The Reality of Red-State Fascism . . . by Lew Rockwell . . .

[OneBlueSky]

a favorite libertarian thinks all is not well in freeper land . . . interesting historical review of how we got here . . .

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/red-state-fascism.html

Year's end is the time for big thoughts, so here are mine. The most significant socio-political shift in our time has gone almost completely unremarked, and even unnoticed. It is the dramatic shift of the red-state bourgeoisie from leave-us-alone libertarianism, manifested in the Congressional elections of 1994, to almost totalitarian statist nationalism. Whereas the conservative middle class once cheered the circumscribing of the federal government, it now celebrates power and adores the central state, particularly its military wing.

This huge shift has not been noticed among mainstream punditry, and hence there have been few attempts to explain it – much less have libertarians thought much about what it implies. My own take is this: the Republican takeover of the presidency combined with an unrelenting state of war, has supplied all the levers necessary to convert a burgeoning libertarian movement into a statist one.

The remaining ideological justification was left to, and accomplished by, Washington's kept think tanks, who have approved the turn at every crucial step. What this implies for libertarians is a crying need to draw a clear separation between what we believe and what conservatives believe. It also requires that we face the reality of the current threat forthrightly by extending more rhetorical tolerance leftward and less rightward.

- more . . .

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/red-state-fascism.html

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. ....................

[LibertyorDeath]

2. If I cold call 100 Americans how many would

even no what this means "totalitarian statist nationalism"

let alone it's ramifications for the Nation as a whole?

It's just to fucking depressing sometimes.

[Artemis Bunyon]

3. If Lew is saying libertarians s/ extend rhetorical tolerance leftward...

...then full-blown fascism must surely be here already. Either that, or pigs are flying over a skating rink in hell.

[htuttle]

4. Looks like Lew and I are finding common ground

What is the most pressing and urgent threat to freedom that we face in our time? It is not from the left. If anything, the left has been solid on civil liberties and has been crucial in drawing attention to the lies and abuses of the Bush administration. No, today, the clear and present danger to freedom comes from the right side of the ideological spectrum, those people who are pleased to preserve most of free enterprise but favor top-down management of society, culture, family, and school, and seek to use a messianic and belligerent nationalism to impose their vision of politics on the world.

I look forward to the day that we can get back to arguing with each other over the appropriate level of government intervention in the economy. But for now, we appear to be on the same side of the barricades.

[housewolf]

5. kick