Strike The Root Blog

Mises.org recently published a transcript of the late Austrian economist F.A. Hayek’s appearance on NBC-TV’s Meet the Press back in 1975.

Then, as now, there was a great deal of economic turmoil facing the U.S. and much of the rest of the world. Hayek contended then that the turbulence was mainly caused by the central bank’s inflation of the money supply in order to finance unsustainable central planning, a criticism that equally applies today. Hayek suggested that the answer then was for the Federal Reserve System to simply stop inflating and allow resources to be reallocated according to consumer demand, however painful that adjustment may be in the short term. That’s a suggestion that equally applies to today’s turbulence, but one that Republicans and Democrats alike have shunned in favor of bail-out capitalism and pie-in-the-sky “stimulus” spending and all the massive debt and inflation that goes along with it.

The interview is interesting enough to read for all of the parallels to recent events, but there was one answer from Hayek that I found particularly striking.

One of the interviewers suggested that to simply cease inflation and allow for new economic adjustments to take place would most likely lead to more unemployment, and for that to happen in the already troubled inner cities would most likely lead to anger, frustration and violence amongst those populations, which would then most surely be followed by governmental crack-downs. The interviewer asked Hayek what he would do to ameliorate any ill social effects deriving from further unemployment among urban populations during any post-inflationary adjustment period.

Here’s Hayek’s answer:

“Well, I don’t think there is anything I can do about it. We’ll have to tide over the storm which may be threatening.”

Wow, how refreshing it is to hear such an intellectually honest answer from a public intellectual! How incredibly rare that is. Your typically neo-Keynsian/neoliberal court intellectual–blindly assuming the interviewer’s implied assumption that predominantly black and hispanic populations in inner cities are simply incapable of pulling themselves up by the bootstraps to be gospel truth–would have heard his cue and trotted out all sorts of half-baked ideas for wasteful government welfare programs. Hayek, however, did not so arrogantly assume that he knew what was better for people he knew nothing about.

“I don’t think there is anything I can do about it.” To hear any of your court intellectuals and assorted think tank “experts” make such an admission today would probably cause a complete tear in the space-time continuum, simultaneously catapulting all of us into an alternate reality.

So said Eric Holder, who is somewhat ironically referred to by the mass media as “the first black attorney general.” He was talking about our reluctance to honestly discuss race issues.

We are indeed cowards for that and many other reasons–cowards for not having bucked the politically correct agenda forced down our throats for the past 30 years. Cowards for not speaking up against the censure of those who dared speak up in attempts to discuss race. Cowards for letting politicians run our lives. Cowards for electing politicians who brazenly express disdain for the very same people who voted for them. Cowards for helping chip away at freedoms in the name of personal greed and disdain for the way others live. Cowards for electing politicians who granted even more power to themselves and the corporations who controlled them.

Still, I don’t need to hear it from a hypocrite like Holder standing behind a bully pulpit. I think it’s a good harbinger of what to expect the next four years–browbeating easy targets who have been chastised into keeping their mouths shut. We’ve already heard Obama’s disdain for the average schmuck working-class American who clings to guns or religion. The attorney general echoes more of the same, no doubt smirking after he leaves his throne, knowing full well that most of us rednecks know better than to even mention race.

Next up, I fully expect the target to be the upper middle class as the handouts grow. A much larger number of Americans than before will owe nothing to the government, while a small percentage of us who are willingly struggling to achieve and attempt to improve our lot in life will pay the burden of the cost. We will be made to feel criminally guilty and will be painted as part of the problem, and our already higher percentage of money thieved will be deemed as not enough.

Obama’s administration will be as good at scapegoating people as was the Bush administration. Segments of us, the cowards, will become the axis of evil, no matter the battle. Mr Holder: You are a coward and a bully, but you’re welcome to come spout your bile face to face any time, to demonstrate otherwise.

A couple of  recent, fatal events involving state actors illustrate well how lives of individuals are manipulated to strengthen the master/subject relationship between individual and state.
 

First, a Dallas police officer was shot and killed on January 6th while serving a warrant. A tragedy, to be sure- particularly since the officer had a record of mentoring youth to keep them out of trouble. But any grief is tempered by the immensely huge funeral procession that accompanied the dead officer. Humility has never been a virtue for those working in law enforcement. Public expositions such as this bring to mind the reality of the relationship between the state and the individual.

The police don’t exist to protect individuals. The police exist to serve the needs of the state and collect its revenue. The police will continually remind us just who matters most (it’s not you) and just who is in charge (it’s definitely not you). The police’s obscenely ostentatious display of pomp and public expense illustrates that well.

