Here in the States, Thomas Friedman mused on the Chinese government’s idyllic governing arrangement with its subjects people — one in which the relative non-messiness of competing ideas and dissident expression allows the ChiComs to get things done. Cleanly. Efficiently. Progressively!
And now, not to be outdone, we have Stephen Kinzer agitating in the Guardian for an end to “human rights imperialism” — which is essentially a kind of updated riff on the postmodern revelation that turned an intellectually lazy embrace of relativism into a kind of sophisticate’s pose, with the prominent skill being the adept’s ability to deploy scare quotes around such words as “universal” and “standards” while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The result? Behold!
By my standards, this authoritarian regime is the best thing that has happened to Rwanda since colonialists arrived a century ago. My own experience tells me that people in Rwanda are happy with it, thrilled at their future prospects, and not angry that there is not a wide enough range of newspapers or political parties. Human Rights Watch, however, portrays the Rwandan regime as brutally oppressive. Giving people jobs, electricity, and above all security is not considered a human rights achievement; limiting political speech and arresting violators is considered unpardonable.
Sure, it’s an authoritarian regime. But the trains run on time, and the subjects people are all provided for — which is a kind of economic freedom, and as freedoms go is one far more valuable than speech and assembly and self-determination. In fact, it is the very embrace of compassion: an authoritarian regime, free from the messiness of dissent or opposition — that is, free of the idea humans have some sort of unalienable rights not granted them by government and consent of those in power — can get things done.
Progress.
— Of course, when we here in the US last embraced such an idea, lots of folks eventually got angry about a so-called “chattel slavery” culture and they went and ruined everything, the stupid Christians and Constitutionalists. Before that, the same kind of idiots had a revolution.
But one day we’ll get the magic back. Let’s hope. Only this time, there’ll be no division along racial lines. Because that is unacceptable.
Instead, we’ll separate along the lines of ruling class and subjects the happy, cared-for, and kinda-free-if-you-squint-but-besides-it’s-for-their-own-good people, who rejoice in the fact that the ruling class allows them electricity and jobs, and protects them against poachers enemies.
At which point we’ll have reached the Left’s Utopian state.
Progress!
(h/t geoffb)
I would rather live under messy, Republican-Democracy, than perfect authorintarianism.
That is why I moved out of mom and dad’s home for a shit hole apartment when I was 18.
Doesn’t Friedman watch reruns of Flyfly?
An athoritarian regime as described is better than mobs of Hutus running through the streets, rounding up Tutsi men, women and children and slaughtering them with bats, machetes, and axes. But it is not an acceptable long term solution. Resentments build under such systems, which is why the genocidal disaster in Rwanda happened in the first place.
Video clip for this post.
Zombie had an interesting take on Kinzer’s Guardian piece( http://tiny.cc/hmz2b ):
I mean, it makes it soooo much easier to embrace statist totalitarianism when one realizes that it is the antithesis of what the founders intended America to represent.
So does this open embrace mean that they are going to stop trying to twist the original application of those natural rights to insure equality of opportunity to instead serve their ideal of equality of outcome; that is, equality of outcome for all us proles, our betters excepted of course?
For my money, I wish they’d just “come out” and call a spade, a spade, so to speak. It’s be so much easier to deal with the low information types if the lefties would wear their statist/socialist ideals openly and proudly, instead of trying to keep the mask on and assert that their views represent the quintessential “American way”.
It is interesting what the “tipping point” was in Tunsia.
I sometimes imagine myself in past eras and wonder if I’d be able to see what was going on without the benefit of hindsight. It’s easy to imagine ourselves seeing the things right in front of our noses but we have to balance that with the obvious fact that the majority of people in that era simply didn’t.
Here, speaking plainly and openly, are the Walter Duranty’s of our time.
Will we (collectively) see them?
I should have used the word “see” another couple times in that comment.
Heh. It’s that fuckingly inescapable vision thing: insight, eide, idea, image, optics blah blah blah
We’re all guilty-assed oculocentricists. When oh when will the stenchologists take hold?
Wretchard’s take is quite good as well:
“Cecil Rhodes, who once admonished people to “remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life” would have been surprised to learn there are all kinds of advantages to being non-Western in the modern world. For one thing you are far less likely to be accused of racism, colonialism or human rights violations. This is probably why Prince is training locals, so the field of action is devolved to where blame may not attach.”
Stupid oculocentricism.
All hail vomeronasal organizing!
