Edit: Sorry for this constant political ranting, but some reason I can't get it out of my system. Increasingly, I find myself constantly having moments in everyday where I'm like "THAT! Right there! yet ANOTHER reason 'they' are wrong!" And it drives me batty. Sorry.
Edit 2: Speaking of Paul Krugman, he lays out the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac situation with immense clarity here. No politics here, this is the rational, sober economist speaking.
I haven't totally fleshed it out, but I'm going to write my objection simply, and see if there's anyone that can help steer me through this. (I'm assumingly that only TK and RS, as the two resident conservatives, would be interested in pushing back, but please, anyone feel free...)
Libertarian and free market ideas have inherent philosophical value grounded in individual autonomy and freedom, which in turn allows everyone to define and pursue their own happiness as they see fit - limited of course by the freedom of others, the harm principle. I agree these are nice ideas.
But if this is going to be your political philosophy and you wish to institute it within a society, you MUST ADMIT that a necessary and inevitable consequence is that some people are going to get fucked over without fault or personal culpability. (And that the harm principle is not self-enforcing. At all. But we'll put this to the side.)
If you find that outcome acceptable, I can absolutely accept that. You value freedom and autonomy over human suffering. It's not right or wrong: it's an expression of values. I personally disagree with it, sure, but it's honest and it's coherent. I just don't see how it can be otherwise without being willfully blind, or blinded by false ideologies.
The obvious rejoinder, of course, is "the market will take care of it," which to me, albeit having only an economics minor, is a signal that the speaker simply doesn't understand free markets at all.
Markets fail. All the time. In a multitude of situations. Economic models all deal with market failures by saying "see? this is a market failure: to fix this glitch, the government must do X, Y, and Z." All you need to do is spend 15 minutes reading Paul Krugman to witness one of the most respected international economists alive being absolutely flabbergasted by what passes as "economics" under the current administration. (not to mention...uh..."science")
So that's my only rule in discussing this issue: No bald invocations of the markets as a solution without an explanation of some sort of mechanics. If you do, I'm going to respond with my equally valid rejoinder: Because God said so.
18 comments:
Hey 窝囊废, its going to take me a bit to digest your rant and demonstrate that you are 二百五.
The best part of this is...uh...Can anyone Chinese translate that for me?
I never read these long rants about politics. I try to, but then about 2 sentences in my vision blurs, and I feel like I'm reading for school so I suddenly stop caring. I'm sorry. Nothing personal. :)
Well, I harbor no delusions that people are interested in these topics aside from one or two people, but they do represent the evolution and refinement of what I believe and think about from day to day...sorta like, a developing mind, you might say?
Dude, you spend significant amounts of time thinking about this stuff? That's pretty weird dude. Perhaps you should focus on beer, sports, and broads for awhile. Did you ever select a football team?
RS
screw selecting a football team. why not select a fantasy football team?
oh, sorry --> comment re: fantasy football = Joey
Ha. Thanks Joey.
I've never done fantasy sports, but I imagine it's much less interesting than the actual dynamic of sports. I don't really know enough individual players to be able to reasonably join a Fantasy pool either...
As for picking a team, I seriously don't know. In 6 years time, I have had a legit claim to the Panthers, Rams, Pats, and now Jets and Giants. I think, given my tendencies...I'm going to throw my weight to SF and support the 49ers and Golden State Warriors. Fuck the Giants, because baseball still bores the piss out of me.
Libertarianism, to me, is like Communism. Both are cute ideas, but neither take into account human nature or immorality.
One of my former friends is staunchly Libertarian, and never shuts up about his "do what you want as long as you don't bother me" stance, yet he's viciously opposed to abortion, gay marriage, and, hilariously, gay admittance in Scouts.
He's recently lost dozens of friends (including me) due to debacles completely unrelated to this issue, but it's all a part of his ridiculousness as a human being. This guy doesn't relate to any of your arguments, but I just felt like venting about this guy because he has been making many of my friends' lives miserable, and he really could do nothing better for the world than to just be dead. Not die. Just be dead.
(he's no one you know)
Also, crap, I'm in part of a fantasy football league with a bunch of my friends. Our draft is in two weeks. Tell me who to draft.
Second comment first: Tom Brady. (heh.) They do, however, sell entire weekly magazines devoted purely to Fantasy, so you might just want to pick one up. ESPN.com has a section too.
First comment: I think you basically sum it up exactly right. Although that guy isn't actually a libertarian at all...He just sounds like a Republican. Of the worst kind. (The Just Dead v. Die distinction is lost on me.)
I guess I just mean I don't wish any harm on him, ie, him being KILLED, i just wish the guy had been stillborn or something. That's mean, sure, but the guy doesn't just suck, but he's actively harmful to some of my good friends.
Why not have a massive group retaliation and public shaming? Those are always fun if they're legitimate. Like the cultural revolution in China.
Ha, we already did. He called us lots of names.
Problem is, he's our friend's girlfriend's brother in law...and it just so happen our friend's girlfriend's sister has been brainwashed enough to take his side. So uh...yeah, our friend's girlfriend and her sister are now being fucked by this.
It's long, stupid drama not worth going into. You're probably lost by all the family trails by now. Basically, two sisters now are not on speaking terms because of this asshole, who had no business getting into this debacle to begin with, and it's only getting worse.
Then covert retaliation is all you can do. Hiding dead fish in computers, keying his car, making it so his name shows up in google searches associated with unsavory activities, or, most effectively but least Covert? "Upper Decking" him. (shitting in his toilet tank so when you flush, it all runs down into the bowl).
Not that simple.
Sisters in conflict because one of them is married to an unreasonable dickhole. The married sister sides with her hubby. The other sister, and ALL HER FRIENDS, side against. She still wants desperately to be close to her married sister, but unreasonable dickhole husband won't allow it for unreasonable dickhole reasons.
It's just a really shitty situation. And unrelated to your post, and I'm heading to bed now.
What a dickhole.
Wait, how is upper decking "not that simple."
Seems pretty simple to me.
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