House of Eratosthenes

Ezra Klein made the biggest mistake that can be made by a liberal — progressive — socialist — communist — no labelist — whatever the heck they call themselves on the 31st of the month.

He was being honest.

He does not believe in the Constitution.

He is cynical about it and he projects that same cynicism onto those who disagree with him.

Hat tip to Althouse, via Instapundit.

Yep, I watched the video and almost posted it on my blog. But I am trying to maintain a certain level of decorum and not descend into foaming at the mouth ranting and raving.

I’d never paid that much attention to the name Ezra Klein before, but now I can never forget it. If I ever get my hands on Ezra, he will be deported to the Cargo Cult islands of the South Pacific or Venezuela, I’m not sure which.

I guess I should be appreciative to Ezra for exposing what his side is really all about. They are not for freedom. Worse than that, they are for subjugation and slavery of their fellow man.
- Moshe Ben-David | 01/02/2011 @ 06:06
He is cynical about it and he projects that same cynicism onto those who disagree with him.

“Projection” is a cornerstone of liberal psychology. Whatever they accuse us of doing today is what they will actually be doing tomorrow.

I think I sort of understand this, though. I think it partially stems from the fact that they’re all capital-S Socialists (no matter what they actually call themselves) and are caught in the Socialist mode of thought, where individuals are but small interchangeable cogs in the big machine that is society.

For instance: though they may argue vehemently about this or that point of doctrine, historically there has been a coherent thing called Socialism. It was simultaneously an idea, a mode of life, and a telos, and a Socialist was anyone who worked to advance Socialism. Indeed, “building Socialism” is what every citizen of the Soviet Union was supposed to be doing every hour of every day.

All of which is fine if that’s your bag, I guess. But it doesn’t work the other way around. There’s no capital-C Capitalism. Small-c capitalism is just a catchall descriptor for the innate human tendency to exchange stuff for other stuff. Nobody works to “build Capitalism,” since people will continue to exchange stuff for other stuff right up to the moment the planet is taken over by superintelligent apes.

Socialists don’t get this. In their hearts of hearts they think that Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Dick Cheney, Mark Cuban, and the CEO of Time-Warner all get together in secret meetings somewhere and divide the world between them, since they’re The Rich. In the real world, of course, Mark Cuban wouldn’t piss on Bill Gates if he was on fire, and vice versa, and the supposedly die-hard free marketers on Wall Street are happy to jump into bed with Big Government, since regulating the other guy out of business increases market share. That’s “capitalism” too, of course, but it’s not capital-C Capitalism.

A “capitalist” in the real world is just a guy who has two nickels to rub together and a desire to improve his lot in life. You know, an individual. But since Socialists can’t see in anything other than huge, abstract class categories, everything that isn’t Socialism has to be, at bottom, part of a big conspiracy to screw the little guy. Thus, we conservatives only like the Constitution because it’s the most efficient route to power and influence…
- Severian | 01/02/2011 @ 08:45
He is cynical about it and he projects that same cynicism onto those who disagree with him.

“Projection” is a cornerstone of liberal psychology. Whatever they accuse us of doing today is what they will actually be doing tomorrow.

I think I sort of understand this, though. I think it partially stems from the fact that they’re all capital-S Socialists (no matter what they actually call themselves) and are caught in the Socialist mode of thought, where individuals are but small interchangeable cogs in the big machine that is society.

For instance: though they may argue vehemently about this or that point of doctrine, historically there has been a coherent thing called Socialism. It was simultaneously an idea, a mode of life, and a telos, and a Socialist was anyone who worked to advance Socialism. Indeed, “building Socialism” is what every citizen of the Soviet Union was supposed to be doing every hour of every day.

All of which is fine if that’s your bag, I guess. But it doesn’t work the other way around. There’s no capital-C Capitalism. Small-c capitalism is just a catchall descriptor for the innate human tendency to exchange stuff for other stuff. Nobody works to “build Capitalism,” since people will continue to exchange stuff for other stuff right up to the moment the planet is taken over by superintelligent apes.

Socialists don’t get this. In their hearts of hearts they think that Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Dick Cheney, Mark Cuban, and the CEO of Time-Warner all get together in secret meetings somewhere and divide the world between them, since they’re The Rich. In the real world, of course, Mark Cuban wouldn’t piss on Bill Gates if he was on fire, and vice versa, and the supposedly die-hard free marketers on Wall Street are happy to jump into bed with Big Government, since regulating the other guy out of business increases market share. That’s “capitalism” too, of course, but it’s not capital-C Capitalism.

A “capitalist” in the real world is just a guy who has two nickels to rub together and a desire to improve his lot in life. You know, an individual. But since Socialists can’t see in anything other than huge, abstract class categories, everything that isn’t Socialism has to be, at bottom, part of a big conspiracy to screw the little guy. Thus, we conservatives only like the Constitution because it’s the most efficient route to power and influence…

I hope that made sense. If ever I set up my own blog like a keep meaning to do I’ll expand it (probably into a 4000-word monument to boredom and incoherence, but oh well)….
- Severian | 01/02/2011 @ 08:46
…and the supposedly die-hard free marketers on Wall Street are happy to jump into bed with Big Government, since regulating the other guy out of business increases market share. That’s “capitalism” too, of course, but it’s not capital-C Capitalism.

Jonah Goldberg does a great job of covering this in Liberal Fascism.

It’s a relatively recent phenomenon, but the folks on both sides who insist “conservatism==big business” are way off course.
- mkfreeberg | 01/02/2011 @ 10:17

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Ezra Klein: Honest LeftySaturday, January 1st, 2011

Ezra Klein: Honest Lefty
Saturday, January 1st, 2011