Sunday, April 09, 2006
Already There
After the Arkansas legislature over three days last week raised the minimum wage, banned smoking in workplaces, then outlawed it in cars when children are present, it occurred to me that we already live in a totalitarian state. If it can do those things, what can't it do? Yes, the state doesn't regulate everything, but that's only because it hasn't gotten around to it yet. There's no legal barrier to its doing so. It's only a matter of time.
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5 comments:
I beg to differ. In fact, I think calling the USA a totalitarian state NOW puts us in an awkward position when it is, in fact, total. I don't know about you, but I live my life secure in the knowledge that I can do and say just about anything without fear of reprisal from a jackbooted federal agent. This is not to say that our government does not engage in some egregious activities, but on net, it ain't Soviet Russia.
Um, Jude,
So you can have some marijuana or cocaine in your house "without fear of reprisal from a jackbooted federal agent"? Where do you live? The narcs, dressed in black and armed with automatic weapons, will kick down your door in the middle of the night while you're "secure in the knowledge that they won't". Of course, if you're lucky, they may kick down your neighbor's door "by mistake" and gun him down instead of you.
You are either wilfully blind or frightened to death so that you don't see what is going on around you.
Knock, knock. Open up this is the police. Are you in there, Cory Maye?
"but I live my life secure in the knowledge that I can do and say just about anything without fear of reprisal from a jackbooted federal agent"
That's only because you don't matter to the jackbooted thugs at the moment. The point of the post is that if we are going a straight majoritarian route, we are already in principle a total state. THe majority recognizes no limts in principle on what it can do to you.
jude blanchette,
IMO whether the U.S. is a totalitarian state has more to do with the powers the state claims on paper, than with the extent that it sees fit to exercize them for the time being. The fact that we continue to be allowed to exercise some of our liberties, as a concession of grace from the sovereign, is beside the point.
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