The police are just another gang looking to control turf. The only difference between them and the street gangs is that the police wear uniforms and badges. When street gangs rob and kill individuals it’s called “crime.” When the police and state rob and kill individuals it’s called “good government” and “effective law enforcement.” The only reason the police and the state (the government gang) fight street gangs is because they are perceived as a threat to their monopoly of force and coercion.

The life and property of you meaningless, tax paying, peons is irrelevant. So, pull your cars to the side of the road and get out of their way!
 

Second, an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed  January 12^th at Texas A&M University, killing one person. Much speculation has arisen over why the chopper crashed. Upon closer examination, one fact is certain- the state will only be strengthened, not weakened by such an event.

When realizing the fact that the military produces nothing but death and destruction, this should be considered a successful flight. Mission accomplished! One death and a destroyed piece of equipment amounts to an institution well-focused on what it does best!

All sarcasm aside, the tangible benefits to the state after such a tragedy are:

• Those employed as crash investigators will have plenty of work to keep them busy while they calculate just what caused the accident.
• The destroyed helicopter will have to be replaced, resulting in more job security and revenue for the ever-busy military industrial complex.
• The personnel lost will have to be replaced, creating a new assignment for aggressive military recruiters.
• The new personnel will have to be trained, clothed, fed, etc, resulting in a multitude of support opportunities.
• The treatment of the injured and the care of the deceased’s family will necessitate more work for the military medical and compensation establishment.

Add to these tangible benefits the intangible gains:
Militarists everywhere now have another dead hero to fawn over. Only the military honors those who have failed.
The media will expound on the “service” of the deceased, contributing to the statist conditioning of the populace that the military is comprised of brave, courageous folk who are our only barrier between being free and living under tyranny.
The military uses this event to expound on the dangers involved in “protecting” the populace from ever-increasing (and state created) threats.
Bastiat said, “Society loses the value of things which are uselessly destroyed.” Yes, society suffers but the state is strengthened, at further cost to society. Society is forced to pay for the state’s mistakes- in this case, the military’s. The state is not only tangibly compensated but intangibly strengthened.

The Emperor faces the end of his reign….

….as it is time for him to leave….

….to a standing ”O”….

….and head for the trash bin of history:

Wax Fantasy- The new Emperor is in, the old one is….under arrest?

The Obamaniacs head to DC….

….with new plans for the tax serfs:

Good News! Her Highness’ butt isn’t too big….

….and the family is happy:

The killing continues and no one can bear to watch:

The blast of the shofar accompanies the genocide:

Just a fun ol’ time for the IDF:

Graves, graves, we need more room for graves:

Beware- tryanny can come from any direction:

One act of defiance….

….cancels one act of cowardice:

Global cooling is making life difficult:

Sometimes, the odds look a bit overwhelming:

Swarm, Swarm!:

Your tax dollars at work- an RV for the moon:

Chesley B. (”Sully”) Sullenberger is a god.

Seriously. If I were to run into the guy on the street tomorrow, I would simply be in awe of his presence. That’s because Sullenberger actually crash landed a malfunctioning U.S. Airways jet on the Hudson friggin’ River and nobody was seriously injured. That is just positively amazing. It’s one of those achievements that should stand as a glaring reminder to the rest of us as to what human beings can really accomplish. That act was nothing less than the culmination of many years of intense focus, careful study and much mastering of some very tricky technical skills. Just amazing.

It’s interesting, though, that I hear so many people around me mention his experience as an F-4 fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. The upshot of these conversations is thank the gods for “our” military, so that people can learn such highly valued, life-saving skills. The irony never seems to dawn on these people that the mission of the armed forces is to destroy human life, whereas Sullenberger preserved human life.

But they also seem to forget that Sullenberger has been flying commercial airliners since about 1980, whereas he spent only six years in the Air Force. Why jump to the conclusion that what Sullenberger was able to do yesterday must have come from his military experience, rather than from his more numerous years as a commercial airline pilot?

And why this assumption that only the military could provide the kind of training needed to fly airplanes so skillfully? It’s true that many military pilots take their flying experience into the commercial airline industry. But surely if there was no military at all, that does not mean that we would all be doomed to flying in planes piloted by incompetents. There’s no reason to doubt that some of the billions and billions of dollars that would be spared from “national defense” each year would instead be spent by the airline industry itself, or currently existing flight schools, on continuously improving pilot training and education.

Interestingly, Sullenberger is the founder of a business that provides “technical expertise and strategic vision and direction to improve safety and reliability in a variety of high risk industries.” Sullenberger’s actions yesterday demonstrate that highly skilled individuals offering their technical expertise in the marketplace in pursuit of their own personal gain—rather than myriad bureaucrats and their rules and regulations—are the most effective at keeping people safe in potentially dangerous situations.

