Cass Sunstein: The Poster Boy for ‘Inside Every Liberal is a Totalitarian Screaming to Get Out’

FrontPageMag.com ^ | Arpil 15, 2013 | Daniel Greenfield

[Perseverando]

In The Republic, Plato argued that philosophers must be made kings for the ideal city-state to be born. In the pages of The New Republic, Cass Sunstein argues for the benevolent paternalism of the nanny state and its philosopher-kings. It’s an old Sunstein theme and the one that brought him to the attention of politicians who dearly love to imagine themselves in the roles of those philosopher-kings. One of those politicians, Barack Obama, even made Sunstein his Regulatory Czar.

Sunstein debuted as the philosopher-king of the technocrats with his book Nudge. Now having left his D.C. Czardom, Sunstein is back with yet another book. Simpler: The Future of Government is an even more naked Nudge. The premise once again is that government should manipulate people into doing what is best for them.

Simpler is even more shameless than Nudge because it ignores every lesson of progressive overreach in the last hundred years and blatantly celebrates the power of government to control everyone’s lives. Nudge urged technocratic manipulation while Simpler has Cass Sunstein patting himself on the back for his government tenure as a philosopher-czar.

Cass Sunstein once again lavishes us with tales of how a change here or there can force or nudge people into making the right decision. And in his New Republic article, “Why Paternalism is Your Friend”, he does his cheerful best to suggest that everyone should learn to love the power of the nanny state. The theme that Sunstein continually returns to is that all people make mistakes so why shouldn’t the people on top help them make better decisions.

It’s a persuasive argument if you happen to be an elitist, but unlike Plato, Cass Sunstein fails to make the case for his brand of philosopher-kings or philosopher-czars. What makes a Cass Sunstein qualified

[cripplecreek]

Probably one of the single most dangerous Obama associates there is because people don’t know how he works.

[faithhopecharity]

look around, they’ve let their Inner Fascist out already.....,

[americas.best.days...]

This guy is especially dangerous because he really knows
how to sugar-coat it. I have a hunch this is one of the next
supreme court justices. Heavy sigh.

[cripplecreek]

He’s dangerous because he’s a propaganda master and is right in his belief that egos prevent people from recognizing when they’re being manipulated.

Reading what he wrote about how to inspire and use conspiracy theories has certainly made me far more wary of them.

[Billthedrill]

Plato also had a place for slaves in his Republic, one reason that work is a topic in Karl Popper's The Open Society And Its Enemies. I've yet to encounter a utopian who didn't imagine himself in his fantasy world's ruling class. Sorry, Cass, but even in Utopia somebody has to sweep the streets and if you're not willing to be a member of the lowest class in your Brave New World, it isn't a utopia.

While Sunstein ponders free will, it never occurs to him that perhaps the dream team of Sunstein and Obama is not as smart as it thinks it is and the paternalists are not an elite, they are arrogant buffoons whose power is second only to their incompetence.

True enough, but it would only be worse if they were competent. A paternalist with a thoroughly silly idea in his head and the power to pursue it is a walking disaster. Hitler was trying to create a wonderful new society, and his had slaves and a ruling class too. And labor camps. I'll pass, thanks.

[mjp]

The libtards who favor paternalism lose sight of the fact that the fundamental basis of achieving the individual's good is his guidance by his own judgment. They show absolutely no respect for the character of the consumers as rational beings, who must be persuaded by facts and logic, and not be compelled as though they were brutes, in the name of something allegedly more valuable than their free judgment and their dignity as rational beings.

Each human being, as the possessor of reason, is valuable and competent and should be free to run his own life and pursue his own happiness. The use of any specific case as the pretext for overturning this principle opens the floodgates to unlimited destruction though the use of physical force to overrule people’s judgment, and thus, to prevent them from achieving their well-being or to compel them to act against their own well-being.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I have a new tagline.

[Kenny Bunk]

He was brilliant the other day on the radio. Seems he only wants what's best for us.

Ya gotta hand it to the Left. First they dumb the country down to the point that a walk through Wal-Mart is torture.

WTF? Waddayaknow? All of a sudden Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public are really fat, tattooed "consumers" in dirty, ill-fitting, immodest costumes who apparently really do need "guidance!"

The Socialists are not exactly leaving us much to work with to re-achieve something like constitutional government! Which, come to think of it is all part of the Sunstein Plan to create a voter base that will sustain his people in power, perhaps forever?

