When I see the worsening degeneracy in our politicians, our media, our educators, and our intelligentsia, I can't help wondering if the day may yet come when the only thing that can save this country is a military coup.You fill in the blank in the title.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Scratch a Conservative and You Find a ...
From Thomas Sowell:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Maybe I am not sufficiently aware of the literature, but it seems to me that libertarians need to go beyond their pertinent criticisms of contemporary democracy and produce a positive account of democracy's role in a libertarian society.
I do not endorse Sowell's statement, but coup-type action can certainly bring freedom to a people - however, not for long, because freedom is an educational challenge of massive proportions, especially today, when too few people understand the prerequisites of liberty and wealth.
Germany has had a libertarian coup, staged by Ludwig Ehrhard, a lonely liberal (European meaning of the word), whose intervention created a libertarian's dream in postwar Germany (minimalist state after the country's war-induced collapse, entrepreneurial freedom and drive as everyone was left to their own devices). But the German people - traditionally socialist-minded - did not understand the freedom they were handed, and when they got rich only 10 or 15 years later, they called the outcome a "miracle" (something one does not understand) and went on to use their wealth to create a somewhat more sophisticated form of socialism.
Almost nobody in Germany understood then or understands now the inseparable twins - capitalism and the rule of law. That's why there cannot be a free society in Germany.
A coup is not good enough for liberty (not to mention the inherent problems of coup-type action).
Addendum: I am still a beginner in the bloggosphere, I did not intend to appear anonymously, and hope that this posting will make me accessible.
Post a Comment