DISQUS

The Moderate Voice: Libertarianism: If Not Now, Then When? (Guest Voice)

  • GreenDreams · 11 months ago
    heheh. good snark Jim. Those who think the "free markets, free people" mantra sounds great should look to the history of countries that tried it (including our own). Milton Friedman and his best buddy Don Rumsfeld (yes, closest of friends) got to impose it just as they wanted to, via Rumsfeld's best buddy (yes, closest of friends) General Pinochet, in Chile. Just as now, when the policies (privatize, deregulate, cut social spending) crashed the Chilean economy, Pinochet (urged on by Rumsfeld) agreed to "go further". More misery resulted. The only thing that saved Chile was Pinochet's refusal to privatize the biggest state industry, copper mining. By the time the free marketeers were done, it was the only income left to that devastated country. Pinochet was chased out of town and the country has recovered, not because of "free market" reforms, but by ending them.

    We need some sort of hybrid system. Much as the rightists want "no restraints" and "personal responsibility" to be our rule of law, this "you're on your own" system won't work in compassionate America. We just aren't going to let grandma eat cat food because she was careless in her financial planning, or let sick and injured Americans die because they couldn't afford insurance. Reaganomics is dead. It failed.

    Miserably.
  • JSpencer · 11 months ago
    It's easy to understand why libertarianism is appealing to some folks, I mean it's all about "freedom", casting off the restraints of regulation, doing away with the "nanny state", etc. right? To me it's always had too much of the "law of the jungle" at it's core. When we look at how easily people are able to subvert the existing system, to make it accomodate their needs (especially people of power and wealth) at the expense of others, then I think we're already sufficiently close to that primitive code of conduct. Why would we want more of it?
  • Jim_Satterfield · 11 months ago
    [snark]Absolutely. In the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression we must destroy all social programs and let the corporation run free of any restraints. [/snark]
  • Jim_Satterfield · 11 months ago
    And in actual answer to the title of the article...Never, thankfully.