> > However, they don't fully explain why the country stood by and allowed > such change to occur. If individual liberty is as prized as the > articles state, it should be relatively more immune to vagaries of the > economy, yes? A more basic social norm. That doesn't seem to have been > the case. > > They didn't wake up to find a socialist government in place. They > voted them into power. >
That's because: a] The benefits of economic freedom are counterintuitive. The workings of the invisible hand, spontaneous order etc are all harder to comprehend by the average guy than a government planning things and allocating resources and taking care of everything. b] The incentives of anybody in politics are aligned towards increasing his own power and the resources available to him, which is why liberty is always under threat and "eternal vigilance", as Jefferson put it, is called for. -- Amit Varma http://www.indiauncut.com