[andy58-in-nh]

The idea that the mandatory judgments of a handful of "experts" can substitute for those made voluntarily by billions of independent citizens is one that has persisted for over one hundred years.

The rise of Progressive social planning doctrine was predicated on the supposed "failure" of free market capitalism and a perceived need for government direction and control of people's economic decisions. The main fallacy underpinning such efforts is the Utopian Presumption: people are imperfect, but human action can nonetheless be perfected; such perfection is desirable as a primary social value; and government is the only agency by which perfection may be achieved, most directly through regulatory and behavioral control.

Aside from the obvious constraints on liberty that such a belief system (Progressivism) imposes upon individuals, a key unintended consequence of modern statism is not only a loss of the freedom to succeed, but of the freedom to fail.

Failure is a vital mechanism by which problems may be identified, mechanisms and constraints comprehended, and lessons learned. By substituting the narrow decisions and determinations of elite central planners for those of millions of people acting billions of times a day, the normal mechanisms of human comprehension, learning advancement and market discovery are utterly subsumed to sets of a priori assumptions and dictates, resulting in wildly misallocated resources, prices divorced from supply and demand, incentives delinked from effort, and often, much worse.

When individuals are allowed to fail freely, given the protection of their rights and property and equal opportunity, they tend to learn and move on. But when government bureaucrats fail, they frequently tend to blame those under their control and regulation, and seek to punish them. Cass Sunstein must be so very unhappy with us.

[Kenny Bunk]

I see you are in NH and I'll rashly assume the "58" is your HS Class..

Well Andy, is a high school graduate from Manchester in 1958 the same as a high school graduate from Manchester in 2013?

Same factual information? Same knowledge of American History? Same Arithmetic skills? Same attitude toward law and order? Same religious practices? Same family structure? Are their teachers the same knowledgeable people who guided you toward citizenship?

Carefully avoiding saying who's better or worse, I can answer for Maine. "No." The people are just not the same. The country is spinning toward dysfunctionality. 5 years with no federal budget? Just WTF!
OTOH, how many of your '58 class were tattooed? Pierced? Had had an abortion?

I work with an excellent group of young people (18-30) at a community college ... they certainly have potential. But let's face facts: on a factual knowledge basis, on a skills basis, and in their manners, they are more like 6th and 7th graders would have been in the 50s. They are extremely well schooled in "Self-Esteem," Political correctness, Global Warming, and have never failed a course! Imagine sexually active 6th graders? With cars? With drugs? With illegitimate children? And somehow with disposable income? (95% Obama supporters, BTW)

The Liberal élite certainly does not think the "working and middle classes" whence these kids spring, are to be trusted with important decisions. Some days, I ain't so sure myself! The Progressive's needn't worry as we should. They have these young people ... lock, stock, and barrel. (Sorry, but that metaphor'll cost you in English Comp nowadays, although spelling doesn't count.)

The idea that the mandatory judgments of a handful of "experts" can substitute for those made voluntarily by billions of independent citizens is one that has persisted for over one hundred years.

Our problem is that now a majority has just shown us that they are willing to accept mandatory judgements by your handful of experts. Totally cut off from what used to be our national customs, history,and morals, a majority elected and re-elected the present administration.

Now, how do we "win" in '14?

[andy58-in-nh]

I am in New Hampshire, but the "58" refers to the year of my birth, not my graduating class (i.e. - I'm an older bastard but not that old, yet).

So, I graduated in 1976, but your analysis still largely applies. There is a great divide in this nation between the Ruling Class elites (many of whom were still in college and graduate schools in the '70s) and the Country Class taxpayers. The elites also benefit from a Client Class of poor and lower middle-class government dependents, largely cut off from what used to be the American Dream by the efforts of their own supposed benefactors.

After all: who was it who set about to take over the schools, the bureaucracies, the foundations, the cultural institutions, the media/entertainment complex? Who spread the Progressive gospel - anti-capitalist, anti-family, secular humanist and globalist claptrap?

And now, they are on to poisoning the minds of another young generation, in preparation for their final assault on what remains of American exceptionalism.

What do we do about it? Well, it would be a lot easier if conservatives still had a functional major political party to depend on, but along the way, many Republican leaders, co-located in Washington, DC and New York, and found that they had much more in common socially and culturally with their left-wing Democrat cohorts than with their own party's base.

I don't know precisely what we need to do in 2014, but I am thinking about it daily. The Tea Party can be a huge factor, but local organization will be absolutely essential to building a true nationwide movement - and that is what will be required. Either the GOP will come with us or split off into a RINO rump. I have no idea which will happen at this time, but the status quo is surely unacceptable because nature abhors a vacuum, and a vacuum is what presently passes for Republican leadership. A really dumb vacuum, at that.

