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Even "The Economist" magazine, a libertarian rag, hits on our Republicans.
Our prejudice is firmly in favour of a leaner state, but the Republicans need to recognise, as their intellectual forebears did from Adam Smith to Abraham Lincoln, that government has an important role to play in a capitalist economy, providing public goods and a safety net. Teddy Roosevelt broke up over-mighty companies, rather than doling out tax breaks to them. Why on earth are people who champion a small state supporting an expensive war on drugs that has filled the prisons to bursting point without reducing the supply of narcotics?
Perhaps the problem, other than unmitigated greed, is that their new inellectual light is Ayn Rand, which is a bit of a falling off from Smith and Lincoln. Of course, she probably would agree that this War on Drugs is misguided, but the Republicans still need to secure votes and must hit on popular hot-button issues, and, well, putting as many blacks and latinos away in prison can never be an entirely bad policy, as far as they are concerned, and is worth every penny.
(Source: Sully's Dish)
Our prejudice is firmly in favour of a leaner state, but the Republicans need to recognise, as their intellectual forebears did from Adam Smith to Abraham Lincoln, that government has an important role to play in a capitalist economy, providing public goods and a safety net. Teddy Roosevelt broke up over-mighty companies, rather than doling out tax breaks to them. Why on earth are people who champion a small state supporting an expensive war on drugs that has filled the prisons to bursting point without reducing the supply of narcotics?
Perhaps the problem, other than unmitigated greed, is that their new inellectual light is Ayn Rand, which is a bit of a falling off from Smith and Lincoln. Of course, she probably would agree that this War on Drugs is misguided, but the Republicans still need to secure votes and must hit on popular hot-button issues, and, well, putting as many blacks and latinos away in prison can never be an entirely bad policy, as far as they are concerned, and is worth every penny.
(Source: Sully's Dish)
