The KYFHO Gambit, or How libertarians Have Already Won (without realizing it)


Politics as a spectator sport because government matters less and less every day
*Originally this entry was going to be posted February 12, but life interfered. So here it is, suitably updated.

For quite some time, I have been telling people that an ever expansive and oppressive government is NECESSARY. Just like that, in bold and capital letters. We're talking about history here. More specifically, we're talking American history here.

We're also talking about the death throes of large scale central government. And we the people have ringside seats.

Over the last three or four decades, more people have realized that no matter what the promises, government can not deliver lasting social change. Every single time government interferes, things get worse. Public schools, housing, medical care, retirement, taxes, Prohibition, the War On Drugs, civil rights…

What's that you say? Government did deliver on civil rights?

No, it didn't.

Government reacted to what people were demanding and then took credit for the change. No act of Congress made those protest marches possible. No Presidential executive order opened the lunch counter at Woolworth. And no judge overturned the Jim Crow laws. It was only when people stood up for themselves and others saw that human rights were being denied that government changed the law.

The changes in law came after the fact, not before.

Before the fact, we had Malcom X and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Afterwards, we had Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

In 2000 and 2004, I would tell people that George W. Bush was NECESSARY. In bold capital letters, just like that. Just as Bill Clinton before him was NECESSARY. And so on, and so forth, and back to at least George Washington himself.

Each Congressman, each Senator, and each President elected in American history KNEW that the job of government was to wield power over the citizens. Oh, they all had good reasons for the things that they did. Sometimes they even did the right things at the right times, even if it wasn't for the right reasons. But they knew that more government ALWAYS came at the cost of someone's freedom.

Until recently, people have been lulled to sleep because it would always be the other guy who had to pay. But now we've passed the tipping point. The effective people have realized that government is a no-win proposition. It always demands more than it can deliver.

By effective people, I don't mean a democratic majority. I don't mean the elected or appointed "leaders." I don't mean the representatives of some institution. I mean the all the individuals whose daily decisions influence all those around them, even if they aren't "in charge."

Who is it who decides which orange juice sells well this month? Who is it who decides which movie gets the box office magic after the second or third week? Who is it who decides which charity deserves their help? Who is it who decides which street is more popular?

There are a million and one decisions built into each person's day. Most people go through life on autopilot and do what they've always done. But every once in a while, someone sees a better way and takes it. The effectives spread the word about the better way.

It's the result of individual choice. Hundreds, thousands, millions of choices. Those choices can't be controlled. They can be influenced, but never controlled. You see, no one knows beforehand who the effectives will be in any given situation. And the effectives for fashion probably aren't the same ones for car mechanics. Or breakfast cereal. Or summer reading lists.

It's Adam Smith's invisible hand.

And it is applying to politics in a big way this year.

Not because of some carefully stated philosophy. Not because of a telegenic candidate. Not because of carefully harvested sound bites. Not because of government at all.

But because people have seen what happens when government keeps expanding, and the effectives have decided not to do it anymore.

They don't want government.

Keep Your Freakin' Hands Off.

So yes, the political game is great fun this year. We've already seen one of the biggest and nastiest political machines ever derailed, possibly permanently. But who is running and even who's elected is less fun than who wins.

We do.


The rest is just gravy.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Mon - June 30, 2008 at 05:02 AM  Tag


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