Bizarro 2004

3 comments on “Bizarro 2004”

1. (I read Part 1 of your article Bizarro but couldn’t open it here even though I am logged in)

   Barack Obama won the election because more people than expected turned out to vote for him. Mitt Romney lost because fewer than expected turned out to vote for him.

   Those who supported Obama did so regardless of his incompetent performance during his first term. They are members of the Cult of Obama.

   Those who could have but didn’t vote for Romney stayed at home because they were astutely aware of his performance during his election campaign. The facts of Romney’s performance presented potential supporters with a fatal contradiction: his assertion of the importance of free enterprise, and the altruism of his and Paul Ryan’s religion. They failed to build a case for individual rights and the profit motive. They failed to make a case for Capitalism and freedom.

   These failures are typical of the ethics of conservatism from which Republicans are unable to free themselves.

   Capitalism cannot be justified on the basis of religion and Republicans have been unable to present a rational argument for egoism and the virtue of selfishness. They will continue to do poorly in elections until they understand what makes Capitalism possible and until they are able to argue for Capitalism with conviction and courage.

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2. what Victor said, both process and content. I can’t log in to read but my comment is already enabled. I’m glad your letter arrives in full in the email.

   Another thing I hope gets fixed on your site and others: the maddening moving list of whatchamacallits that run down the left side of this page, partially blocking what can be seen. It’s like being in a theater or church, sitting right behind a pillar- one keeps dodging around the darn thing trying to see. In fact some of this was written blind because I couldn’t get it up far enough…

   To Victor: for a robust moral and ethical case to be made for capitalism I recommend Acton Institute. They do a fine job and are well into attracting an international audience. I’m particulaarly intrigued by the fact that so many South Americans seem to attend their conferences,

   Acton has that missing moral component. I don’t agree with all of it, but they’ve made Bastiat much more well-known than had been the case in recent history. The weakness of the libertarian world view is that lack of a thorough articulation of the moral underpinnings of capitalism. So we’re left to fight the fake compassion of socialists & their cynical use of victims as a shield against the great power which lies in recognizing the inviolability of the individual…
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   • Dymphna –

     That “roving” list of social media buttons is supposed to float off to the left of the text, not get in the way of it. One of the maddening things about setting up a website is how everyone’s browser interprets things differently. Looks like I’ll have to find a better widget for this.

     – Robert

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