(OR: Ayn Rand Romanticized) Mark Sanford, the recently beleaguered Republican governor of South Carolina, presented his pitch for the current relevance of Ayn Rand in Newsweek, November 2, 2009. He wrote, “What strikes me as still relevant is [The Fountainhead’s] central insight—that it isn’t ‘collective action’ that makes this nation prosperous and secure; it’s the […]
The Romance of Ayn Rand Read More »
Professor J. Rufus Fears[1] in his lecture series, The Wisdom of History, alleges that Lesson/Law One of history is, “We do not learn from history.” This short phrase sums up the tragedy within many past and current events and the woeful reflections of this Déjà Vu blog. Why is it that so many “giants,” elites,
By Smaller Means: The demise of giants, elites, and superpowers Read More »
(And we are all guilty—some more than others—in some way or other) ▪ Unregulated laissez-faire markets*▪ Excessive government regulation of markets*▪ Tax structures that are both onerous and full of loop-holes▪ Massive concessions to big-business while pretending the market-place is free, fair, and level▪ Financial IVs for too-big-to-fail corps (too seldom spelled corpse)▪ Revolving doors
Crimes against the People Read More »
We seem to forget that Tyranny can come from both the right* and the left:* • from the right via anarchists, or perhaps even more dangerously, via non-governmental persons/organizations/corporations, whose wealth/power/influence is so great that they make and play by their own rules, including circumventing the rule of law and lawful consequence; and• from the
Are We There Yet (at the T-point)? Read More »
(In remembrance of the 250th anniversary of Pangloss’s birth) Pangloss was Voltaire’s fictional philosopher of optimism in his satirical work, Candide (written in 1759 AD). According to Pangloss, “… all that is is for the best. If there is a volcano at Lisbon it cannot be elsewhere. It is impossible that things should be other
?— Who has the greater moral hazard: the poor begging alms or the rich denying them??— If social security, health care, public education, and other government insurance programs that share the risks and costs of life are moral hazards, what of private insurance programs that externalize and share the risks and costs of ownership and/or
Moral Hazard — to the Right and to the Left Read More »
—▪ that unregulated competition destroys competition.—▪ that mergers and acquisitions are mere façades of growth.—▪ that too-big-to-fail SHOULD MEAN too-big-to-be!—▪ that short-term profit mentality does not produce long-term productivity.—▪ that “opposites attract the same lobbyists.” (So whether conservative, liberal, Republican, or Democrat, the concessions and catering to power-brokers descends the same beaten path.)—▪ that unregulated
How Long Till We Get It??! Read More »