The Ancient March from Crony Capitalism to Statism

This is a great piece to begin the weekend. Excellent analysis from David L. Bahnsen at The National Review.

His analysis and advice is for Republicans particularly. (As should be expected from The National Review.) Embrace crony capitalism at your peril. If Trump starts lauding “public/private partnerships” and vast infrastructure plans, reject them. Cronyism to a large extent is what sunk Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. And it can sink many a Republican candidacy too in coming years.

Embrace the free market. Insist on it. It’s fair. People see this. Americans like people and companies that succeed by making a better mousetrap. They loathe people and companies that find their success by partnering with the government. 

If the free market is not championed (and the free market allowed to build wealth and prosperity) the tendency is for societies to look ever more to the state for solutions. This creeping statism has long been a disease that infects this country. Republicans should not spread the infection.

(From The National Review)

I have always considered 1 Samuel 8 the birthplace of statism. We read in this chilling passage of the Israelites being warned that a king will enslave them (v. 11), trample on their liberties (12), practice egregious versions of eminent domain (14), and implement a highly confiscatory tax system (15–17). In verse 19, we read the reply to this warning the statement that I believe became the civilizational foundation for statism: “But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, ‘No, we want a king over us.’” And so it was. The people wanted a king…

…The prospect of being taken care of, of being led rather than leading, of having a “savior” — this allure has too often trumped all else, even the human order created for liberty and flourishing. Time and time again history has been clear, and we see this as early as the days of 1 Samuel 8. Faced with a choice between greater freedom (which entails responsibility) and a deep state, idolatrous civilizations have chosen the latter…

…In the verses leading to the famous passage I quote above, we can find a disturbing ancient foreshadowing of what plagues us very much to this day: Cronyism and corruption are so often what cause the people to lose faith and opt for statism. Let’s briefly look at the first few verses of 1 Samuel 8:

When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 1 Sam. 8:1–5

Yes, the people rejected self-government and even theocracy. They were warned of all the consequences of having a king but didn’t care. They traded the promise of greater freedom and prosperity for leviathan.

Click here for the article.

http://www.againstcronycapitalism.org/