Topic: Authoritarianism

Why the UK Government Now Must, But Won’t, Abandon Lockdown

– February 11, 2021

“Were it to be capable of learning from its ‘achievement,’ the Government should now self-consciously abandon the policy aimed at the entire population, the most important part of which would be to end lockdown, tiers, and all such general restrictions. But this would require the Government to acknowledge that its policy has been a mistake from the outset, and the general lack of capacity the Government has shown includes a lack of capacity to make such an acknowledgement.” ~ David Campbell

Authoritarianism, Government, International

Life After Burma: The Saga of Bo Bo Nge

– February 11, 2021

“When Suu Kyi won her reelection early this year in a landslide, Myanmar’s generals had had enough. They reassumed power and on February 1 dispatched five soldiers to arrest Bo Bo at his home in Myanmar’s new capital Naypyidaw. Commented a banker in Yangon, ‘It’s a circular firing squad around here.’ Free Bo Bo! Free the world economy from zero sum generalists.” ~ George Gilder

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Science

The TSA’s New Mask Mandate

– February 8, 2021

“Can the TSA reform its searches and other procedures so that its own employees avoid getting denounced as ‘Typhoid Marys?’ Is ‘social distancing’ from boneheaded enforcement agents asking too much? Alas, it is difficult to expect reasonable policies from an agency that still seems inspired by one of its first mottoes: ‘Dominate. Intimidate. Control.'” ~ James Bovard

Authoritarianism, Crisis, International

The Uyghurs as Victims of Chinese National Socialism

– February 8, 2021

“The Uyghurs and Tibetans are alien and subversive bodies in the Chinese nation that must be absorbed or eliminated. Beginning with Mao and now with terrifying single-mindedness by Xi Jinping, the irradiation of these foreign elements are to be ‘neutralized.’ This truly makes the Chinese political system an ideology of national socialism in the footsteps of others that have preceded it.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Science

How a Virus Was Used To Transform a Free Country

– February 8, 2021

“It’s undeniably evident that the CARES Act was focused on the progressive tenet of redistribution of wealth and growing the numbers of Americans dependent upon the government. Money is taken from working taxpayers, given to those who aren’t, expanding social programs and the size and power of government entities, while lining the pockets of special interests.” ~ Sandy Szwarc

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Regulation

Masking America’s Greatest Natural Monuments

– February 6, 2021

“There are unseen perils when federal policy seeks to placate mass fears rather than protect public safety. Plenty of Americans need to heed the warning a British publication gave to its readers: ‘Is constantly monitoring COVID rulebreakers wrecking your mental health?'” ~ James Bovard

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Healthcare

Imagine If the Virus Had Never Been Detected

– February 4, 2021

“The virus didn’t suddenly start spreading in March of 2020 just because politicians decided it had. 2019 is the likelier beginning. Early 2020 too. Life was pretty normal as a virus made its way around the world then. Politicians made it abnormal. Let’s never forget the sickening carnage they can create when they find reasons to ‘do something.'” ~ John Tamny

Authoritarianism, Crisis, History

We Should Worry about a Permanent Covidocracy

– February 3, 2021

“We either set firm goalposts now – when do the masks come off; when does the distancing end; when do kids return to school and restaurants operate at enough capacity to stay in business – or we risk many years of control.” ~ Michael Fumento

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Science

The Flight of the Covid Quacks

– February 2, 2021

“Even the most statist public health official completely oblivious to Hayekian critiques of central planning must know, deep down, that issuing general medical orders from on high is quackery. They now flee in great flocks but what will it matter if other quacks replace them? We don’t need new public health officials. We need a reformed healthcare model with incentives more carefully aligned to individual needs.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Authoritarianism, Government, Socialism

Biden’s Executive Orders vs. American Public Opinion

– February 2, 2021

“Policies implemented are ultimately the outcome of ideas fought over concerning whether or not to value and secure political freedom, economic liberty, and constitutional order. In spite of a lot of totalitarian-like rhetoric in the air, the intellectual field is still open to vigorous debate and competition. It just needs to be taken advantage of by not presuming the contest is already lost.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Authoritarianism, Media, Video

Faces of Lockdowns (Part 2)

– February 1, 2021

While data, statistics, historical allusions, and appeals to morality all demonstrate the disastrous nature of lockdowns, none show the devastation as vividly as personal stories from those suffering the most. In the second part of this series, we continue our interviews with working New Yorkers and found the situation to be just as suspected: businesses on the brink of shutting down for good, students struggling to learn, and unmatched frustration.

Authoritarianism, Crisis

The Times Wants You Consumed by Fear, Isolation, and Misery

– January 30, 2021

“We do not need to destroy society, lock people in their homes, tear down businesses, close schools, traumatize kids, drive people to alcoholism and drug abuse, divide society between the clean ruling class and the dirty working class, ban travel, close churches, abolish choirs, and whip up the population into a frenzied psychological meltdown in order to deal with a new strain of a respiratory virus. But tell that to the New York Times.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker