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April 11, 2024 6:25 AM Subscribe
How Did American Capitalism Mutate Into American Corporatism
In short, this corporatism – in all its iterations including the regulatory state and the patent war chest that maintains and enforces monopoly – is the core source of all the current despotism.
In short, this corporatism – in all its iterations including the regulatory state and the patent war chest that maintains and enforces monopoly – is the core source of all the current despotism.
LOL I was about to paste in the exact same paragraph as RonButNotStupid.
posted by ropeladder at 6:48 AM on April 11 [8 favorites]
posted by ropeladder at 6:48 AM on April 11 [8 favorites]
This article makes me wonder who the Canadian government is integrated so tightly with on the technology front.
posted by grmpyprogrammer at 6:54 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
posted by grmpyprogrammer at 6:54 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
stupid blathering. corporations have always been the primary mode of capitalist organization since the british east india company, and capitalist governments have always been arranged to their benefit. capitalists accumulate capital and corporations are the primary vehicle for this accumulation. if you think there’s some other mode of capitalism you’re dreaming
posted by dis_integration at 6:55 AM on April 11 [24 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 6:55 AM on April 11 [24 favorites]
Jeffrey Tucker is Founder, Author, and President at Brownstone Institute. He is also Senior Economics Columnist for Epoch Times,
oh ok then
posted by mhoye at 7:00 AM on April 11 [48 favorites]
oh ok then
posted by mhoye at 7:00 AM on April 11 [48 favorites]
Brownstone Institute is a reactionary misinformation factory run by an anti-mask anarcho-capitalist Bitcoin guy.
The idea of taking a lecture from these guys on who's doing the wrong kind of capitalism seriously is hilarious.
posted by Reyturner at 7:01 AM on April 11 [43 favorites]
The idea of taking a lecture from these guys on who's doing the wrong kind of capitalism seriously is hilarious.
posted by Reyturner at 7:01 AM on April 11 [43 favorites]
In short, this corporatism – in all its iterations including the regulatory state and the patent war chest that maintains and enforces monopoly – is the core source of all the current despotism.Eyes rolling back in my head so far I permanently blind myself while I make the jerk-off hand motion so vigorously the skin on my fist shakes off
It obtained its first full trial run with the lockdowns of 2020, when tech companies and media joined in the ear-splitting propaganda campaigns to shelter in place, cancel holidays, and not visit grandma in the hospital and nursing home. It cheered as millions of small businesses were destroyed and big-box stores thrived as distributors of approved products, while vast swaths of the workforce were called nonessential and put on welfare.
posted by dis_integration at 7:05 AM on April 11 [32 favorites]
To dis_integration's point, even the techno flavor of this corporatism isn't really new; Galbraith was talking about it in his The New Industrial State back in the 60s. It's the natural end-point of developmental economics. One economic role of the state is to pick favorites, to provide them with sufficient resources to grow. It's a basic part of the discussion of, say, Toyota and its history, but maybe it's harder to see, if it's an American company being observed by Americans? There's a flaw in the developmental idea; we picture, eventually, the state cutting the cord, and the grown-up company is allowed to live freely. But that doesn't really happen. The company is symbiotic; it relies upon the state for favorable regulations, for contracts. It must guide the state, if it is to assure its own survival, and if the state is democratic or susceptible to public pressure, the corporation must also guide the public. But it's not new--the really interesting part is the continuities.
posted by mittens at 7:09 AM on April 11 [13 favorites]
posted by mittens at 7:09 AM on April 11 [13 favorites]
Mutate?
It's always been this way, the idea that at some point there existed a True Capitalism which was good and from which we have fallen has always seems suspect, at beat, to me. Rather it seems as if monopoly is the natural state of capitalism and those periods where our economy was not dominated by giant corporate entities were exceptions that were produced entirely by the exercise of government power that people like the author decry.
How, really, could it be otherwise? I've often heard capitalists argue that socialism is an unrealistic fantasy because humans are not sufficiently communal oriented to make it work. I have never heard any of those people acknowledge that capitalism is doomed because humans are not sufficiently competitive and individualistic for it to work.
A corporation does not desire competition, it desire total monopoly. And as any one corporation gains power it will use that power to buy out or merge with any extant competition and prevent any new competition from arising.