An entirely historic, and pitch perfect recapitulation of the origins of the word totalitarianism.
Certainly Kinzer would not have opposed the British Navy’s efforts to stamp out the scourge of chattel slavery – individuals owning other individuals being so very wrong.
The state owning individuals? Not quite so problematic for his ilk.
So much easier to deal with, co-opt, buy, corrupt, or replace if necessary, a few tyrants who will themselves then deal with that, oh so messy, quivering mass of humanity. Pragmatic even. Divide and conquer.
I could use some of that, actually. I’ve got the most disporganized nose on the planet.
And my sinuses! Oy.
Pores scattered every which way. And it’s disorganized too.
Also the keys on my keyboard insist on diving under my fingers when they’re not supposed to.
One wonders where Kinzer fashions himself in authoritarian land. Perhaps he imagines he would be in the elite, but giving away what he is giving, they may just say “He agitated, he may agitate again. Off with his head.” For the common good you know.
From Kinzer’s second link (to Conor Foley):
“The right to private property is basically a western concept . . .” Is this true? Or is it false? Is private property basic exclusively to the “west”? Or is it basic to human beings as such, wherever and whenever we find them?
Private property has been around since man walked upright.
Indian tribes in the US were trading both individually and tribally over things they created or hunted or farmed before the white man ever corrupted them with western concepts. Wars broke out due to one tribe due to one tribe or person wanting what the other had without just compensation (capitalism) or due to outright thievery of their wimmens and horses if the terms of the negotiations were not agreed to (colonialism). I’d say the concept of private property and capitalism were in full swing before the Europeans showed up to train em up on “western concepts.” I’d go further to say they were well steeped in the notion of “western concepts” before “western concepts” were introduced.
Maybe their premise that western concepts are not the default natural state for mankind needs a little work.
– Or maybe, when they can spare a little time out from dreaming the intoxicating dreams of Totalitarian Unicorn Utopia’s, they might want to take a look at the history of what happens to people that try to steal other peoples shit.
– But then that would require a degree of self awareness no Lefturd seems capable of.
Pinioned by the idée fixe that America and imperialism and Western values are always and irrevocably wrong…
…and knowing full well that Western values are championed by that harpy Sarah Palin and her manic sidekick, Glenn Beck, the choice was fairly obvious.
Glenn Beck has a nice smile and a genuine enthusiasm for America
Well, yes. Free shit and human rights have precisely nothing to do with each other.
Right, it’s that human rights thing. Free speech, due process, all that cumbersome stuff that gets in the way of bread and circuses. Sadly, prosecuting stupidity is also unpardonable.
What was that Mr. B thinking Joe? Didn’t he know that the fruit in his fruit stand wasn’t his? That his stand wasn’t his? That his human dignity wasn’t his? How rowdy of those people to overthrow their government over the idea of individual rights and personal property.
mr. b was afflicted with a false consciousness
link
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Chris Coon, proteinwisdom. proteinwisdom said: The new Left and the siren call of authoritarianism / fascism https://proteinwisdom.com/?p=24246 […]
hey that’s my fruits give em back
May all totalitarian regimes have such a fire lit under them.
You know who supports totalitarian regimes?
The Bears.
You know who uses words like “pinioned” and “idée fixe”?
The guy who took Jay Cutler’s SAT for him.
You know who suddenly don’t have any opinions about anything?
The Jets.
Heh.
I don’t know if it’s the first rule of football but it has to rank right up there: Don’t piss off the Steelers’ D.
Not I.
My church did a lot of work in Rwanda. The place was an ethnocentric hotbed of slaughter and maiming that I assure you the Nazi’s would have viewed with some good level of distaste. It’s come a very far distance in a realtively short amount of time.
Kinzer takes a valid idea–no one goes from F to A overnight in nation-building and so patience and important guideposts need to be obtained–and beclowns himself with a total oversell. A freewheeling US style democracy took a few centuries; a government that confiscates at a whim or hunts down dissenters does not have to be the tradeoff to being slaughtered.
I heard on twitter that Sheriff Dupnik linked Dom Capers’ violent blitzing schemes to the Tucson shooting.
All the non-news that doesn’t fit the narrative.
Makes sense though, don’t it? Surely Dupnik wouldn’t turn near to hand to blame anything on the Cardinals, as they aren’t very violent types to begin with, emitting mostly cheeps and twitters, then flashing their brilliant crests to appear larger than they are.
