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Samizdata quote of the day Big state cronyism is a bad thing, economically, socially and ethically but it is not Soviet Communism. Get a grip, people. Nor is it possible for a big, strong and basically rich country to be destroyed and annihilated by one bad Administration though it is very bad. No country gets annihilated just like that. Heck, even Belgium cannot destroy itself.
– Helen Szamuely Nor is it the case that the American people, as this bizarre Economist blog claims, “endorsed macroeconomics”. They just voted very marginally for known dull over unknown boring, neither of whom would have enough power to implement a root-and-branch plan of reform. That is presumably why neither man had much of a plan to do so. Drift continues, roughly in the same direction.
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Well, here is a lot of ruin left. But the most probable outcome now is secession. Which is, come to think of it, not a bad thing at all. Almost certainly, moving the levers of state one level down should result in more accountability and freedom.
It’s true that it’s unlikely that one bad administration can take a country from full health to ruin in a single term, or even a couple of them. You might argue that we’ve had a succession of bad administrations though, each doing their little bit of damage and then handing off to the next. The west’s health seems to have been failing slowly for a while now.
Every election has both sides claiming the other would destroy America going back to 1800. Federalists back then claimed that the election of Thomas Jefferson would lead to the active use of guillotines in every town square. Democratic-Republicans said that re-electing John Adams would turn the country into a monarchy.
If Americans didn’t always assume that any political setback was the imminent prelude to certain and complete ruin, we’d still be British colonies.
“Nor is it possible for a big, strong and basically rich country to be destroyed and annihilated by one bad Administration ”
I wish it were just one.
There is a growing class of people dependent on state handouts (Romney’s 47%), and a whole generation or three of brainwashed youth emerging from the leftist universities.
So, the decline and decadence is a long and painful process. Expect more bad administrations…
Just wait until the full implementation of Obamacare turns independent Americans into British serfs…
FD
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU HELEN – for saying “cronysim” and not that ugly contradiction in terms “crony capitalism.”
Some truth in the quote.
However, it seems that the US has been hell bent to destroy itself for the last 40 years (my adult years). The country was just so strong, they couldn’t make too much of a dent for a while. The ship is state is now a rusty tramp steamer.
Might our Fearless Leader be able to complete the job in the next four years? He will certainly try, I am sure.
I may have to spend my declining years in a 3rd world dictatorship after the Big Bust hits but I spent most of my life in the best of times. I am probably due the worst of times as payback. Feel sorry for the young ones coming on. They won’t only miss out but most are so brainwashed they will never know what was lost.
If you’ve noticed, the typical person is a below average moron through the welfare state encouraging the dumb to breed and penalising the successful.
Guy and Helen (Helen Szamuely – one of the best people I know).
Of course one Administration can not destroy a great country.
The undermining of Civil Society started with H. Mann and compulsory state education – first in Mass and then (in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) in all other States.
And there was government licensing of doctors and lawyers (no more rail hand lawyers like Lincoln).
Then the Progressive movement – which (under the leadership of people like Richard Ely, and those he mentored such as T. Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson).
Then the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt.
Then the Great Society of L.B.J (programs that have grown like cancers ever since).
Then the great credit money expansion of Alan Greenspan and B.B.
So Obama is just the end point of process going back a very long time indeed.
This man (in spite of all his evil) is just a straw.
The straw that finally broke the camel’s back.
People want free shit.
New Hampshire’s state motto (on its license plates) is “Live Free or Die.”
They went blue, elected all women lefties, and I think they should update their state motto.
Live For Free Or Die.
ketuckyliz.
Yes.
And New Hampshire is a good example.
Who had the connections with the State – Romney.
Who did they vote for – Obama.
Was it race? – No it is a lily white State.
They voted for Obama for the same reason they voted for a Dem Governor (and have in every election every two years since 2004).
Free State Project my backside – the majority of voters in New Hampshire are just no good.
And it is not just the free stuff.
Barack Obama is a life long Marxist (it does not take much research to find out his background and associations) – he is dedicated to the UTTER DESTRUCTION of the United States (and of the West generally) – this is his AIM (so that a wonderful new society can be built on the ashes of the old).
To Barack Obama economic (and cultural) collapse “is not a bug – it is a feature”.
In 2008 I found it very hard to forgive people who had not bothered to do a bit of basic research on Barack Obama and, therefore, supported him.
In 2012 it is impossible to forgive them.
By the way…..
Frankfurt School “Cultural Marxism”, known in the United States first as the New School of Social Research and now generally as “critical theory” and a thousand other names, is “Soviet Communism” just by the installment plan.
The idea that we are dealing with just “big state cronyism” here is wrong.
The “liberals” – those nice, educated, charming, cultured people at all the expensive social events, are CONG.
I do not deny that they are educated, cultured, charming, well dressed (and on and on…..) so were Kim Philby and the others.
They remain Cong – their objective is collectivism.
“But they would lose their own wealth and comfortable lives”.
True – but they either do not understand that (in spite of, or because of, all their education) or they do not care.
They are Cong – their objective is collectivism.
They say they stand for “freedom, liberty, tolerance, science, small business, family farms…..”
It is all a lie.
They are Cong – their objective is collectivism.
An entire political culture is now dominated by a lie so vast it is difficult to grasp the scale of it.
The schools, the universities, the media, even much of the financial industry, is dominated by such ideas – often without the people involved (no matter how intelligent they are) knowing the sources of their ideas – or what they will lead to.
But the core “intellectuals” – they do know.
As for Barack Obama being a Keynesian (sorry Economist magazine – a believer in your noble doctrines of Marco Economics of “monetary stimulus” and “fiscal stimulus”) the “joke’ is that Barack is not a Keynesian. He actually knows more about economics than the conformist, establishment types at the Economist magazine (not that this is particularly difficult).
Barack Obama no more believes that creating money from nothing (“monetary stimulus”) or wild government deficit spending (“fiscal stimulus”) bring lasting prosperity, than we do.
But, as a modern Marxist, Barack knows well that such policies are very useful – for the purposes of DESTRUCTION.
The actions of Obama convince me he is pursuing a “Cloward-Piven” strategy. If so he must have plans to stymie the inevitable resistance when the SHTF.
Gun confiscation would be among the first steps. Any american remembers the slogan”I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers”.
It’s almost put up or shut up time. Soon this threat will no longer be theoretical but actual and each of us who intend to resist had better have a plan in place to sell his life dearly.