And, of course, Capitalism and Communism are about as relevant to modern society as buggy whips are. We have moved past the point where either is adequate to guide our economy. Just as we moved past Feudalism so too have we moved past the point where the mirror twins Capitism/Communism are useful models.
Technofeudalism, as described by Yanis Varoufakis, seems to be one of the paths we're headed down. I'd say it seems like a path we shouldn't be taking, but since the majority of the world is still indulging in the fantasy of capitalism/communism the more awake people can direct our future economy in directions that benefit them rather than us.
Anyone who seeks to purify, or reform, or "restore", capitalism is a would
be necromancer hoping to call forth a few more decades of pseudo-life from the shambling corpse of an economic model that died decades ago and should be long buried.
posted by sotonohito at 7:12 AM on April 11 [10 favorites]
It's always been this way, the idea that at some point there existed a True Capitalism which was good and from which we have fallen has always seems suspect, at beat, to me. Rather it seems as if monopoly is the natural state of capitalism and those periods where our economy was not dominated by giant corporate entities were exceptions that were produced entirely by the exercise of government power that people like the author decry.
How, really, could it be otherwise? I've often heard capitalists argue that socialism is an unrealistic fantasy because humans are not sufficiently communal oriented to make it work. I have never heard any of those people acknowledge that capitalism is doomed because humans are not sufficiently competitive and individualistic for it to work.
A corporation does not desire competition, it desire total monopoly. And as any one corporation gains power it will use that power to buy out or merge with any extant competition and prevent any new competition from arising.
And, of course, Capitalism and Communism are about as relevant to modern society as buggy whips are. We have moved past the point where either is adequate to guide our economy. Just as we moved past Feudalism so too have we moved past the point where the mirror twins Capitism/Communism are useful models.
Technofeudalism, as described by Yanis Varoufakis, seems to be one of the paths we're headed down. I'd say it seems like a path we shouldn't be taking, but since the majority of the world is still indulging in the fantasy of capitalism/communism the more awake people can direct our future economy in directions that benefit them rather than us.
Anyone who seeks to purify, or reform, or "restore", capitalism is a would
be necromancer hoping to call forth a few more decades of pseudo-life from the shambling corpse of an economic model that died decades ago and should be long buried.
posted by sotonohito at 7:12 AM on April 11 [10 favorites]
Has there been a lot of disinformation being posted to MetaFilter in the last couple weeks or is this normal?
posted by constraint at 7:17 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
posted by constraint at 7:17 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
Having looked at the thread, and seen the excerpt where the writer outs themself as the kind of Libertarian to whom the notion that public health and private license might sometimes come into conflict is a novelty, I will give TFA a pass. Thanks to the MeFites who read it so I don't have to.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 7:17 AM on April 11 [13 favorites]
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 7:17 AM on April 11 [13 favorites]
All I needed to see was the book he advertises on the site as having a foreward by Rand Paul, to know this argument would be in bad faith.
posted by hairless ape at 7:17 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
posted by hairless ape at 7:17 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
corporations have always been the primary mode of capitalist organization
[They're_the_same_picture_(Pam_Office).jpg]
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:23 AM on April 11 [8 favorites]
[They're_the_same_picture_(Pam_Office).jpg]
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:23 AM on April 11 [8 favorites]
corporatism, glibertarianism
a pox on both their houses
oh wait
that happened already
and the pox wasnt just limited to them....
posted by lalochezia at 7:25 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
a pox on both their houses
oh wait
that happened already
and the pox wasnt just limited to them....
posted by lalochezia at 7:25 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
How Did American Capitalism Mutate Into American Corporatism
Was it... when all available capital became controlled by corporations?
posted by majick at 7:25 AM on April 11 [6 favorites]
Was it... when all available capital became controlled by corporations?
posted by majick at 7:25 AM on April 11 [6 favorites]
Dude needs to read some Marx.