Calling BB. Nice friends, watch out they tend to bite.
http://www.sportslogos.net/images/logos/7/169/full/364.gif
These fuckers better lose, or if they win, do so by less than 3.5. 44-40 would be a great final score for me.
I’m in full jinx mode here. But, the alternatives are un-bearable.
Ummm…
SNAP~!
Damned Gravatars. What, I have to drop a quarter in a slot somewhere ?
Anyone put money on the AFC game? I have the Steelers, giving 3 and a half.
Speaking of jinxes, I almost feel bad for the Bears.
Think Obama was rooting for the Democrats in ’10, too.
Heh, if those are your picks, get to a bookie immediately, serr8d. There is big money to be made.
Nope no dough, but:
NFC – 34 (leaning 24-10, but could be 27-7)
AFC – 17 (14-3, unless it’s 17-0)
Not money, but I’m saying the Packers will beat the Steelers in the Hyper Bowl.
I have the Steelers giving 2.5, bh. And the Pack giving 3.5. And over 43.5. I hate the Bears.
Is Obambi going to try to be a Bears fan now? Is he going to watch the game @ Soldiers Stadium?
baracky is the kiss of death. see the economy.
Sdferr, that sounds about right to me.
McG, that’d be a great match-up. And, extra value for the beer and truck advertisers, I’d say.
Wanted to play both unders, JD. I don’t actually hate the Bears. But I do remember their fans throwing chicken wing bones and beer cans at me in bar just off Belmont when the Broncos beat us. No, I haven’t forgotten that. Have. Not. Forgotten.
“the
sirencurly call of authoritarianism / fascism”Triple heh.
“Bears fan now?”
Heck, I hear he’s always been a Bears fan. They have bears in Indonesia don’t they? Anyway, for damn sure they’ve got soldiers there.
Some of Barack’s fondest memories are from cheering the Chicago Grizzlies at the Wrigley Colosseum and Grille.
Btw, has anyone ever actually seen Olin Kreutz’ birth certificate?
When he was not sitting in the Bleachers at Soldiers Stadium,he was sitting on the sidelines at Wrigley Coliseum, and at half court at Conminskey Field.
Betting the under is hard on the ticker, and not recommended.
– I’m just hoping for a few hours of good old ass-kicking feetsball so we can forget, at least for a little while, what that Chocolate Marxist prick has done to our country.
– If he does attend I also hope no one, lunatic Leftists in particular, do anything important. That’s all we need is for him to be made into another martyr, and have to spend the next 200 years listening to stories that parallel another phony “Camelot”.
I’m looking at the Packers versus the Jets in the Super Bowl.
I know Pittsburg is tough, but so were the Patriots. But the margin won’t be that large.
It’ll be the Jets, by a toenail…
Ryan’ll like that :)
When it comes to the Polynesian football stack up, I’m going with the Samoans over the Hawaiians every time. Sorry Tongans, you’re just outnumbered something awful.
Polynesian football stack up…
That’s a whole new identity/tribe based method of picking football games sdferr. If successful, you could probably make some bank using it.
And it would also mean that what teams really needed to look for would be some Maoris. I’m thinking they are the trump card of the Polynesian suit. And they’d add a whole new dimension to the trash talk.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mycentraljersey/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-n-cerulo&pid=147966566
Say a prayer for this fine fine gentleman. This has been a really shitty week.
Wouldn’t they first have to tear the Maori from their rugby? Good luck to that.
The traffic down here is screwed up enough without throwing Barack Milhous into the mix. They just better helicopter him in.
Let perpetual light shine upon him, JD.
Friend, relative?
Wow. I’ll remember Fr. Tom in my prayers JD, may he rest in peace and may God bless and keep his family. It’s terrible that among his family members he’s survived by his mother. You know it’s got to be especially hard on her…
It’s a bad idea to try and tear a Maori away from anything they don’t wish to be separated from :)
Ron Radosh takes down not only John Judis, but what amounts to the progressive position vis a vis Republicanism in general today. Worth a read.
Bh – My parish priest while growing up, and our family friend for decades. We visited him at the Vatican when he went there with the Trinitarian Order.
Enough with the downer … Sorry.
I’m struck by the use of “counter-revolutionary”. Let’s imagine they use this sensibly rather than as just another bit of blather.
What was the revolution? Our founding? That was indeed revolutionary. No one could really deny this.
The New Deal? I suppose that might be counter-revolutionary then. New. Deal.
So, they’re conservatives, conserving their reactionary counter-revolution.
