The Ongoing Atlas Shrugging of America

It is getting more difficult to ignore how the USA is resembling the fictional world of "Atlas Shrugged." Another at least semi-Libertarian thinker, the ecomomist James Buchanan, has begun a stealth oligarch-ization of government and the economy, all financed by Koch and other one- percenters. Read about it in this essay:

www.ineteconomics.org...

a reply to: Lazarus Short

Ooh, look. More leftist propaganda!

a reply to: watchitburn

But isn't that from a libertarian website?

America is being turned into an fascist oligarchy and half the population are treasonously supporting it.

a reply to: CB328

Rhetoric like that is what will crush the "blue wave" and get Trump reelected in 2020.

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Lazarus Short

Ooh, look. More leftist propaganda!

Yeah whatever! Did you even take the time to read the link?




Seriously though... I'm sorta curious on what this thread is about, but got to get to bed soon, so don't have the time to read that long article.

Can you give us a quick rundown on the point the article at the link is attempting to make? Or were you just randomly popping off politically provoking one liners?

Anyone in favor of oligarchy is not a libertarian, period.

The left are scare of libertarians because they pose a valid threat to their intent to impose their views by force, degradation, and violence. The right dont like them, because they dont fall in line with party lines, think freely, and refuse to tow rhetoric as well.

This is propaganda.

Lots and lots of problems and inaccuracies with this "article." For instance, it cites the Flint MI water crisis as being part of a Koch Bros' initiative to speed along the consolidation of powers. Koch... the uber GOP name was behind the crisis in Flint? Hmm, so that must have meant that the Democrat Mayor and Democrat city council worked with the Kochs to break the exiting contract with their water supplier (who was supplying clean drinking water), then after the city went into revceivership status thanks to the insane debts they had to cover all of their social welfare and honeyed union retirement and benefit packages, the Democrat who was the city's emergency manager worked with the Kochs to transfer the city's water supply to come from the heavily polluted Flint River. All of this taking place according to the ultra-conservative Koch Bros' orders and intentions.


The rest of it is so laced with poison against the concepts of property ownership and rights, corporate ownership and reward for risks, capitalism, and self responsibility that it may as well have been written by Karl Marx.

The article is crap.

a reply to: Lazarus Short

This is just a wild conspiracy theory, chalked full of insinuations of white supremacy and world domination. James M. Buchanan was a brilliant economist, not a shrewd oligarch.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

Burdman summed it up pretty well.

Sometimes I find it's just too tedious to continue pointing out nonsense.

Burdman is obviously much more patient than I am.

originally posted by: CB328
America is being turned into an fascist oligarchy and half the population are treasonously supporting it.

LOL.

No seriously, where is your proof.

a reply to: Lazarus Short

I liked the article. These trends have been increasing since the 70's but I didn't realize that there was an academic school teaching these ideas.

Libertarian is an attractive approach to living your personal life and even applicable to some aspects of government. When applied to business, it becomes a different story. Especially at the corporation level given the sole reason for the existence of these organizations is to make money. It logically and necessarily leads to oligarchy.

I see this essay as a warning. The trends might not be obvious to a 25 year old but the difference between life in America in the 70's and today is huge. The evidence is everywhere.

a reply to: Lazarus Short

Trump has lowered taxes.


And that's pretty much it.


And everyone left of center has lost their ever-loving mind over it.

Jeezus! Y'all have gone full retard! You NEVER go full retard!

a reply to: Lazarus Short

It is the Left which wants big government, corporates to reign, communist unions.
And Trump is dismantling that, and increasing individuals power on his life.
So hard to see the point here.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

Thank you for the summation of the article, really wasn't feeling up to it this morning.


People keep saying we went fascist, if they said strong nationalist bent I would agree... that doesn't mean we are fascist.

originally posted by: CB328
America is being turned into an fascist oligarchy and half the population are treasonously supporting it.

Those words you just used...
Me thinks you don't understand the true definition.

Almost 2 years in and you can't point to one instance of fascism or treason...

But by all means continue to parrot lies. Just helping to solidify more democrat losses in the future. Meanwhile continuing to have no clue how your party got here.

a reply to: Lazarus Short


I wish you would have warned us the essay is by a Soros founded "think tank".

en.wikipedia.org...

That took too much time and effort for such clap trap. If I have this right, and please correct me if I don't, the author of the essay just walked in to George Mason and read all his works.

The archive of the man who had sought to stay under the radar had been left totally unsorted and unguarded.

OK, maybe I don't understand the open collegial environment where aspiring analysts can just peruse anything around campus files.

Might we expect the economists papers the author used as a source for her accusations to be available for verification? Any links to the underlying writings? Maybe a footnote or two so we might look them up if we wish to verify her interpretations?

As one other ATS member has pointed out, facts contradict many assertions made in the article.

In my opinion (and yes I read the d..n thing unfortunately) its a load of socialist swill disguised hidden in tortured logic by an impressionable author in love with the thesaurus.