Topic: Authoritarianism

16 States Are Now Following The Science

– March 3, 2021

“Governors who continue to impose lockdowns and mask mandates are fast becoming as popular as Red Sox fans in the Yankee Stadium bleachers, at least in half of the country. The internal polling is out, and the draconian restrictions are being abandoned in droves. History will not be kind to the remaining high-handed holdouts.” ~ Jordan Schachtel

Authoritarianism, Crisis

Lockdowns Could Reshape American Politics for a Generation, or Several

– March 2, 2021

“Anti-lockdownism need not be partisan. The victims of these policies are all over the political map. They are united only in their general belief in human rights, constitutional restraints on government, and the need to keep society functioning in the midst of a health crisis. This opinion is not and should not be controversial. There is never a good excuse to turn on basic Enlightenment values in favor of feudal forms of political organization and coerced social management. Never.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Art and Culture, Authoritarianism

Rename the Cuomo Bridge for Covid Victims

– March 2, 2021

“I empathize with those desiring that the name of the 3.1 mile bridge should revert to Tappan Zee; other recommendations would undoubtedly include renaming the structure for a deceased serviceman or woman, the 9/11 attack victims, or a different New York State Governor. (DeWitt Clinton, who facilitated the building of the Erie Canal, often comes up.) But I disagree with all of those.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

The Wreckers of New York and their Bitter Rivalry

– March 2, 2021

“Unfortunately, New Yorkers apparently retain faith in central planning of their lives despite the dismal failures at both the mayoral and gubernatorial level. The political profits of demagoguery will perennially trump the calculus of benevolence. The only ‘savior’ worth trusting is the revival of individual freedom and a vast decrease in regulatory restrictions and tax exactions.” ~ James Bovard

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Science

The Story of Vicky

– March 1, 2021

“Although self-imprisoned, alone and forever, in her apartment with literally not a friend left in the world, Vicky never wavered in knowing that she had her priorities ordered correctly, sensibly, and scientifically.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Is the U.S. Going the Way of Afghanistan?

– February 27, 2021

“When the Supreme Court voted last week not to hear cases challenging arbitrary changes in state election procedures, Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, ‘The decision to leave election law hidden beneath a shroud of doubt is baffling. By doing nothing, we invite further confusion and erosion of voter confidence.’ Unfortunately, almost no one is talking of the peril of the ‘Afghanization’ of American democracy.” ~ James Bovard

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Science

How to Beat the Permanent Covidocracy

– February 25, 2021

“Despite the declines in alleged infections and deaths, vaccine rollouts, and continued progress in finding possible treatments for Covid-19, the pandemic panic remains at high pitch. Until there’s some restoration of reason, we’re shooting BBs at a bull elephant. As Charles MacKay observed in his 1852 classic Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, people ‘go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one.'” ~ Michael Fumento

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Cuomo and the Failure of Covid Absolutism

– February 24, 2021

“In a tour of television talk shows shortly after President Biden was inaugurated, Cuomo recited his latest catchphrase: ‘Incompetent government kills people.’ This intended slapdown of Trump is recoiling badly on the New York governor. If Cuomo is impeached or forced to resign for his Covid fiascos, maybe he could score plenty of media appearances with a new slogan: ‘Absolute power with impunity kills.'” ~ James Bovard

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

How and Why Government Creates Disease Panic

– February 24, 2021

“During this pandemic, governments exacerbated rather than eased an out-of-proportion, fear-driven reaction to the pandemic. Actively fueling hysteria has exacted terrible economic, social, mental health, and educational consequences without providing demonstrable relief from the effects of Covid-19. How this can be prevented next time is a question few consider.” ~ Barry Brownstein

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Science

How Does All of This End?

– February 23, 2021

“Here we are a full year later, with the reports of lockdown carnage pouring in by the day and hour. It’s a gigantic mess, to be sure, but the end does seem to be in view, and thank goodness for that. Let the blowback begin.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Economic Education

Why I Believe that Covid Derangement Syndrome Is Real

– February 23, 2021

“I believe this syndrome to be real and deserving of a name that grabs attention. Such attention-grabbing is warranted, because I further believe that this syndrome poses a dangerous risk to humanity that dwarfs the risk posed by SARS-CoV-2.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Authoritarianism, Economic Education, Socialism

Socialism-in-Practice Was a Nightmare, Not Utopia

– February 23, 2021

“When the French sociologist, Gustave Le Bon published The Psychology of Socialism in 1899, he feared that, ‘One nation, at least, will have to suffer it [the establishment of a socialist system] for the instruction of the world. It will be one of those practical lessons which alone can enlighten the nations that are bemused with the dreams of happiness displayed before our eyes by the priests of the new [socialist] faith.’ Is it really necessary to go through it all again? Let us hope not.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling