Posts in "progressive"

By Elliot Engstrom at 9:28PM

Apr 2, 2010

Logic vs. Government

My latest column at the Daily Caller analyzes the logical fallacies contained in base progressive thought, using Jon Stewart's recent critique of libertarians as a perfect example of an illogical progressive argument, and then applies this analysis to the recent healthcare bill.

...An analysis of the history of government reveals that even government actions with good intent usually end up resulting in negative consequences. Just consider the governmental policies over the past 50 years intended to make home ownership affordable for all Americans. Such actions led directly to an economic collapse that specifically hit the housing market, and thus homeowners, like never before...
...With this view of logic in mind, one can now understand why libertarians are so upset with the recent health care reform. The government-minded leftist would argue that those against the reform do not think that everyone should have access to quality health care, or were content with the current system. Neither is true, and it is in fact often the libertarian’s desire to see affordable health care for as many as possible that drives the protests of Obamacare...

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By Roy Antoun at 6:56PM

Mar 24, 2010

David Brooks and Free Markets

David Brooks wrote in the NY Times today about the discontent he is feeling with the Democratic Party. His complaints about the health bill were accurate and forceful, but his understanding of the free market is not. He stated:

Yet I confess, watching all this, I feel again why I’m no longer spiritually attached to the Democratic Party. The essence of America is energy — the vibrancy of the market, the mobility of the people and the disruptive creativity of the entrepreneurs. This vibrancy grew up accidentally, out of a cocktail of religious fervor and material abundance, but it was nurtured by choice. It was nurtured by our founders, who created national capital markets to disrupt the ossifying grip of the agricultural landholders. It was nurtured by 19th-century Republicans who built the railroads and the land-grant colleges to weave free markets across great distances. It was nurtured by Progressives who broke the stultifying grip of the trusts.

Progressives destroying trusts? Republicans building railroads? What is free about any of this?

Liberty vs. the collectivist mindset

This is something I've been thinking about for a while, inspired of course by FA Hayek's Road to Serfdom. A liberal friend told me, in a discussion about liberty and freedom, that the type of liberty she is most interesting in is preserving women's rights... understandable given her gender. However, the typical justification of the progressive liberal (increasing the role of government to improve "social equality") is backwards to the very ideals that they are trying to promote. My counterargument is that any type of racism, sexism or other biases which lingers on through the generations is most probability institutional in origin. From the Jim Crow laws, Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews, anti-Gay legislation... you name the civil rights abuse, and it all stems from a history of institutionalized, government-supported bigotry, usually to trick a disenfranchised, frustrated populace into giving up their freedoms, and handing power to an elite class, which blames a scapegoat under the guise of national unity and patriotism.
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