THE RECENT GAFFS BY RAND PAUL HIGHLIGHT THE BASIC FALLACY BEHIND MUCH CURRENT "LIBERTARIAN" THINKING...
THE NOTION THAT MOST GOVERNMENT IS "BAD"...SIMPLY IS NOT VALID IN A MODERN HIGHLY COMPLEX PRIVATE SECTOR ECONOMY...
IN MODERN AND COMPLEX SYSTEMS...SOME REFEREE FOR THE "PUBLIC INTEREST" IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY...
THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE IN THE AMERICAN ECONOMY WHERE WEALTH IS HIGHLY CONCENTRATED IN THE HANDS OF A SMALL ELITE...WHO HAVE HUGE INFLUENCE IN THE ECONOMY AND WITH THE GOVERNMENT...
GOVERNMENT IS "BAD" ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT IN AMERICA TODAY IT IS A SHILL FOR THE PRIVATE ELITES...AND THEIR LOBBIES.
MOST OF WHAT THE "PAULISTS" ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT IS NOT GOVERNMENT...BUT GOVERNMENT CORRUPTED BY PRIVATE SECTOR MONEY...AND A POWERFUL AND WEALTHY ELITE...
GOOD GOVERNMENT WOULD BE HIGHLY INTERVENTIONIST FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD...AGAINST THE FORCES OF CONCENTRATED WEALTH...
FOR THIS REASON...MUCH OF WHAT THE RAND PAUL TYPES ADVOCATE WILL SEEM BIZARRE AND UNUSUAL TO MANY PEOPLE...
GOOD GOVERNMENT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST IS NEEDED...
BAD GOVERNMENT CORRUPTED BY THE SPECIAL INTERESTS IS WHAT WE HAVE NOW...AND THAT IS THE SOURCE OF MUCH OF THE DISCONTENT...
IT IS NOT THE QUANTITY OF GOVERNMENT...BUT THE QUALITY OF GOVERNMENT THAT PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED WITH...
THIS IS THE RAND PAUL FALLACY...
