A political party is a coalition of interests designed to convince a majority to trust it enough to let it govern. The Progressive Era in its aim to neuter the constitutional speed bumps to majoritarian democracy pushed for democratic primaries. Initially the parties retained some ideological commitment, but in the age of instant outrage media, they have descended into tribal warfare where emotions rule over ideas. The two sides do not share common information or common narratives that define us as a nation. There is no mere disagreement on how we arrive at common goals; we no longer agree on who we are.
Read MoreWarren uses ‘rich people’ as a scapegoat in the same way the classical bigots of history used religious and ethnic vulnerable minorities and the ‘others’. It is a form of intellectual bigotry and is clouded in the same lethal combination of ignorance and dishonesty.
Read More“Because Sweden is well-governed, it treats its tax regime as a question of revenue rather than a question of so-called social justice…”
Read MoreThe big question when Trump won in 2016 was whether his victory was the result of the rejection of the ideology of the left or the rejection of the deeply flawed Hillary Clinton. The question few of us considered was if it was the attractiveness of either the character or policies of Donald Trump.
Read More“This was the Madisonian insight,” he contends: “that you can make all sorts of promises on a piece of paper, and call it a ‘bill of rights,’ and it’s not worth the paper it’s written on unless you have some means to enforce it. Like any good contract, it’s only worth the enforcement mechanism it stands on.”
Read More“Progressivism was exactly a doctrine of the elites, by the elites, and for the elites. They said–I mean, their objection to market society was that markets function so annoying well, without the supervision of intellectuals.”
Read MorePolitics can pollute science, religion and – in this case- history. We are all the sum of our decisions- good and bad. Progress comes from the recognition of both; recognition and correction of our sins, but also the recognition of how we overcame them and the value of our institutions that prevented other evils and promoted the stunning progress we have achieved in spite of our sins. The 1619 Project only wants to recognize our sins and ignore our redemption, virtues, and progress.
Read More“the worst forms of tyranny very much include majoritarian tyranny. One might think that the Trump presidency would cause progressives to think twice about what William F. Buckley Jr. dismissed as “the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth.”
Read MoreEven supporters have trouble reconciling Trumps flaws with his success. Half of Trump supporters like him as he is, and half just like him more than the Jacobins running for the Democratic slots. They prefer Trump’s character flaws to the bad ideas of the Democrats which pour forth uncontrollably. The mobocracy fo the Kavanaugh hearing scares them more.
Read More“Hence, there is such a thing as a human nature that is fixed and settled, not plastic to the touch of culture or government. That, we are more than culturally-acquiring creatures that take on the coloration of whatever social situation we are in. And third, from this flows the most important principle, which is separation of powers, to make government strong enough, to protect our natural rights, and not so strong that it threatens them. “
Read MoreThe bailout of the overnight repo market by the NY Fed has raised a lot of questions. Why was the financial market unable to respond without Fed help? What caused such an unpredictable surge in demand that caused rates to double overnight? Such conditions are ripe for theories and I have mine.
Read MoreThe data counters the false refrain of the Trump cuts only benefiting the rich. While I have repeated this refrain for years, the actual tax rates matter more than the statutory rates. The difference is the Special Interest Spread- SIS- a term I coined in this article: Save the Swamp.
Read More“The U.S. criminal justice system, because of the corruption of the plea bargain system that facilitates the prosecutors’ extortion of perjured inculpatory evidence with impunity, is just an immense kangaroo court.”
Read More“we are on a trajectory to increased sluggishness economically, which will mean increased ferocity politically as we use political power to allocate wealth and opportunity, which we used to assign to markets.”
Read MoreFrom National Review, Kevin Williams’ China’s Population Problem: Governments always operate in ignorance, and authoritarian governments suffer from this more than the governments of liberal societies. That is because in liberal societies, the spontaneous orders of markets, civil society, and
Read MoreHanson’s Jacobin moniker is more accurate than ‘progressive’. It is a far more radical, illiberal, and often violent way to move the political needle. It is different than populism; it shares impatience and passion but lacks a root to the old order. Among populists you sense a love for the country, even if it is an older version of it; with the Jacobins you sense a disgust for the country. One could argue that the Jacobin wing on of the Democratic Party is just a violent radical populist movement, but its lack of civil restraints make it far more dangerous.
Read MoreWhile politics dismisses ideology, it still underlies our differences. The belief in permanent human nature and governing principles is what distinguishes the conservative from the progressive.
Read MoreHalf of Trump’s supporters like his in your face, hit back twice as hard, refusal to be intimidated, trolling, protocol style. The other half fear the poorly thought, lunatic, illiberal, and authoritarian ideas and behavior of the Democrats much more than the ego and unpredictability of Trump. The Kavanaugh hearing was a live rehearsal of how they handle power, like a self righteous mob.
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