The Kickoff

Robert Heinlein wrote, "Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort."

I happen to be one of the latter group. I value individual freedom quite highly, and I resent those who deign to assume that they know how to live my life better than I do. Most of my friends would agree that, when it comes to politics, I am most definitely a surly curmudgeon. That alone, however, would not have driven me to start this blog, as yelling at the news on TV, going on minor rants when talking with my wife, or posting the occasional note on Facebook normally provide enough of an outlet. Times are changing, and they are no longer working.

In America today, "those who want people to be controlled" seem to be ascendant. Since the beginning of this decade, the size, scope, and powers of the federal government have increased dramatically. This is a bipartisan phenomenon, and spans both the political and social arenas. Hayek's "fatal conceit" is constantly on display, with politicos intimating that if we just had the correct technocrats in charge, they would be able to make the "right" decisions for all of us. The concepts of "the wisdom of crowds" and "the invisible hand" are sneered at, despite them being the very things that brought us what economic prosperity we currently enjoy.

Watching all of this, I grow surlier by the day. I did not think it possible for someone who has never voted for a state or federal candidate that was ultimately victorious to become even further disenchanted with the state of American politics, but so it goes.

This blog will endeavor to document the machinations of the "idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number." I will attempt to avoid speculating on their motives (though I will likely fail), as in many cases I think they are honest in their desires to "help" people. However, I will note the infringement on personal freedoms their policies will have, and show the negative effects, the perverse incentives, and the unintended consequences their pursuit of the greatest good generates.