I just finished reading the Great Society: A New History by Amity Shlaes. This is a great book that covers the "Great Society" programs of LBJ and carried on by Nixon. I read this book right after finishing Shlaes' prior historical masterpiece, The Forgotten Man, covering the "New Deal" programs of FDR and how it was a complete disaster that extended the Great Depression rather than alleviating it (but of course, of course we are taught differently in our government funded schools... for some reason). I highly recommend both of these books as they are great at explaining why we are where we are today and so far off from what the founding of this nation (I'm speaking to the U.S. followers reading this) in terms of governance.
There was a gem of a quote I found towards the end of the book by a guy I talk about a whole lot lately - F.A. Hayek. Shlaes quoted, or possibly paraphrased, Hayek when he was directly addressing Nixon's advocacy for some policies of economic planning to avoid further economic disaster caused by LBJ's policies. And if you have followed @ReturnToReason and my review of Hayek's book, The Road to Serfdom, you know how much Hayek LOVES economic planning. Shlaes wrote:
"The professor, Friedrich von Hayek, noted that in the private world anyone who was planning - making business decisions - was subject to a constant barrage of facts, which came in the form of prices."
This type of Sowellian logic may not seem profound to many of you, but it is something we have completely abandoned today. Hayek is highlighting the restraints of private life that come in the form of prices. But, for some reason, the public (or government) does not seem to think itself bound by those restraints. Prices are to be shoved aside to be dealt with by some other future generation.
It is not reasonable, nor moral, to tell people they can avoid high gas prices by buying a $50K+ Tesla. It is not reasonable, nor moral, to tell people they shouldn't care about their property or businesses being looted and burned because their insurance should keep them afloat. It is not reasonable, nor moral, to tell people they can't visit their elderly family members because it is better for them to die lonely than it is to die actually living their life. Someone should tell President Joe Biden (or really his handlers) that prices, plaid in money or freedom, are FACTS that can't be just ignored.
I was listening to some news updates when I heard this CNN clip about the potentially hazardous water in East Palestine, and as soon as I heard her ask the question about whether or not her guest would drink the water, I IMMEDIATELY thought of this clip from South Park. Enjoy.
In this special episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, Truman from Return To Reason is back for a new video and podcast series titled ‘Revisiting The Road To Serfdom’ where we review F.A. Hayek’s classic work, The Road To Serfdom. This episode covers ‘Chapter 15: The Prospects of International Order’.
This will be an ongoing series that covers the entire book. We put a ton of work into making this insightful and relevant, so we hope you enjoy watching/listening as much as we enjoyed reading and recording.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
In this episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, I team up with Truman from @ReturnToReason to interview one of the most intelligent and influential creators in the space of philosophy today. Stephen R.C. Hicks is a Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University, Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship, and Senior Scholar at The Atlas Society. He has written many books including Explaining Postmodernism and Nietzsche and the Nazis. We bring him on to talk about the social and political issues we are currently facing in America, and the West more broadly, and what the collectivist ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau might have to do with it.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
In this special episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, Truman from Return To Reason is back for a new video and podcast series titled ‘Revisiting The Road To Serfdom’ where we review F.A. Hayek’s classic work, The Road To Serfdom. This episode covers ‘Chapter 15: The Prospects of International Order’.
This will be an ongoing series that covers the entire book. We put a ton of work into making this insightful and relevant, so we hope you enjoy watching/listening as much as we enjoyed reading and recording.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
In this episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, I team up with Truman from @ReturnToReason to interview one of the most intelligent and influential creators in the space of philosophy today. Stephen R.C. Hicks is a Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University, Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship, and Senior Scholar at The Atlas Society. He has written many books including Explaining Postmodernism and Nietzsche and the Nazis. We bring him on to talk about the social and political issues we are currently facing in America, and the West more broadly, and what the collectivist ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau might have to do with it.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
In this special episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, Truman from @ReturnToReason is back for a new video and podcast series titled ‘Revisiting The Road To Serfdom’ where we review F.A. Hayek’s classic work, The Road To Serfdom. This episode covers ‘Chapter 14: Material Conditions and Ideal Ends’.
This will be an ongoing series that covers the entire book. We put a ton of work into making this insightful and relevant, so we hope you enjoy watching/listening as much as we enjoyed reading and recording.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
