Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The road to dogma
David Brooks takes apart the “road to serfdom” argument by some conservatives, saying it veers away from the traditional “limited-but-energetic” role of government in America. … David S. Reynolds makes roughly the same argument in his book ‘Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson.’ It’s amazing how active government was in promoting free-market trade in the early 19th century, from the building of canals to handing out land grants. The Obama administration has gone way beyond that tradition, promoting more of a European-style social democracy and welfare state. But that doesn’t mean Republicans get it. They don’t. They’ve backed themselves into their own ideological corner, hauling out road-to-serfdom clichés and flirting with utopian libertarianism. …
David Brooks takes apart the “road to serfdom” argument by some conservatives, saying it veers away from the traditional “limited-but-energetic” role of government in America. … David S. Reynolds makes roughly the same argument in his book ‘Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson.’ It’s amazing how active government was in promoting free-market trade in the early 19th century, from the building of canals to handing out land grants. The Obama administration has gone way beyond that tradition, promoting more of a European-style social democracy and welfare state. But that doesn’t mean Republicans get it. They don’t. They’ve backed themselves into their own ideological corner, hauling out road-to-serfdom clichés and flirting with utopian libertarianism. …