(Cross-posted at The Postmodern Tribune.)

More ammo for journalists:

The state wants your children….

….and this is how it gets them:

The real policy of No Child Left Behind:

Stealing money and lending it cheap:

The central planners meet to decide how to engineer the next depression:

A hopeful look at the future- tools of war become lawn ornaments:

Lots of ghosts and boogie men in Afghanistan:

The Emperor-To-Be is drowning in estrogen:

Fasten your seatbelt for a wild ride:

Hey, W.- Dodge this:

Seeking instructions how to kill for the state in the name of God and….

….Success!:

The hands of the savior or tools of the devil?  Have they ever seen a hard day’s work?:

The Emperor’s audience continues to decline in stature….

….and numbers:

Still more murder, and Israel’s (and the U.S.’s) fingerprints are everywhere:

Praise those who have the courage to resist….

….rather than cower in fear:

Gimme that old time religion….

….it’s good enough for me:

Out of our way! Just a lil’ ol’ funeral in Texas:

If you enjoy the weekly Image Review on this blog, you’ll want to view the 2008 in Pictorial Review at the SurvivalAcres.com blog. Photos used in the Review have been re-organized with similar themes but new captions to create a nice summary of the year’s state-induced madness.

He’s drinkin’ again:

A political office for sale? Why the shock?

Gimme your best shot:

The Old/New Deal- Swapping lives for pretty rags:

Spread the terror- Collateral damage at home:

New corporate acronyms on the horizon- Gimme Money!….

….and Finance Our Rotten Designs!

Don’t let Johnny Law steal your Christmas:

Rule of Politics #23: Always put the receptive and easily convinced in the front row:

Save your breath- reason won’t work:

Dude, where’s my job?

Slammin’ concrete- another important defensive function:

How you’ll soon be flying the friendly skies:

It won’t happen sittin’ down. For state-initiated change, stand up and grab your ankles:

Snow in New Orleans- Reality just won’t conform to the climate kooks:

Start a hot new career in law enforcement!:

Socialist monkey wrenchers continue to give true anarchists a bad name:

Taking the lives of children isn’t enough for US Crusaders- Now, they’re taking their toys:

Entertainment on Capitol Hill- Watching the taxpayer get roped and tied:

Fly the rag proudly- Land of the Cowards and Home of the Slaves:

Obama reaches for answers. I thought he had them all!:

Please, keep reminding us Father Obama, that….

 She’s baaa-aaack! Some nightmares have a way of recurring:

Hillary gets an early start on setting fire to the world:

Cleaning up after a protest. What are the odds of seeing that in the US?

Homeland Security is everywhere:

You can’t be too careful. There’s no shortage of dumb bureaucrats:

Has yours arrived yet?

The Ex-Emperor finds a new neighborhood to invade. But how will he spend his time? That’s a big place for two people- how about a roomate?

No wonder they’re blind to the contradicting evidence:

Saint Nick takes a break during the long, secular Christmas nonsense:

Mmmm…the sweet, fragrant aroma of change:

As Barack Obama’s opus, Team of Rivals, continues its rolling debut, the early reviews are in and the “critics” are full of praise for the cast:”[T]he new administration is off to a good start.”
– Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell.

“[S]uperb … the best of the Washington insiders … this will be a valedictocracy — rule by those who graduate first in their high school classes.”
– David Brooks, conservative New York Times columnist

“[V]irtually perfect … ”
– Senator Joe Lieberman, former Democrat and John McCain’s top surrogate in the 2008 campaign.

“[R]eassuring.”
– Karl Rove, “Bush’s brain.”

“I am gobsmacked by these appointments, most of which could just as easily have come from a President McCain … this all but puts an end to the 16-month timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, the unconditional summits with dictators, and other foolishness that once emanated from the Obama campaign … [Hillary] Clinton and [James] Steinberg at State should be powerful voices for ‘neo-liberalism’ which is not so different in many respects from ‘neo-conservativism.’”
– Max Boot, neoconservative activist, former McCain staffer.

“I see them as being sort of center-right of the Democratic party.”
– James Baker, former Secretary of State and the man who led the theft of the 2000 election.

“[S]urprising continuity on foreign policy between President Bush’s second term and the incoming administration … certainly nothing that represents a drastic change in how Washington does business. The expectation is that Obama is set to continue the course set by Bush … ”
– Michael Goldfarb of the neoconservative Weekly Standard.

“I certainly applaud many of the appointments … ”
– Senator John McCain

Barack Obama is a hit, say America’s leading neconliberal militarists!