Plain, WHICH 3rd party?
On Oct 13, 2:07 pm, plainolamerican <[email protected]> wrote: > very good! > > help save the USA - vote 3rd party! > > On Oct 13, 2:00 pm, "M. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Partisan PoliticsA Fool’s Game for the MassesRobert Higgs > > Because I despise politics in general, and the two major parties in this > > country in particular, I go through life constantly bemused by all the > > weight that people put on partisan political loyalties and on adherence to > > the normative demarcations the parties promote. Henry Adams observed that > > “politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the > > systematic organization of hatreds.” This marshalling of hatreds is not the > > whole of politics, to be sure, but it is an essential element. Thus, > > Democrats encourage people to hate big corporations, and Republicans > > encourage people to hate welfare recipients. > > Of course, it’s all a fraud, designed to distract people from the > > overriding reality of political life, which is that the state and its > > principal supporters are constantly screwing the rest of us, regardless of > > which party happens to control the presidency and the Congress. Amid all > > the partisan sound and fury, hardly anybody notices that political reality > > boils down to two “parties”: (1) those who, in one way or another, use > > state power to bully and live at the expense of others; and (2) those > > unfortunate others. > > Even when politics seems to involve life-and-death issues, the partisan > > divisions often only obscure the overriding political realities. So, > > Democrats say that anti-abortion Republicans, who claim to have such > > tremendous concern for saving the lives of the unborn, have no interest > > whatever in saving the lives of those already born, such as the poor > > children living in the ghetto. And Republicans say that Democrats, who > > claim to have such tremendous concern for the poor, systematically > > contribute to the perpetuation of poverty by the countless taxes and > > regulations they load onto business owners who would otherwise be in better > > position to hire and train the poor and thereby to hasten their escape from > > poverty. > > If the unborn children happen to be living in the wombs of women on whom > > U.S. bombs and rockets rain down in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, > > however, all Republican concerns for the unborn evaporate completely, as do > > the Democrats’ concerns for the poor children living in the selfsame > > bombarded villages. Both parties’ positions would seem to rest on very > > flexible and selective morality, if indeed either party may be said to have > > any moral basis at all, notwithstanding their chronic public displays of > > “moral” wailing and gnashing of teeth. > > In any event, the parties’ principles of hatred have never passed the sniff > > test; indeed, they reek of hypocrisy. Thus, while railing against the > > “corporate rich,” the Democrats rely heavily on the financial support of > > Hollywood moguls and multi-millionaire trial lawyers, among other fat cats. > > And the Republicans, while denouncing the welfare mother who makes off with > > a few hundred undeserved bucks a month, vociferously support the hundreds > > of billions of dollars in welfare channeled to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and > > General Electric, among many other companies, via larcenous “defense” > > contracts, Export-Import Bank subsidies, and countless other forms of > > government support for “national security” and service to “the public > > interest” as Republicans conceive of these nebulous, yet rhetorically > > useful entities. > > Notice, too, that although ordinary Democrats and Republicans often harbor > > intense mutual hatreds, the party leaders in Congress rub shoulders quite > > amiably as a rule. Regardless of which party has control, the loyal > > opposition can always be counted on to remain ever so loyal and ready to > > cut a deal. And why not? These ostensible political opponents are engaged > > in a process of plunder from which the bigwigs in both parties can expect > > to profit, whatever the ebb and flow of party politics. At bottom, the > > United States has a one-party state, cleverly designed to disguise the > > country’s true class division and to divert the masses from a recognition > > that unless you are a political insider connected with one of the major > > parties, you almost certainlywillbe ripped off on balance. Such > > exploitation, after all, is precisely what the state and the political > > parties that operate it are for. > > Yet, rather than hating the predatory state, the masses have been > > conditioned to love this blood-soaked beast and even, if called upon, to > > lay down their lives and the lives of their children on its behalf. From my > > vantage point on the outside, peering in, I am perpetually mystified that > > so many people are taken in by the phony claims and obscurantist party > > rhetoric. As the song says, “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the > > right,” but unlike the fellow in the song, I am not “stuck in the middle.” > > Instead, I float above all of this wasted emotion, looking down on it with > > disgust and sadness. Moreover, as an economist, I am compelled to regret > > such an enormously inefficient allocation of > > hatred.http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/118268.html- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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