees is ignorant, evil, or a dupe.
Actually, I never met a *libertarian* who didn’t consider themselves to be a highly superior specimen of humanity, held back from greatness by the *ballast* and the *rabble* of society. Most of these Nietzschean Superman were pathetic failures at everything but inflating their own self importance.
Like Marxism and Freudianism, the Libertarians have a “Magic Bullet” which solves the problems of the entire world.
For the Marxists, it is Capital. For the Freudians, it is Sex. For the Libertarians, it is “Gummint”.Marxists cry, “Just get the evil Capitalists off our backs and Paradise will arrive.”
Freudians cry, “Just get the evil sexual repression off your backs and you will be OK.”
Libertarians cry, “Just get Government off people’s backs, and Freedom will triumph.” And, oh by the way, “Whosoever disagrees with me is A Statist, A Socialist, or (God help us all) A Liberal!!!”
Each one betrays a slothful immaturity and willful ignorance as to how reality is constructed. Nor can you tell them, “Sorry, it doesn’t work that way,” because their invariable rejoinder is, “But you haven’t tried it”. I haven’t tried the green Kool-Aid either, and have no desire to do so.
For those deprived of an education in real-world economics, the USA once tried libertarian economics in large degree. The honest, hardworking, abused Capitalists, proceeded to screw over their customers, their workers, and anyone else who got between them and the God Profit. We ended that silliness, but there are always apologists for the rich and powerful, most of whom call themselves libertarians these days.
Almost every religious tradition speaks to the problem that the rich and powerful need no assistance, it is the poor and weak who require help. Alas, “libertarians” think that by using not-so-subtle invective, they can erase any qualm about allowing the rich to run rampant, preaching “freedom”, which confuses weak minds. They want to ignore that there is very little “free-enterprise” in the world today.
It was not for nothing that Italian Fascism was called “The Corporate State”. Modern corporations are fascism incarnate, where the Fascist Grand Council (Board of Directors) selects the Duce(the CEO), and wherein all excess of immoral and evil intent can be excused as being “for the Fatherland” (for the good of the Company).
The plain fact is that “libertarian” thought replaces all normal, decent human relations with the cash nexus, and turns everything and everyone into a one-dimensional cartoon called Economic Man. It depends on using doublethink and crimestop, to borrow words from 1984, because like Ingsoc, libertarianism is untenable if allowed to come into contact with reality. It is a form of religious mania, and like all religious fanaticisms, its adherents cannot argue effectively, but delight in sending out as many red-herrings as possible to confuse things.
What I find amazing is that conservatives have allowed libertarians to hang out nearby, when they belong over with the mystics and sorcerers of social thought. Some people may confuse “libertarianism” with political or economic philosophy, when it is nothing more than the burbling of a Toddler who wants everything his own way, no matter who it hurts.
Society exists, contrary to the beloved Lady Maggie Thatcher. It is a cooperative venture, and we ARE our Brothers and Sisters keepers. At the very least, we are accountable for them. This means that we cannot dismiss them because of a stupid theory, which HAS been tried and HAS failed miserably.
It has taken me a long time to come to this realization, after reading as much as I could on libertarianism, hanging out with libertarians, and trying to re-formulate libertarian ideas just to be sure that I understand them.
It is a sadness that the Republican Party, which started out with good intent has been taken over by a pack of apologists for the rich and powerful, just as the Democratic party has been taken over by a horde of sycophants for Special Interests.
What a choice, vote for more money for the rich, or vote for more band-aids for professional victims. In the immortal words of Sheridan Whiteside (The Man Who Came To Dinner), “I may vomit.”
I do get upset when anyone suggests that the current economic mess is “free-enterprise”. Free-enterprise is the small businessman, the salesman on commission, the mom-and-pop grocery (think Dobie Gillis). …It is NOT Megagigantooctoconglomeratapus Company funding political movements to safeguard its current CEO’s salaries-and-perks while forcing the little guy to pay for the privilege of cleaning up the mess from the greedy mistakes of those same CEOs.
Those who receive more benefit from a society are obliged — OBLIGED — to pay more for the maintenance and prosperity of that society, and are not entitled to rape the Treasury and claim virtue for their thievery. I just think Edmund Burke would be appalled to hear these corporate thugs claim the mantle of either “conservatism” or of “fiscal responsibility”.
It is amusing that some politicians attempt the dishonest trick of first, sabotaging their government by a vigorous attack, defunding it, cutting programs, then claiming that it doesn’t work. This is the mystical mantra of the government-haters.
The Government, is US. We, all of us, are the Government in the USA, and to operate on the stupid notion that it is some European Dark Power, alien to the people, is just one of the underhanded ploys of those who set up to be self-righteous and superior to the rest of us.
If the Federal government is incompetent, so is any other large entity — corporations, for choice? If the Federal government is unable to do the job which we, the people, have assigned it, so are state and local governments.
Any government is anathema to libertarians, because governments take more money away from the rich and powerful than they want to surrender. (They want to hog it all, and let everyone else pay for the privilege of supporting the rich and powerful.) Any collective action, and a corporation is a collective action, will have flaws. But to paint with such a wide brush is to ignore — deliberately — the facts.
Government works. It is an unpleasant truth which can be wiped away only by the fanatics and voodoo witch doctors of economic and social theory. There they sit, in dim lit rooms, chanting “Government don’t work”, when all evidence says it does. Not just in the sphere of the military, but in SOCIAL programs, like the REA. If just one federally sponsored program works, that is it, and it puts the lie to the nitwits and nitpickers.
Am I being abusive to those who refuse to leave off their really weird political garbage? Yes, I am. I have suffered enough from the ignorant and outrageous idiots who make snarky remarks about “socialism”, when what they really want to say is “Biden is a commie, Harris is a nxxxxx.”
Proof is that which convinces, and so long as their socio-political religion stands in the way of reality, NOTHING will ever convince them.
Rant over, resume normal programming.
Minor Grumbles 