It doesn’t appear people commenting actually read the column. It’s really about how French statist policies have been adopted in the US over the last 100 years and how they’re coming to a head now in the US. Also, the parallel between Marie-Antoinette and Mitt Romney (both wealthy and unfairly demonized) is key.
The article does become more interesting as it comtinues and turns topical.
“French revolutionaries declaring “liberty, equality and fraternity” ushered in an anti-democratic period of unlimited governmental power, civil strife and economic despair.”
‘Anti-democratic’? Nothing’s more democratic than a mob- a mob is the epitome of democracy. And unfettered democracy always, always produces dictatorship to provide a countering order in society so it can function and individuals have ‘rights’. Rights are exceptions to the ‘leveling spirit’ of democracy.
The belief that democracy is good in itself is a fallacy, it is ‘good’ as part of a mixed system.
(Yes I’m very irritated when the terrible aspects of democracy are denied as in the quote. Democracy is a mob where the strong in numbers take from the few.)
The French needed to tear down their feudal society and they never did- though they certainly tried!
We did not have to tear down what we had, we had only to grow on new ways to what we had, which was pretty good.
The statist policies we’ve adopted in the past generation are indeed the consequence of the increased democratization of our government. Naturally.
‘parallel between Marie-Antoinette and Mitt Romney ‘
didn’t catch that. Nice subliminal touch.