eyeball Posted July 16, 2012 Report Posted July 16, 2012 I say it has to do with corporations because those with money will have power, while government ought to be a venue for everyone regardless of their capital to have some power in society. It's supposed to mediate between the interests of everyone, not look after a single sector's interests. By making government so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub, as Norquist said, it cannot effectively look after interests and the most vulnerable in society will be exploited as they were a century ago. Having a really small government in theory should make it easier to string up the people doing all the over-exploiting but it goes without saying we can expect the scope of the government's power to be focused on protecting the exploiters. The amount of power the government retains for this purpose will be anything but reduced. Quote I said now watch what you say they'll be calling you a radical, a liberal, oh fanatical criminal
Canuckistani Posted July 16, 2012 Report Posted July 16, 2012 Having a really small government in theory should make it easier to string up the people doing all the over-exploiting How so? Quote
eyeball Posted July 16, 2012 Report Posted July 16, 2012 How so? The over-exploiters would be on their own. Quote I said now watch what you say they'll be calling you a radical, a liberal, oh fanatical criminal
Canuckistani Posted July 16, 2012 Report Posted July 16, 2012 (edited) The over-exploiters would be on their own. How so - vigilante justice? I would guess most Joe the Plumbers would still meekly slave away for the job creators. And the job creators would hire private armies to protect themselves. What's the reduced govt going to do, send em a nasty letter? Edited July 16, 2012 by Canuckistani Quote
bleeding heart Posted July 16, 2012 Report Posted July 16, 2012 Having a really small government in theory should make it easier to string up the people doing all the over-exploiting but it goes without saying we can expect the scope of the government's power to be focused on protecting the exploiters. The amount of power the government retains for this purpose will be anything but reduced. Exactly. Interestingly, the proponents of "small government" are more often than not the precise proponents of government spying on civilians, increased powers to prosecuters and police, attacks on whistleblowers (notably the rabid hatred of wikileaks...even as they use the information wiki provided )--and, in a hell of a lot of cases, a support for the death penalty. You don't get a bigger government than one that utilizes the death penalty. It's statist in the extreme. No, by "small government" they mean low taxes and gutting social services. And that's about it. A beautifully selective perspective. Quote “There is a limit to how much we can constantly say no to the political masters in Washington. All we had was Afghanistan to wave. On every other file we were offside. Eventually we came onside on Haiti, so we got another arrow in our quiver." --Bill Graham, Former Canadian Foreign Minister, 2007
bleeding heart Posted July 16, 2012 Report Posted July 16, 2012 How so - vigilante justice? I would guess most Joe the Plumbers would still meekly slave away for the job creators. And the job creators would hire private armies to protect themselves. What's the reduced govt going to do, send em a nasty letter? I agree. It's the chief problem with the libertarian-capitalist premise: power will rise to fill a power vacuum. Quote “There is a limit to how much we can constantly say no to the political masters in Washington. All we had was Afghanistan to wave. On every other file we were offside. Eventually we came onside on Haiti, so we got another arrow in our quiver." --Bill Graham, Former Canadian Foreign Minister, 2007
eyeball Posted July 16, 2012 Report Posted July 16, 2012 How so - vigilante justice? I would guess most Joe the Plumbers would still meekly slave away for the job creators. And the job creators would hire private armies to protect themselves. What's the reduced govt going to do, send em a nasty letter? No, it'll get a job working for them. Quote I said now watch what you say they'll be calling you a radical, a liberal, oh fanatical criminal
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