From the Archives: Perestroika! (9/26/2008)

Rape of the Sabine Women - Nicholas Poussin, 1633-34

I get the sense reading the papers that people actually want this society to fall to pieces, that it would be a dreadful disappointment to everyone involved if they never saw a bread line, or if the dreaded FEMA detention camps are never actually used. The ever-escalating bailout plans are being sold on the argument that they are the only thing that can prevent a total economic collapse that will create “double-digit unemployment” and other well-worn doomsayer bugaboos.

Of course, interventions like these – which extract money through violence from the populace at large to redistribute to the politically connected – are just the sort of move that will further damage the economic health of the country.

It’s difficult for most to understand the simple fact that the men in the government are parasites that live to extract as much money as possible from public funds.

The reason why no one is able to articulate the productive purpose of the $700 billion heroic plan to rescue America is because there isn’t one.

It’s exactly what it looks like. The executive branch is using this manufactured panic as a cover to transfer hundreds of billions to the banking sector, because they understand on an unconscious level that this government will collapse before their careers are over.

Politicians, understanding that they will need to find some way to secure their future, know that they will need to make friends in the private sector so that they can ensure that they have a comfortable retirement.

The clearest historical precedent is the recent Soviet Collapse. Contrary to common expectations, the USSR did not deploy the Red Army to prevent the collapse of the state. The Soviet system had been thoroughly discredited – the leaders themselves no longer believed in it any longer.

Tanks won’t roll through Times Square, although it would be amusing to watch them try. There will still be plenty to eat. After the chaos involved in the looting of state assets and the dissolution of the state fades, something new will emerge. Socialism, despite the fear-mongering of some libertarians, is not making a comeback. The government lacks both the funds and the moral strength to implement a sequel to the New Deal – and if they do, it’ll be like a straight-to-DVD version that fizzles within a few weeks.

The greatest threat to our livelihood is not the government, but widespread despair. In the early days of the Russian Federation, literally hundreds of thousands of middle aged people simply drank themselves to death, unwilling to make the challenging adjustments necessary to thrive on the free market. In the post-Soviet era, the more educated classes were less likely to maintain employment, as they had become too accustomed to the unjust privileges granted to them by Communism.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Perestroika is upon us – the state shall dismantle, in part or in full.

It will fall apart slowly, and then all at once.

Fortunes will be made and lost.

I hesitate to call this a good thing, but it is a time of great opportunity for both heroes and charlatans. I doubt that it will be easy for workers accustomed to the ease and inefficiency of the public sector to adjust to the rigors of a market under the strain of massive debt and potentially punishing taxes and inflation, but it will help to rejuvenate an economy hobbled by decades of the statist disease.

Of course, I might be wrong, but I doubt it. There might be a continuation of the government, but it will be a pale reflection of what it is currently. Keep in mind that the United States has the oldest major government in the world; it’s a gross historical outlier.

Our fourth-rate public intellectuals will try to build rickety castles from the wreckage, most of which are likely to collapse within hours or weeks. Let’s see them try!

Orchard with Blossoming Apricot Trees - Vincent Van Gogh, 1888