"I Won."
All of the things progressives have achieved, every battle won for women’s suffrage, fair trade, civil rights for all, social justice and welfare, environmental protectionism, dignity in the workplace… were won over bitter opposition from people who didn’t think we needed the government to interfere. Who said we’d already done too much.
Let’s put aside things like “fair trade,” “social justice,” and “dignity in the workplace”—these are all phrases that generally mean the opposite of their reality. Abolition and suffrage were largely libertarian movements. Some of the fiercest advocates for environmental protection are libertarians. And the man standing in the school doorway, blocking entry to black kids—he was no libertarian.
Do you think the an allergy free market is what leads us to push for universal health care? No. IT’S THE EMBARRASSING STATE OF HEALTH CARE IN THIS COUNTRY, especially compared to the rest of the world’s industrialized economies. Free Market Worship is merely the argument that libertarian-minded conservatives use to thwart it, and corporatist Republicans co-opt to defeat it.*
As a libertarian, let me say this: bad things happen in a free market. People die; people get sick; people cheat each other; people steal; people lie; people ache. The free market isn’t a cure for every ill. It’s just that your proposals will make things worse.
Here’s a sentence that will sound hyperbolic, but we libertarians believe it: Your progressive health care proposal will kill a lot of people. That is, more people will die if you get your plans passed. I’m not telling you this to insult your proposals; I’m telling you this so you understand why we are so alarmed by them. It’s not because we love business and money; it’s not even because we love freedom (which we do). It’s because we honestly believe your plans are very, very bad. We don’t oppose the government healthcare because we’re cold and heartless; we oppose it because we care about people.
If you want Progressives to stop talking shit about your beautiful free market, stop putting it forward as the solution to every problem (or at least as the solution to problems Free Market Worship exacerbated if not created). Otherwise don’t be surprised when we take a swing at your pitch, okay?
First, I was responding to Robot-Heart. Did Robot-Heart take a swing at the pitch, or did she just mock it?
Second, I don’t think the free market can solve every problem. But then again, I don’t think anything can solve every problem.
How we run our civilization is not a zero sum game, so stop acting as if we won.
Our President responds:
” I won.”
Your side believes it’s a zero sum game. Don’t lay that on me.
