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Ageless Wisdom

Old 12-31-2008, 12:40 PM
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Default Ageless Wisdom

Mencken's timeless insights


By Donald J. Boudreaux
Friday, December 26, 2008

L'affair Rod Blagojevich reminds me that if I could bring one person back to life for an evening of good food, stiff drink and sterling conversation, that person would unquestionably be H.L. Mencken (1880-1956).

Mencken was a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, literary critic and expert on what he called "the American language." But he was, in my view, above all this country's unmatched observer and recorder of politics. So sit back and feast on these intellectually nutritious and tasty tidbits of Mencken's political wisdom.

In Mencken's view, the typical politician is a "merchant of delusions," a "pumper-up of popular fears and rages.





The politician is never to be trusted:

"What is a political campaign save a concerted effort to turn out a set of politicians who are admittedly bad and put in a set who are thought to be better? The former assumption, I believe, is always sound; the latter is just as certainly false. For if experience teaches us anything at all it teaches us this: that a good politician, under democracy, is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar. His very existence, indeed, is a standing subversion of the public good in every rational sense. He is not one who serves the common weal; he is simply one who preys upon the commonwealth. It is to the interest of all the rest of us to hold down his powers to an irreducible minimum and to reduce his compensation to nothing; it is to his interest to augment his powers at all hazards, and to make his compensation all the traffic will bear."

But ours is a democratic republic where We the People choose our leaders freely in fair elections. Doesn't the need to secure a majority of votes ensure that only worthy candidates win?

Here is Mencken's answer:

"The only way to success in American public life lies in flattering and kowtowing to the mob. A candidate for office, even the highest, must either adopt its current manias en bloc or convince it hypocritically that he has done so while cherishing reservations in petto. The result is that only two sorts of men stand any chance whatever of getting into actual control of affairs -- first, glorified mob-men who genuinely believe what the mob believes, and secondly, shrewd fellows who are willing to make any sacrifice of conviction and self-respect in order to hold their jobs."

But some politicians are reformers -- or, to use the nom du jour, "change agents." And many others are professional policy wonks, devoted to the dull but important details of running government. Surely they are more nobly motivated than is the typical office-seeker.

Nope, says Mencken: "Politics, as hopeful men practice it in the world, consists mainly of the delusion that a change in form is a change in substance."

And more emphatically:

"Reformers and professionals are alike politicians in search of jobs; both are trying to bilk the taxpayers. Neither ever has any other motive. If any genuinely honest and altruistic politician had come to the surface in America in my time I'd have heard of him, for I have always frequented newspaper offices, and in a newspaper office the news of such a marvel would cause a dreadful tumult. I can recall no such tumult."

Alas, though, we continue -- despite mountains of evidence that should scare us off -- to entrust our lives and riches to these frauds.

Mencken blamed this blind trust in government to "the survival into our enlightened age of a concept hatched in the black days of absolutism -- the concept, to wit, that government is something that is superior to and quite distinct from all other human institutions -- that it is, in essence, not a mere organization of ordinary men, like the Ku Klux Klan, the United States Steel Corporation or Columbia University, but a transcendental organism composed of aloof and impersonal powers, devoid wholly of self-interest and not to be measured by merely human standards."

Finally, I leave you with this truly deep insight -- one that, were it more widely seen, would save humankind from all manner of mischief:

"When we say that (government) has decided to do this or that, that it proposes or aspires to do this or that -- usually to the great cost and inconvenience of nine-tenths of us -- we simply say that a definite man or group of men has decided to do it, or proposes or aspires to do it; and when we examine this group of men realistically we almost invariably find that it is composed of individuals who are not only not superior to the general, but plainly and depressingly inferior, both in common sense and in common decency."



Donald J. Boudreaux is chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. His column runs twice monthly. He can be reached at [email protected].
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Old 01-01-2009, 05:37 AM
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Trying to be mindful of the Terms of Service here, but nice find Jungle and I agree with Mencken's insights. Time and again we elect leaders who display stunning willingness to break laws, break ethical guidelines, and generally run amok while trying to do things that are shamelessly self-centered. Democracy itself has been criticized as a process where the unenlightened masses elect fools and rascals to public office. The results are all too often predictable. On the other hand, democracy is better than any other form of government in terms of fairness and level playing field.

