Posted on 06/18/2010 1:11:54 PM PDT by HorowitzianConservative
So a Newsweek writer admits she didn’t read past page 10 of Glenn Beck’s new novel The Overton Window, but that didn’t stop her from bloviating not just about that book, but also about another book with a Beck connection.
And boy, does she screw up. Isia Jasiewicz (who Robert Stacy McCain identifies as an “intern” and a “Princeton senior”) notes (correctly) that Friedrich von Hayek’s 1944 book The Road to Serfdom recently rocketed up the Amazon.com bestseller list after Glenn Beck recommended the economics classic on his Fox News television show.
Jasiewicz goes on to helpfully explain to Newsweek’s few remaining readers that:
The Road to Serfdom is a treatise on libertarianism, well-known only in academic circles or among political theory wonks stalwart enough to wade through the 60-page introduction and chapters on “Planning and the Rule of Law” and “The Prospects of International Order.”
(Excerpt) Read more at newsrealblog.com ...
The sad state of ignorance and incompetence in governance at ALL levels from town councils to the presidency is indisputable proof that "you get what you pay for."
Look around. Listen to your City Council (bring aspirin) or your school board (bring tranquilizers.)
Sooner or later minimum real qualifications will be demanded even if it is...
As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
mencken
Demanded by whom?
The problem is the electorate and the problem with the education of the electorate goes right to education and the media. The problem with education and the media goes partially to government itself. It becomes futile to even put blame on parents, because they have been *educated* and *informed* by the same government-controlled systems.
In my closest town of 4,000, those who, in the past, took responsibility to expose the corruption of the school system, for example, were pilloried, had their businesses impacted and their children affected socially. New residents, mostly left-wingers, used progressive smear tactics against County boards members who were full of common sense (mostly older farmers and self-made business people), in order to take *free* Federal or State grant money for bike paths, when what the county really needed was dam maintenance and repair.
It goes up the food chain from there. The blind leading the blind and anyone with vision or even just sight is eliminated ASAP.
Self-government and liberty are hard. Personally, I favor rigorous intellectual and psychological testing for any public office and you know that would be shot down in a nano as *discriminatory*. And that doesn’t even touch the corruption and self-aggrandizement issues.
Every time I sit around with concerned conservatives and we try and reason together to some way out of this, we end up understanding why populism works and why a plurality are just as happy to live under a dictator as not, as long as their basic needs are met. In fact, I think the only time dictators are overthrown is when they cannot meet those basic needs. Then, often as not, the ignorant and fearful just latch onto another authority figure and it continues on.
“The problem lies, not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
If every high school student read “The Road to Serfdom” and “The Gulag Archipelago” trilogy by Solzhenitsyn, we’d never have to worry about socialist presidents or politicians.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.