Several people have sent me the video embedded below. It’s more than one-hour long, so it’s not for the faint at heart. I categorize this video in a special new genre that I’ll call libertarian porn. This isn’t a negative (or positive) observation, but watch at least some of the video and then see my explanation below.
I call this libertarian porn because it is designed for the dark enjoyment of people who think the government is destroying the nation. If you don’t like bloated government and statist intervention and you think that the policies being imposed by Washington are going to lead to hyperinflation and societal collapse, then you will get a certain level of grim satisfaction by watching the video.
Since I don’t like bloated government and statist intervention, I obviously like many of the points in the video. That being said, I think it is too dour about the long-run outlook. Big government presumably can lead to societal collapse, with Greece perhaps being an example of a nation heading in that direction. But it’s also likely that big government may be sustainable, albeit at a heavy cost of slower growth and lower living standards. Sweden is a good example of this type of society. It’s not what I want, but it’s not on the verge of breakdown.
To be sure, there is the wild card of hyperinflation. The video assumes that monetary policy will get more reckless in the future, and even the most stable society can be turned upside down if the government destroys the medium of exchange. But it’s unlikely that America is on that path. I’m not a fan of Ben Bernanke, but even I don’t think the Fed will copy the mistakes of places such as Argentina and Zimbabwe.
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very good, thanks you
[…] Libertarian Porn. Por Dan Mitchell. I call this libertarian porn because it is designed for the dark enjoyment of people who think the government is destroying the nation. If you don’t like bloated government and statist intervention and you think that the policies being imposed by Washington are going to lead to hyperinflation and societal collapse, then you will get a certain level of grim satisfaction by watching the video. […]
[…] Libertarian Porn Several people have sent me the video embedded below. It’s more than one-hour long, so it’s not for the […] […]
Freedom ain’t free. Next time take the bus. Or, drive. Or, just don’t go.
A more “active” decision is to RF the system. Let’s see, 1,000 cars driving aimlessly around the airport? WTF? How badly do you want your liberty back?
Yes, the 40 minutes or so that I watched were darkly enjoyable, but their incredible ham handedness with the message was a real turn off.
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In case anyone here hasn’t noticed, the apocalyptic theme is a widely used technique in religion and politics. It is quite useful in keeping the believers in the fold and to bring in new recruits. Do the words “Global Warming” strike a cord?
The truth of the matter is that we’re at an objective tipping point right now and you don’t need a computer model to see the future. A majority of the electorate are dependent on government jobs, handouts or programs to maintain their well being. Government control has gotten so intrusive that business has to contribute to the statists just to maintain the ability to function.
The curve of government spending has never turned downward in my lifetime and even Reagan only dented it slightly. If we go back to using Bush as the status quo, the next “Obamacare” will be soon be installed and national health care soon after that.
The only way to turn this around is by a devoted core of people who won’t stand for a more powerful and intrusive state. People who won’t stand still but start cleaning up the tenticles of control. Maintaining this core will require some serious movtiational efforts, like the vid above.
I don’t think the Fed will follow the policies of Argentina or Zimbabwe either, but that doesn’t mean we won’t end up in a similar situation regardless.
I don’t think the central planners of Argentina set out to create an environment of hyper-inflation. It is ridiculous to think that government officials in Zimbabwe were intent on creating chaos and increasing poverty when deciding to deconstruct property ownership through redistribution.
In short, they did what they thought was best; Just like the Fed is doing now.
I think Dan Mitchell is spot on in assessing this video. It contains accurate vignettes of government incompetence, stupidity and arrogance which outrage most of us, but to draw a straight line from there to national perdition is an hyperbolic reaction. My reaction to governmental intrusion is incorporated in tomorrow’s (11.2.10) election both in the support I have given several different candidates across the nation as well as in my vote. My attention after the election will be drawn to any of those candidates, including those for whom I voted, if I perceive that they also are initiating or augmenting any of the inanities cited in this and similar reports. Reasontv and Reason Magazine, Pajamastv, Instapundit, Drudge Report and several others are excellent tracking devices for just that purpose.
In a number of ways, Sweden is a more competitive, less socialist, less corrupt, less pathological, and more “libertarian” society than is America.
“I don’t think the Fed will copy the mistakes of places such as Argentina and Zimbabwe.”
It already has.
The US won’t be able to service the ever increasing national debt, so, at some point it will adopt the inevitable Argentinian solution: it will give a shave to all treasuries holders, of say 50% or so.
This is, in may opinion, already inevitable.
The question is – when does it happen, and how deep the shave.
It won’t be the end of the world, just a “shave”.
Argentine does quite fine after her “shaves”.
I don’t think this word Sweden means what you think it means. They had to give up on the whole bigger is better thing when it comes to government.
I was expecting to see Ayn Rand banging Milton Freedman and I get this?
You may be surprised how much Sweden has changed, and is indeed still changing. The Swedes have discovered where cradle-to-grave pampering leads- and are rapidly moving away from it. You should check it out.
[…] FROM DAN MITCHELL, Libertarian Porn. […]
[…] Dan Mitchell has a nice critique of the video that identifies some of its drawbacks. Tell Your Friends: Tags: libertarianism, statism […]