When I think about Obama, I am reminded of Richard Epstein’s observation that in order to remain politically viable modern socialists no longer advocate direct government ownership of production. Instead, modern socialism operates on two different levels:
“At a personal level, it speaks to the alienation of the individual, stressing the need for caring and sharing and the politics of meaning.
“At a regulatory level, it seeks to identify specific sectors in which there is a market failure and then to subject them to various forms of government regulation.” Sounds a lot like Obama’s stump speech to me.
That’s Stephen Bainbridge on the Clever Socialist and how he intends to steal private property. Look. O. is too clever by more than half. He gets really serious about some specifics. It’s the market failures, stupid. And why not, if you mean to cripple the market?
Blithe Spirit 