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Old 01-02-2009, 11:22 AM
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Aww yes, the old "all politicians are corrupt" stereotype. Ever heard the one about all lawyers being liars? Or maybe the one about all salesman being sleezy? Or the one about all airline pilots being overpaid?
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Old 01-02-2009, 12:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Lowtimer77 View Post
Aww yes, the old "all politicians are corrupt" stereotype. Ever heard the one about all lawyers being liars? Or maybe the one about all salesman being sleezy? Or the one about all airline pilots being overpaid?
I am afraid you missed the point. We need to hold government to a reasonable standard of behavior. When 40 of 50 states are in the red and the Country is 10+ Trillion in the hole, there is an obvious failure to connect with economic reality.
I'm guessing you are happy with their performance?

As to your stereotypes, it is often the case that 90% give the other ten percent a bad reputation.
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Old 01-02-2009, 04:09 PM
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- Lex Rex -
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Old 01-02-2009, 06:13 PM
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"Lex rex" ("rule of law") is preferable any day over the tyranny of that which is the alternative- capricious, self-righteous, delusional, unencumbered dictatorial whimsy in the name of some arbitrary human persona who could be anyone and probably is just anyone. Human history in the last few centuries is replete with examples of rulers who had the public trust and were nothing more than sociopaths. Rule of law and democracy are the contributions of ancient Greek society, and while not perfect, come pretty close to it if kept in adequate check and balance.

I am a bit worried about compliance with APC Terms of Service on this thread, so I will not argue any more to this point. I also a bit depressed because I was turned down today on an offer to buy a 2008 Nissan Frontier 4X4 with all the options, for $5000 below dealer invoice. My dealer said kiss off pal, and I am not into paying more than $3000 under dealer invoice for a new car or truck. Those guys can make money even below invoice, I assure you.
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Old 01-02-2009, 06:17 PM
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With Hillary vacating her seat in the Senate, the new face is Caroline Kennedy. Her qualifications? None really (except she is a Kennedy) but in her defense, her promoters say she is as qualified as most who already hold the office. That says as much about the current members of the House and Senate as much as it does about Caroline.
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Old 01-02-2009, 07:38 PM
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Originally Posted by jungle View Post
I am afraid you missed the point. We need to hold government to a reasonable standard of behavior. When 40 of 50 states are in the red and the Country is 10+ Trillion in the hole, there is an obvious failure to connect with economic reality.
I'm guessing you are happy with their performance?

As to your stereotypes, it is often the case that 90% give the other ten percent a bad reputation.

I didn't miss your point. It's true that our economy is horrible right now. Is that government's fault? Probably a little bit of yes and a little bit no. The last I checked, AIG, Bear Steans, Ford, GM, and Chrysler were not part of the government( although they might be shortly). All these companies made bad business moves that were their own fault. There are several important things to remember though--As much as we might hate the so-called bickering and partisanship that occurs in government, if our country as a whole were to lean either totally to the left or totally to the right, we would be in a horrible position--atleast IMHO. Secondly, with all due respect, in America WE vote for our representatives. Listen, I think it's crazy that enough citizens chose to vote for Arnold Schwarzeneger, but hey, they voted for him. So yes, we need to hold our government to a reasonable standard of behavior--and guys like Blagojevich( the corrupt Illinois governor) need to go--but in the end, it was citizens like you and I who put these people in power.

Politicians always take the blame, whether they deserve it or not. If the economy isn't better within a few months of Obama taking office, guess what? It's going to be HIS fault. I've never understood why the general public thinks that politics should be so easily accomplished. Like they should just all be able to meet, get along, and then pass a few laws to make everyone's lives feel like paradise.

