Anarchism

Scale Down To Rather Than Up From Denmark

This entry was posted in Anarchism Economics Federal Government Federalism on by

Matthew Yglesias wonders about scaling up Denmark’s welfare state model to larger countries:

The thing to say in response to this is that the Scandinavian countries are really little and it might not work as well in a big country, but I don’t understand what the causal mechanism for non-scalability is supposed to be. I’ll happily grant that it’s politically easier to put a Scandinavian-style system together in a small, homogeneous country, but that’s different from saying it wouldn’t work on the merits.

Tyler Cowan responds by noting a number of factors that might facilitate implementing Denmark scale programs that may not apply in larger countries, e.g.,

Perhaps the ability to dispense with federalism helps government efficiency in small countries. I favor federalism for larger units, such as the United States, but I think of it as a necessary evil. Singapore and New Zealand don’t have much federalism, nor should they.

This factor points us in the right direction.
Leaving aside the question of whether we really want the Denmark like social welfare programs implemented in the US, the very first step toward making this a possibility is to dispense with federalism in the US. No, not by centralizing all government function into the federal governement. Rather, by completely eliminating the federal goverment.

Yep, break the US up: into the current states, into 54 Denmarks by population, or into 223 Denmarks by land mass. Pick your method but break up the country. Not only will you get many opportunities to recreate Denmark’s social structure but you will also eliminate the many ills that result from the massive centralization of power and wealth in the current federal government.

The Whole Thing is A Disaster

This entry was posted in Anarchism Drug Laws Libertarianism on by

Scott Thill aptly describes* the current state of the war on drugs:

The war on drugs is a fucking disaster, except for the law enforcement and prison industries, who make a pretty penny off its wrongheaded persecution of small-timers when white-collar cocks grift billions in wars we don’t need using the bodies of those they would save from the horrors of marijuana.

Unfortunately he forgets his own lesson:

Uh, first of all, we’re talking about differentiating weed from heroin and coke, so kudos to Riley for linking the two back together again in attempt to keep the guilt-by-proximity criminalization streak alive.

Sorry Scott, but what you said: the war on drugs is a fucking disaster. Sure, you might get pot legalized someday. You will, though, still be left with a war on drugs that is a fucking disaster perpetrated by a bunch of immoral thugs.

Isn’t it about time to remove the perps from power?

*Also cross-posted here.

Quote of the Day

This entry was posted in Anarchism Economics Regulation on by

Yeah, we’re much better here. The government only rapes rather than kills you.
Warren Meyer, Coyote Blog, 12/10/2006

Read the rest to find out how milk producers are making millions off the back of American consumers.

Also see Battlepanda.

Update 12/11: From Kip at A Stitch in Haste:

“Crushing a competitor” by outcompeting him is one thing. Crushing him by outpoliticking him is something entirely different and entirely despicable.
So the next time you hear a baby crying for milk — or a liberal crying about milk prices, or prices in general, or income and poverty in America — rest assured that Congress is “doing something” about it.
Just don’t think too much about what that “something” actually is.

Quote of the Day or Why You Aren’t President

This entry was posted in Anarchism Government Journalism Quotes on by

The first reason you are not president is that you probably are not…, well, read on:

To me, the desire to be President of the United States in itself means you’re a psychopath who should never be President of the United States. Unfortunately, of course, this desire is a job requirement.

A Funny Little Story About The Media, Jonathan Schwartz, 8/22/05

He goes on to note:

But the point is the powerhouse media and their politician lovemates truly do feel there are things normal, grubby Americans simply can’t handle. Moreover, it has nothing to do with political parties. Everything I’ve seen in my life confirms that, with few exceptions, they feel this way across the (extremely narrow) political spectrum.
If you’re not part of their little charmed circle, believe me, all your worst suspicions about them are true. They do think you’re stupid. They do lie to you. They do hate and fear you. Most importantly, they think you can’t be trusted with the things they know—because if you did know them, you’d go nuts and break America.

I don’t know as going nuts is the right phrase but it seems it might be wise to calmly and with determination reclaim our lives and our potential from the political parties and their bureaucratic lapdogs at every level of government

Via Making Light via Pharyngula.

Why Maine bureaucrats Don’t Want Santa’s Butt To Be Sold

This entry was posted in Anarchism Economics Regulation on by

Main bureaucrats will not allow this beer to be sold:

santas_butt.jpg
But not because it exceeds alcohol content limits or some other more appropriate reason.* Nope, aschcroft and gonzalez would be proud of them:

But the state says it’s within its rights. The label with Santa might appeal to children, said Maine State Police Lt. Patrick Fleming.

Gosh, do they really allow children to buy alcoholic beverages in Maine?
Via Pharyngula.
*Regular readers know that the Modulator staff believe that the only legitimate reason to prohibit sale of a product might be that the product contained contaminants like mercury, e coli, etc. Otherwise the state has no business interfering in economic transactions between consenting adults.