Or not. It’s simply too fucking retarded.
No, that’s cool, JD. It’s a downer, yeah, but there’s no avoiding it. Raising a glass to your friend.
I vote for retards, bh.
This week sucks. Bad things come in sets of 3, right?
Today’s Republicans, having lost the political battles of the late 30’s through the end of the 40’s to FDR, now finding themselves stuck with the failing remnants of the New Deal, as well as the doddering pieces of LBJ’s Great Society, Nixon’s progressive additions to it and the encumbrances of further programs lately enacted by GWBush, seeking to ease the nation’s transition from dependence on these socialistic dinosaurs (dependence coming in many forms, whether directly in hand outs or indirectly in administrative jobs), aiming to make this transition as prudently as possible, preserving what promises they can (Social Security recipients over 55 for instance receiving their checks as currently designed) while weaning the youth of the polity off said dependencies: all perforce on account of necessity. It’s not as though they wished for this to come about, nor that they see any choice in the matter.
Yet the people like Judis (and Nancy Pelosi, I take it) will have none of this, at least on a demagogic level, preferring to see the nation plunged into outright bankruptcy rather than submit to any change to their schemes. They would seem to prefer that in the end no one might enjoy any benefit from the fiscal outrages they’ve foisted on the nation. Really, it’s nuts. It’s beyond nuts.
On the other hand, we’re progressives now, I suppose, or counter-counter-revolutionaries. Or… maybe… classical liberals. Which fixes the meaning rather nicely. That probably bothers them a good deal.
(What’s implicit and can’t be spoken out loud is that “the revolution” was the trans-national socialist revolution. Which then also makes them imperialists here in the US. Fucking imperialist, reactionary counter-revolutionaries.)
Sdferr – these are the same people that suggest we should spend out way out of bankruptcy, no?
Thinking about #74, we might need a new pejorative. A really bad one.
What gets me is that there is no possible way the nation can move from actual socialist policy writ into law, governing us now I mean, to an actual classical liberal policy devoid of socialist taint of any sort, without god only knows what sorts of upheavals in the lives of many millions of people. Paul Ryan says this all the time. He may be personally committed to classical liberalism as a theoretical matter, but he doesn’t cease to make the case that his fiscal plans are expressly designed to preserve as much of the promised federal benefit scheme as he can, and that further, if his plans or something like them aren’t enacted, the whole goddamn structure will collapse without the preservation of any of the crap the Pelosis and Obamas of the left are still promising people. What an assrape this is.
I’m gonna have another drink. Otherwise I’ll start entertaining the possible virtues of the tyrant again.
… too late.
There’s a little Friedman in all of us. Fuckers.
My condolences, JD.
Requiescat in pace, Father Tom.
Mike Holmgren had no virtues, possible or impossible.
When we’re in the work camps, I hope we’re assigned to the same crew, guins. ‘Cause you crack me up.
Sure, that’ll probably mean extra beatings for all of us. Totally worth it though.
How much of the economy do you figure would instantly evaporate if all socialist policies were suddenly disappeared? You have to figure in those that provide the buildings, furniture, computers and operating overhead that are used by the governmental agencies, the NGOs, Soros funded type groups, plus the grants to artists and NPR, the grants to small businesses, the grants to NIH, the loans to students, the welfare payments, the USDA subsidies and more.
Designed that way for a reason. No one has the guts to do a full reboot.
Yeah, undeniably an inexpressibly great deal . . . but equally inexpressible on the other side of the ledger, how great an economy would open up once all of this trash is lifted? And there’s the frustrating bit: that this alternative isn’t expressible in terms that would persuade the mass that it would come to pass, though we believe with all our best guesses, pointing at every emerging economy we’ve ever seen as evidence, that the pain would soon be gone to be replaced by an unimaginably better situation. So the notion that the choice of a reboot might be made by the overwhelming majority (a necessary aim, I think) is out of reach.
Stop fitting me for a laurel wreath, sdferr.
Couple months though. Tops.
Imagine this: you go to the store and suddenly you have an extra $5k or $10k in your pocket.
It’s a trick question. If you saved any of it you killed the economy and possibly a puppy as well.
I’ll probably change my avatar back shortly. The cute kitty doesn’t shout in all caps like Clay Matthews seems to.
So you looked up Stephanos did you? heh.
Revelations like that are why conspiracy theories sell so well.