[Kenny Bunk]

Either the GOP will come with us or split off into a RINO rump. I have no idea which will happen at this time, but the status quo is surely unacceptable because nature abhors a vacuum, and a vacuum is what presently passes for Republican leadership. A really dumb vacuum, at that.

Worried sick over this. The Team Obama campaign is one of massive distraction and is working like a champ. If we go to a Three-Party Lineup, Rino-TP-Democrats, we shall become a People's Republic of Northern Aztlán within a decade. We have MONTHS to develop a Program, a Plan to implement it, and to find, please Jesus, some kind of credible leader (and frickin' spare me Rubio and Cruz who should remain, if they have a shred of decency, strong Republican SENATE leaders)

[dearolddad]

Question for Mr. Sunstein: When were you appointed God, and by whom?

[andy58-in-nh]

Aside from the cultural devastation wrought by the Progressive Hoard, the biggest threat we face is a consequence of the complete Progressive takeover of the Democrat Party. I see it as the institution of a wacky, inverse Carl von Clausewitz theorem: politics as the continuation of (virtual) war, by other means.

In other words: the Permanent Campaign, wherein political organization and the Executive Branch have become one. Organizing for Obama became Obama for America became Organizing for Action, courtesy of tax laws written by people who stand to benefit from ever-expanding government.

They have massive, coordinated field organizations funded by billion-dollar left-wing foundations, staffed by public sector labor union members and run by left-wing think tank graduates. They interact with the media organizations they dominate along with Progressive blogs to seamlessly disseminate the White House's messages not merely on a broadcast level, but right down to individual voters and donors. They are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Or....well...

And the feckless Republican "leaders" in Washington look at all this, wring their hands, throw up their arms, and do absolutely ****ing nothing. Why? Two reasons, I think. One: they really, really like their jobs and will be allowed to keep them (for now), if they just agree not to be too "controversial". Two: they really, really hate their own base voters and want them to go away.

I like Ted Cruz a great deal, specifically for his guts and honesty (so un-21st century GOP!). I like Marco Rubio for his character, his communication skills (again, so unlike most Republicans). I am nervous about his support for immigration "reform" that doesn't really address border security to my satisfaction. I like Rand Paul for his intellectual curiosity and willingness to risk political suicide in support of principle. But I don't think he's quite ready to lead, either. Senators don't tend to make great national leaders, overall. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin... might be that guy. I'd like to hear more from him.

[andy58-in-nh]

Question for Mr. Sunstein: When were you appointed God, and by whom?

He went to Harvard. Trust me (as an Ivy League graduate myself): they do in fact believe it constitutes sufficient authority.

[Kenny Bunk]

Cruz and Rubio (a RINO all the way ... but not the worst of the breed) are both trremendous guys, and could be good leaders in the Senate. Now about their WH aspirations: since neither of them is natural born Citizen, according to me, they ought to bugger off. Since the SCOTUS will not shift its nates to take a case defining that NBC thing, my opinion is presently as good as anyone's.

IOW, at the very least suffice it to say that a penumbra of doubt surrounds the issue. It's a question. Sneaking in a gay African is not a "precedent." The Rinos, BTW, are playing desperation ball here. They figure if they back the conversion of the US into the Northernmost Latin American country, they will pull maybe 30% of the Hispanic vote. Then, they figure if they pull 10% of the Negroes they might squeak in on the national ticket. Well, it ain't called the "Stupid Party" for nothing. Neither of those things are happening. The most they can reasonably hope for is that the bastards only vote against them 2 or 3 times each. That's if they exist. Virtual voters can just keep on voting, as can the dead.

Some 4 million or so of the people who voted for the tragicomic McLame failed to make it to the polls for The Mormon Milquetoast. The non-voters are (a) lazy (b) lo-info (which occurs with alarming frequency among Republicans, too, ya know) or (c) jess' plain dumb. Unless they move their particular backsides and vote, along with the massive number of UNREGISTERED normal people, '14 could be just another wash-out.

[okie01]

Each human being, as the possessor of reason, is valuable and competent and should be free to run his own life and pursue his own happiness.

But, to the liberal elite, all those who are not one of them are dismissed as members of the lumpen prolotariat -- neither valuable, nor competent, nor capable of being free.

Suitable only to serve the liberal elite.