The new president of Argentina calls himself a libertarian, but he is a right-wing libertarian. (The distinction is crucial.) That means, essentially, neo-liberalism on steroids, unchecked and unleashed. Either he is ignorant or a liar, because Pinochet tried that plan in 1973 (see The Shock Doctrine), after he was installed
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Accidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Ed Yong laments the U.S.’ particularly dangerous spin through the pandemic cycle of panic and neglect as it is eliminating all federal funding even as the most dangerous COVID-19 wave yet begins to crest, while Phil Tank calls out Scott Moe’s cherry-picked appeal
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Who Are The CIA?
Who are the CIA? This will tell you everything you need to know. Here’s where things really started to go wrong: 1947, the National Security Act, which created the National Security Council and the CIA, giving the CIA sweeping, ultra-secretive, unconstitutional powers, and near limitless budget through the legalized, covert
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: What’s Wrong with America, Billionaires and Corporations?
Riotously popular economist Umair Haque had a few interesting tweets about America, corporations and billionaires this week. [View the story “What’s Wrong with America, Corporations and Billionaires?” on Storify] December 30, 2013 How the Occupy Movement is Enriching People’s Lives (1) April 18, 2011 Embracing BC NDP Corporate Tax Increases
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Why we should hope that Bitcoin doesn’t succeed
Most people who currently own bitcoin don’t own it to use it in the short term. The amount of uses for people to spend bitcoins is trivial in comparison to the main reason people buy bitcoins: to store them. Some people store them because they are doing short or medium
Continue readingAutonomy For All: What a Free Market Municipal Transit "System" Looks Like
Former Rob Ford chief of Staff Mark Towhey gained some notoriety in the 2010 mayor’s race for a blog post he wrote prior to joining Ford’s team where he advocated the city simply shut down the TTC and sell off whatever assets that anyone wants to buy. For anyone familiar
Continue readingAutonomy For All: What a Free Market Municipal Transit "System" Looks Like
Former Rob Ford chief of Staff Mark Towhey gained some notoriety in the 2010 mayor’s race for a blog post he wrote prior to joining Ford’s team where he advocated the city simply shut down the TTC and sell off whatever assets that anyone wants to buy.&…
Continue readingAutonomy For All: What a Free Market Municipal Transit "System" Looks Like
Former Rob Ford chief of Staff Mark Towhey gained some notoriety in the 2010 mayor’s race for a blog post he wrote prior to joining Ford’s team where he advocated the city simply shut down the TTC and sell off whatever assets that anyone wants to buy. For anyone familiar
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On glibertarianism
One of the more obvious points of convergence in political thought over the past 70-80 years is the greater appreciation of systemic complexity – the recognition that different decisions by many types of actors may collide in unpredictable ways, with the results potentially far outweighing the perceived impact of any
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Anarchism vs. Libertarianism – Noam Chomsky
The uniquely toxic form of libertarianism in the US and is a symptom of private power and influence run amok. This is just a snippet of the interview with Noam Chomsky, I recommend you go read the entire article on Alternet. Wilson: Why should we choose anarchy, as opposed
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Doug Christie – racist anti-Semitic lawyer, white nationalist…
Doug Christie – racist anti-Semitic lawyer, white nationalist activist and Western separatist wannabe politician from British Columbia – died on March 11, 2013 at the age of 66 from liver disease. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Historical revisionists – and others who may be well-intended but misguided — are (sieg)
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Any fool who still says “better dead than red” in…
Any fool who still says “better dead than red” in this day and age should have to prove it. Try both options and get back to us.
Continue readingAutonomy For All: Why Liberalism? Part 2
In part 1, I outlined a view of what liberalism is, and an understanding of what “ideology” is. In part 2, let’s look at some evidence for the views I’m promoting, in summary, the thesis that: [Liberalism] does not start from a sacred writ that outlines all outcomes and presupposes
Continue readingAutonomy For All: Why Liberalism?
In early January, Paul Krugman wrote something that actually cuts to the heart of perhaps the most important distinction between liberalism and other ideologies, particularly right wing ideologies like conservativism and libertarianism. Discussing the idea of minting a platinum coin in order to circumvent the Republicans’ ability cause a US
Continue readingAutonomy For All: One Liberalism Through the Ages
This was originally published at Open Left, I am republishing it here as a starting point to further updates on these topics and themes. – D. Last weekend Paul wrote: Moreover, by the 1870s, British liberals had become quite aware that their previous understanding of economic freedom was a hollow joke,
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Why is it that on Wikipedia, Facebook and various other…
Why is it that on Wikipedia, Facebook and various other websites, the pushiest proselytizers are almost always the libertarian capitalists? They are like cult members. The glassy-eyed worshippers of the fortunate rich (who are rarely rich themselves) are by far the most persistent of the zealots who spread propaganda and
Continue readingAutonomy For All: Newtown: Another Expose on Conservative Ideological Bankruptcy
While liberals debate various forms of gun control, improvements to the psychiatric care system, and other actual measures to make slaughters like Newtown less likely, the abject bankruptcy of conservative thought is something to behold. The Tea Party suggests more George Zimmermans are the answer. Armed vigilante squads patrolling school
Continue readingEclectic Lip: Norquist knee-capped by Koch-backed “Shift Disturbers”
Well, it looks like Grover Norquist’s support for a carbon tax shift last Monday (Nov 12) lasted as long as a mayfly. By the time Tuesday (Nov 13) rolled around, he was back to opposing it, and likening government to a tapeworm. I suppose it’s a brave thing to say, considering that the highly-trained, armed […]
Eclectic Lip: In praise of (some specific aspects of) libertarianism
(written Dec 8, 2010 — uploaded Aug 28, 2012) I ridiculed the silliness of some aspects of libertarian thought in an earlier post, and planned to offer some balance by noting that their inherent suspicion-of-authority has played a big role in raising awareness of the financial crimes and improprieties of
Continue readingEclectic Lip: How Libertarians brought America Big Religion and Bigger Lawsuits…
(originally written Nov 2010; uploaded Aug 21, 2012 as part of my Great Upload of Musings… for balance, I’ll soon post the follow-up which praises some portions of libertarian philosophy which are very dear to my progressive heart. Politics makes for strange bedfellows, and I’m not above shacking up with
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