I never would have guessed Stephanie.
sdferr:
Exactly what would those who toiled in the trenches of socialism do when the trenches are gone? Many of those that dined at the teat have no skills to put to use other than thievery. Those who dug the ditch aren’t equipped for blue collar jobs nor do they possess the entrepreneur’s mind or habits. Drones and thieves are a bitch to retrain.
They are probably not people who would have struck out for Texas, Colorado or California circa 1880 much less Boston circa 1750.
It will take generations for people to reacquire that habit and some not small number (but a larger percentage of the thieves) will turn to crime and gangs for the lazy fix.
Cue Tina Turner and Mel Gibson in 5 4 3…
Revelations like that are why conspiracy theories sell so well.
I never would have guessed Stephanie.
I’m no conspiracy nut if that’s what you mean. I have read some of the proposals and writings put forth by the early 1900s social engineers, though. And I can pretty well judge human nature. Many that are born to any level of comfort will settle comfortably there. Few will strive to improve, and fewer still will succeed. That won’t change. Neither will the impulses of do-gooders. Put those two together and bad things happen. Put those two together with large sums of money and bad things will happen faster still.
Glad I caught this before going to sleep, S. We’re not busting your lady balls.
I was talking about tyrants and then later joked that sdferr was tempting me into the role, the “laurel wreath”.
He joked that your name, “crown, garland”*, fit the bill.
I, having terrible Greek, didn’t know that, so it was surprising. Hence my joke about why conspiracy theories sell so well. Because you didn’t notice something hidden right under your nose.
In summary, not busting your lady balls.
Meant to link this on the asterisk.
I care most about one’s attitude toward doable life.
First, it isn’t our business to determine, one way or the other.
Second, the objection raised, it seems to me, proves quite well the point I was making above, namely, that the choice to move in that direction will not be made by the mass, since the conception entails all manner of bugaboos and scary unknowns which in the final analysis can only be determined in fact by the millions of people and trillions of critical decisions they would make based on their local knowledge, the very thing none of us will ever have in our possession.
Remember Judis from the Kurtz book. Pages 381-382
That turned out longer than I thought it would. I blame being up at 4 am.
Judis in his piece brings up the political factions of the 1930s which is something he perhaps wouldn’t like looked closely at.
The New Left of which he was part had a major split-up at the end of the sixties. It was only healed in the early 80s by the intervention of old line 1930s members of the CPUSA. They being the only ones that the young New Lefties couldn’t intimidate with “I’m more radical than you” poses.
The results of that intervention are quite relevant today as it was out of that that the idea of forming “front” groups put together through the use of Community Organizing was brought to the fore as the tactic of choice for the Left in this country.
I have noticed that bh’s gravatar is of one of the few white players on the Packers. He must be a racist.
They do keep saying they’re “digging out of a hole.”
our failshit incompetent corrupt U.S. government officials have decided this? There was no legislation involved for reals?
Chuck Schumer had a Kinsleyian gaffe with Bob Schieffer this morning (a uniquely disgusting journoleftist tongue-bath overall btw)
…seniors undergoing mandatory annual examinations. Not mandatory, annual free examinations…
Happyfeet – felons that was a joke, or from The Onion.
I hate this spellcheck. No clue how it got felons out of please tell me
propaganda whore Viv Schiller’s National Soros Radio today gives SPLC guy a platform to say Jared absorbed his ideas from the radical right …
watch your rhetoric you guys
corruption is a felony I think Mr. JD except for when you have a corrupt Justice Department like America’s one
Heh.
I forgot to include Bob Schieffer’s response
Your fur tastes truthy.
That right there is just plain depressing.
In America the state decides what people eat.
Don’t have to run through the jungle and scuff-up your feet.
I caught the undercurrent about my name last night (clever!), but thought that you were referring to my post about Thunderdome. Rereading this morning, I realize that the Thunderdome occurred after the conspiracy post. Teaches me for watching a wonderful tennis match (the lady’s version of Isner at Wimbledon, but thankfully not as long) and posting at the same time. I was responding to a comment out of order.
I CAN make a lovely hat. ;)
To which, Steven Tyler on AI of all things was walking into the 2nd night’s auditions in New Orleans and had on a little hat in honor of Mardi Gras. He turned to the camera and said “you know what a little hat’s good for” then continued walking and then turned around again and said “a little head.”
I DVRd the program for when the TV programming really sux worse than AI so was watching the episode last night about 7. I had to replay it to make sure I heard right. AI may actually prove to be worth watching with Tyler this year if this is any indication. He was actually quite entertaining.