In The Unmourned End of Libertarian Politics leftist writer Michael Lind does a sort of victory dance over what he takes to be the final, utter, Waterloo-like defeat of the libertarian vision of a smaller and less intrusive government.
The piece is worth reading and thinking about. Having done that, I reject his position.
In sum, he contends that because, over the last six years, Republicans have not been able to make any headway against the public school monopoly or the Social Security System, and have caved in on increasing the minimum wage and expanding Medicare, that’s checkmate.
I don’t buy historical determinism, sorry. All of those policies (and many, many more!) are fundamentally BAD policies. They ARE wasteful, inefficient, and violative of individual rights. Lind is right that most people don’t grasp that now, but why should we suppose that they never will?
BTW, Mr. Lind, we might just succeed in protecting a sliver of whatever liberty you may happen to cherish from future government encroachment.
You’re welcome.
