With the rise of Trump and Sanders we see the authoritarianism that has become currency in America unmasked. It is ugly. The problem is that they ALL do it. But in this election cycle it is nakedly on view. I had this to say about it in a comment I made elsewhere in a discussion about socialism.
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The Republican Party with its love of Prohibition has its own problems.
And what we see unmasked in this current cycle is that ALL the candidates are authoritarians.
The only question these days is who is going to take the beatings.
Hayek proved a long time ago that authoritarians (government in general) can never have enough information to maintain control.
Our founders knew that instinctively. Thus – very limited government. And in fact a disdain for the institution. Politicians were considered little better than prostitutes. Government work was for the incompetent.
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The human tendency is to look for scapegoats. And instead of embracing that understanding and resisting it we are presently giving in. Celebrating it in fact.
Who do YOU want to punish?
The Drug Cartels are a creation of government. Because Drug users are worthy of punishment. As alcoholics once were.
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Let me add that the conventional wisdom is, “We know who the wreckers are and we are going to punish them good and hard.” With each party having its own targets. And of course out of defense – if you are a target – you will support the other party. They are counting on it.
Comments
12 responses to “Authoritarianism Unmasked”
This is late Roman Empire stuff. Once the authoritarians start fighting for power unrestrained by the Senate, there is no limit to the destruction they can do.
Late republic, not empire. We’re going authoritarian one way or another, so sit back and learn to enjoy it. The next step is Caesar. Hopefully we get an Augustus, not a Comodus.
government is authority. small government libertarians job was to show it could make government work. all it has shown is it makes government impossible to work as it is the party of no and sabotage those trying to make it work as compromise is a durty word to you. you have brought authoritarianism on yourselves with your ayn randist free trade movement conservative libertarian b.s. you have sown the wind supply siders now you will reap the whirlwind!
Drug cartels are the most obvious but crony capitalism creates less obvious cartels. Automobile manufactures are few and gigantic specifically because those few, large manufacturers have the money to steer regulations and other favors (GM’s bankruptcy) their way. Ditto for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. Ditto for pretty much any interstate goods/services producer.
The establishment Democrats and Republicans are equally to blame because both depend on those big corporations to finance their campaigns. No amount of “good government” rules, regulations, or laws can ever change this. Only devolving regulation back to the states will work. 50 laboratories of democracy and all that. This famous Democrat nailed it:
Legal marijuana is finally doing what the drug war couldn’t
From the article CapRoader linked:
The cartels, of course, are adapting to the new reality. Seizure data appears to indicate that with marijuana profits tumbling, they’re switching over to heroin and meth.
A good friend who works at a rehab clinic says about 50% of people signed in there are heroin users, which is way up from just a few years ago when he was lucky to see one or two a month. The Cartels are flooding it in and selling it cheap to get future users lined up. This is northern California, the original home of home grown and still a leading supplier of cannabis.
It is ugly, Simon, when the leading Republican quotes Mussolini with approval and wants torture as the norm. Open, brazen, and unthinkable even a few years ago. I’ve stopped commenting at most websites because any push back is answered with vitriol and ridicule. There is a fire loose that is consuming otherwise rational people.
It may be what the Republican’s deserve for betraying their base for years, but enough already. The man needs a straight jacket.
Woodrow Wilson quote. Good one. Have you read “Liberal Fascism”? The answer to the musical question “it can’t happen here” is it already did. The only positive thing I can say about Woody is we recovered, to some extent, anyway. Gives me some hope we might recover from this current verkakte and ausgefikt situation.
Think about it this way:
What would it take to buy off one of these:
Bill Clinton: A bucket of fried chicken and a blow job.
Hillary Clinton: Some extravagant speaking fees and a sleazy real estate deal or two.
Barack Obama: Just the sleazy real estate deals, please.
Bernie Sanders: Probably go for a free lunch.
Cruzorubio: Don’t know, probably cost of a luxury fishing boat.
Trump: GDP of a small nation, maybe?
The Donald says “politicians don’t buy me, I buy politicians”.
I still can’t tell if he’ll be a good president or not, but this really is a historically unprecedented situation. A potential phase change in american politics.
@MMM:
I have. Wilson embodied the worst of progressivism after he was elected president. Racist, eugenicist, fascist. But he wasn’t stupid. Note the year of the quote. It was years before he was elected president. He knew that a federal regulatory state would lead to corruption. It’s just that when he became president he became part of that corruption.
Wrong. I have no excuse other than to note that the regulatory capture quote above is from a 1912 campaign speech. I
This is the bottom of the Kondratieff cycle. The INs are fighting the OUTs. The last time this happened we got FDR. Definitely an authoritarian.