Xanadu 2012: George W. Bush--And the L Word    
 George W. Bush--And the L Word5 comments
picture8 Jan 2009 @ 20:41, by Unknown

Economic Libertarianism has never been tried. Or it had never been tried until now, as it has during the Bush-Cheney presidency. So says Robert Brent Topilin a Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The article published on History News Network almost 4 years ago is stunning by its foresight:

Bush and other libertarian-style thinkers that have gained prominence in Washington, D.C. in recent decades champion markets in the extreme. They are enthusiasts of laissez faire who oppose governmental intervention in the affairs of individuals and businesses. Libertarians prefer to reduce government’s activities to a few essential services such as defending the public from foreign threats and protecting citizens from criminals. They seek the privatization of state-run programs (such as Social Security) and massive tax cuts. Often they advance their goal of limited government by squeezing the budgets of social programs.
(More here)




The above 2007 strip from Slowpoke Comics by Jen Sorensen says it well. It is satirical of course, and as such a bit caricatural in its portrayal of the L World, but its basic point is sound. Or, more specifically, as Jacob Weisberg put it:

”…neglecting to prevent the crash of '08 was a sin of omission—less the result of deregulation per se than of disbelief in financial regulation as a legitimate mechanism.
[ Oct. 18, 2008]


Understandably defenders of free market fundamentalism (and its most predictable and immediate consequence: unchecked plutocracy and corporate feudalism) have been scrambling like mad to try and reshape perception and dissociate themselves from the economic policies (or lack thereof) of the Bush-Cheney era.

Some good might come out of all of this: Cato recently posted a long soul searching essay by Roderick Long: here.

Talk to the hand?

“It's not the same to talk of bulls as to be in the bullring”
---Spanish Proverb




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5 comments

8 Jan 2009 @ 21:24 by the bull @70.65.26.189 : Deliberate Crash
well in many ways George saved the west or the exodus of the wealth and ownership
of the west to the eastern and central blocs. The mass exodus of wealth was so onerous that the first attempt to stem it, the Iraq war was mounted but failed much in the manner of Vietnam so the only other option was to collapse the western economy and banks. I figure it started to take place around mid 2007, so you or we in the west perhaps have george to thank for letting the banks undercapitalization go unchecked or "unnoticed". This in turn collapsed the commodities market which brought oil back to a price america can actually afford.
Well done george.... so how do you shoot your self in the foot properly sir?

what leak?


the bull  

9 Jan 2009 @ 08:44 by vaxen : Eh, Canada...
Here is a site, Ed, that I think might tweak your fancy. Thanks for the smiles and the songs. :)

http://humanbeingsfirst.org/  

9 Jan 2009 @ 10:43 by the bull @70.65.26.189 : Put Your Guns Down
Interesting

"The rich and the poor have both got their hands reaching out,
when you look with eyes, do you like the world that you see,
how can you deny, this reflection of you me,
You see where we're going, we'll reach higher ground
if only we'll listen and put our guns down"

Billie Keith Hughes, USA FolkJazz Musician
1948- 1998 The Chosen One  

9 Jan 2009 @ 10:53 by the bull @70.65.26.189 : Governance
There is a distinction you know between Governance and Government
feint though it may be to those who lack discernment.
Interesting times to be sure
Love Live and laugh well

the bull  

9 Jan 2009 @ 12:59 by the bull @70.65.26.189 : Vision?
Where to now I suppose is the question?
Shambhala?
Sadly not the energy or youth to say...
Who doth vision lie with?
Where are the new dreamers and poets?
Are there any?

the bull  

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