Monday, February 3, 2014

David Simon on Libertarianism!


 

By Jeff Simpson

Never have I heard it put so well and spot on:



Ultimately we abandoned that [the idea that unions had a place in an economy] and believed in the idea of trickle-down and the idea of the market economy and the market knows best, to the point where now libertarianism in my country is actually being taken seriously as an intelligent mode of political thought. It’s astonishing to me. But it is. People are saying I don’t need anything but my own ability to earn a profit. I’m not connected to society. I don’t care how the road got built, I don’t care where the firefighter comes from, I don’t care who educates the kids other than my kids. I am me. It’s the triumph of the self. I am me, hear me roar.

But wait...there's more:

 The idea that the market will solve such things as environmental concerns, as our racial divides, as our class distinctions, our problems with educating and incorporating one generation of workers into the economy after the other when that economy is changing; the idea that the market is going to heed all of the human concerns and still maximise profit is juvenile. It’s a juvenile notion and it’s still being argued in my country passionately and we’re going down the tubes. And it terrifies me because I’m astonished at how comfortable we are in absolving ourselves of what is basically a moral choice. Are we all in this together or are we all not?


3 comments:

  1. A libertarian is just a conservative with a bong.

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  2. A good thought. But I remember my last tangle with a libertarian fanatic. When I explained that good government is create of, by, and for the People, he screamed, ""The PEOPLE does not EXIST!!!" How does one communicate with that level of ignorance and zeal?

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  3. Libertarian is less thoughtful in idea, than Republican as give me more because.

    ReplyDelete