As a last note, I don't intend to offend anyone with these comments. I think this is a great topic to debate.
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Old 01-02-2009, 08:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Lowtimer77 View Post
I didn't miss your point. It's true that our economy is horrible right now. Is that government's fault? Probably a little bit of yes and a little bit no. The last I checked, AIG, Bear Steans, Ford, GM, and Chrysler were not part of the government( although they might be shortly). All these companies made bad business moves that were their own fault. There are several important things to remember though--As much as we might hate the so-called bickering and partisanship that occurs in government, if our country as a whole were to lean either totally to the left or totally to the right, we would be in a horrible position--atleast IMHO. Secondly, with all due respect, in America WE vote for our representatives. Listen, I think it's crazy that enough citizens chose to vote for Arnold Schwarzeneger, but hey, they voted for him. So yes, we need to hold our government to a reasonable standard of behavior--and guys like Blagojevich( the corrupt Illinois governor) need to go--but in the end, it was citizens like you and I who put these people in power.

Politicians always take the blame, whether they deserve it or not. If the economy isn't better within a few months of Obama taking office, guess what? It's going to be HIS fault. I've never understood why the general public thinks that politics should be so easily accomplished. Like they should just all be able to meet, get along, and then pass a few laws to make everyone's lives feel like paradise.

As a last note, I don't intend to offend anyone with these comments. I think this is a great topic to debate.
Once again, you seem to equate the failures of business with the total incompetence of government with respect to running a balanced budget. These are two entirely different matters.
Failures in the private sector may be influenced by poor economic policy of government, but the economic failures of government may never be blamed on the private sector.

Regardless of what you may think of those elected, they must always be held accountable for their actions. There is not, nor can there ever be, a free pass for bankrupting a state or the country.

Let's examine this from a purely economic basis and ignore meaningless debate or mention of individuals or party affiliation.
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Old 01-02-2009, 09:54 PM
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Default With freedom comes responsibility. E-Verify.

Originally Posted by jungle View Post
Once again, you seem to equate the failures of business with the total incompetence of government with respect to running a balanced budget. These are two entirely different matters.
Failures in the private sector may be influenced by poor economic policy of government, but the economic failures of government may never be blamed on the private sector.
I guess it depends on how you define "economic failures of government".

In my opinion, the debate concerning "E-Verify" highlights the conflict between the possibility of some long term beneficial government economic policy and the short-sighted private business interest (lobbyist managed) which could possibly harm us. And by "us", I mean you, me, and our fellow U.S. citizens, regardless of race, creed, kin, veteran's status, sexual affiliation, or whatever!

As far as I understand it, the "E-Verify" program was designed to ensure that only those with U.S. citizenship or those properly documented in the U.S. immigration system would be entitled to work in the U.S. for programs/projects that received federal monies.

Apparently the major roadblock to implementation of the program was complaint from the private business sector bidding on those programs/projects that it would be too costly on their part- time and money-wise- to comply with E-Verify.

Apparently, now, after the ACLU and other seemingly strange bedfellows from the private sector have spoken: Any Federal contract valued at less than $100,000 can be awarded to an employer who does not use, or comply with the E-Verify system to ensure that illegals are not on their payroll.

In my opinion- a case of private business interest and special interest group(s) undermining the continued long term security and financial health of the citizens and legal immigrants in the U.S.

So now we can legally fund illegal immigrants' jobs with our federal tax money, as long as the contract they are working on is valued at less than $100,000. Does that make sense? Guess there's going to be lots of bids at $99,999.99. to maintain that infrastructure of ours. Jobs that could have gone to U.S. citizens and properly documented hopeful citizens paying taxes. But they won't. Because it's now federally mandated law, thanks to the actions of private business lobbying, that it will be easy and cheap to bid low, drive around in a brand new pickup, and oversee all the illegals hired at 7-Eleven that morning.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081114_7320.php



Also, if you wanna get really peeved, google the troubles NPR had running ads for the FedGov that mentioned E-Verify.

Last edited by Kilgore Trout; 01-02-2009 at 10:03 PM.
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