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Pledge of allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the curve
Of supply and demand in equilibrium
And to the principle for which it stands
Market pricing, with low transaction costs
Yields utility and profit for all

– Commenter thoreau, at Hit and Run.

14 comments to Pledge of allegiance

  • Now there’s a pledge I could really get behind.

  • NoName

    Off-topic. Deleted by admin

  • guy herbert

    Noname,

    Comment on a relevant posting or get your own blog.

    As to the quote,

    Where does that leave those of us who are happy with the free market, but think economic “equilibrium” is a misleading myth?

  • I love the pledge for the folks working so hard to take the term God out of the pledge, Capitalism is as much an anathema as Religion and there is NOTHING they could do about this version 😉

  • Robert Alderson

    I am one of those who want “God” out of the pledge but I certainly have no problems with this pledge. You don’t have to be a communist to want to oppose the establishment of religion by the government. This pledge is constitutional since it does not “establish religion.” Unless you think belief in capitalism is a religion……..

  • guy herbert

    I’m not keen on involuntary pledges at all. Putting God in to suit proto-religious rightists in the Commie-panic of the 1950s just makes it worse.

  • “Where does that leave those of us who are happy with the free market, but think economic “equilibrium” is a misleading myth?”

    Equilibrium needn’t be static. One curve shifts, the point of intersection still represents equilibrium.

    The inherently dynamic nature of the model is part of the genius

  • Graffito spotted in a stall in the mens room at U of Illinois at Chicago:

    “Supply and Demand — It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law.”

  • And shouldn’t that be curves, plural? I recall there were two, one going up and one going down.

  • “And all the people shall say ‘Amen'”

    וְאָמַ֥ר כָּל־הָעָ֖ם אָמֵן

  • I’m not a fan of government functionaries leading kiddies into reciting pledges, either. But if there should be a pledge at all, it should be to the Constitution.

    (Note that the law is mentioned nowhere in the Pledge – the pledge is to the flag and the republic.)

    I’d like to see some school kids in New London, Connecticut do a little civil disobedience and recite a pledge to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, with some mention of property rights and the phrase “even if the Supreme Court tells us otherwise” worked in.

  • Crow

    But if there should be a pledge at all, it should be to the Constitution.

    Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America:

    “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

    Oath of Enlistment into the Armed Services of the U.S.A.:

    I, ___________________________________, do solemly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed overme, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

    (According to official regulations “so help me God” is optional and “swear” can be replaced with “affirm” at the oath-taker’s discretion. America has a very strong Judeo-Christian tradition.)

    I have already had the honor of taking the latter oath and I look forward to taking the former as soon as the bureaucrats process my naturalization application.

  • Midwesterner

    Thank you, Crow. I’m glad to have you here. You definitely sound like a good addition to our country.

    If you’ve taken either one of those oaths, I’m sad to say you’re one up on the majority of us native born citizens.

    I think we native born citizens need an opportunity to swear allegiance to more than a piece of fabric and some national territory. Maybe we should have to swear an oath to the constitution before we can vote.