(Also not be some kind of front for a weirdo cult)
posted by Artw at 7:27 AM on April 11 [8 favorites]
(Also not be some kind of front for a weirdo cult)
posted by Artw at 7:27 AM on April 11 [8 favorites]
Technofeudalism, a recent
Varoufakis interview in wired.
posted by adamvasco at 7:35 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
Varoufakis interview in wired.
posted by adamvasco at 7:35 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
From Wikipedia (Brownstone Institute doesn't have a Wikipedia article but this author does, so I'm guessing the institute is mostly the man):
posted by AlSweigart at 7:37 AM on April 11 [11 favorites]
Jeffrey Albert Tucker (/ˈtʌkər/; born December 19, 1963) is an American libertarian writer, publisher, entrepreneur and advocate of anarcho-capitalism and Bitcoin.
For many years he worked for Ron Paul, the Mises Institute, and Lew Rockwell. With the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) he organized efforts against COVID-19 restrictions starting in 2020, and he founded the Brownstone Institute think tank in 2021 to continue such efforts.
In 2021, Tucker founded the nonprofit Brownstone Institute for Social and Economic Research, a think tank that opposes various measures against COVID-19, including masking and vaccine mandates.Christ, what an asshole.
posted by AlSweigart at 7:37 AM on April 11 [11 favorites]
Astronaut: “So capitalism is corporatism?”
Astronaut 2, pointing gun: “Always has been.”
posted by azpenguin at 7:39 AM on April 11 [12 favorites]
Astronaut 2, pointing gun: “Always has been.”
posted by azpenguin at 7:39 AM on April 11 [12 favorites]
I went into this article thinking this would be the usual "the problems of capitalism are caused by government and the solution is less government and more capitalism", but actually this article is just a rant: he's not really saying anything about anything. He presents all these problems that capitalism has caused, but comes to a, "Shucks, what can you do?" conclusion which very conveniently pushes back against systemic change to the status quo.
Like every corporation does when their evil actions starts affecting their image, he's doing a rebrand: Oh, it's not capitalism that is failing. It's corporatism.
I don't give a shit about the opinions of some mediocre bitcoin grifter antivaxxer in a fuckin' bowtie: He's a cartoon character that ChatGPT would produce.
posted by AlSweigart at 7:53 AM on April 11 [3 favorites]
Like every corporation does when their evil actions starts affecting their image, he's doing a rebrand: Oh, it's not capitalism that is failing. It's corporatism.
I don't give a shit about the opinions of some mediocre bitcoin grifter antivaxxer in a fuckin' bowtie: He's a cartoon character that ChatGPT would produce.
posted by AlSweigart at 7:53 AM on April 11 [3 favorites]
Dude needs to read some Marx.
Do do what, learn how to make bad-faith arguments about why your "just so story" extrapolations are inevitable?
We really don't need more of that either.
posted by NotAYakk at 7:54 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
Do do what, learn how to make bad-faith arguments about why your "just so story" extrapolations are inevitable?
We really don't need more of that either.
posted by NotAYakk at 7:54 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
Could we not use the word corporatism? Its original meaning was what Mussolini gave it, and it was not "fascists and business leaders can be friends." It was "all forms of incorporation should serve the state." That meant the church, the schools, the Elks lodge, the Olivetti company, everything. If it did not serve the state it would not be allowed to exist.
posted by ocschwar at 8:00 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 8:00 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
Oligarchism is the right term. And it's happening because we've completely dropped the ball on antitrust. In particular, we've allowed private equity to gather up enough ownership of corporate America in general that we effectively have interlocking directorates, which was one of the first issues that caused the updating of the antitrust laws.
posted by ocschwar at 8:02 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
posted by ocschwar at 8:02 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
Could we not use the word corporatism?
It’s probably what this idiot thinks is going on. Dude is primarily upset there was some light pushback to COVID denialism.
Do do what, learn how to make bad-faith arguments about why your "just so story" extrapolations are inevitable?
Guess someone is in denial about existing in late stage capitalism where the frontiers have all been exploited and it eats itself.
posted by Artw at 8:03 AM on April 11 [6 favorites]
It’s probably what this idiot thinks is going on. Dude is primarily upset there was some light pushback to COVID denialism.
Do do what, learn how to make bad-faith arguments about why your "just so story" extrapolations are inevitable?
Guess someone is in denial about existing in late stage capitalism where the frontiers have all been exploited and it eats itself.
posted by Artw at 8:03 AM on April 11 [6 favorites]
This is a factually wrong, misleading, and terrible article and the guy appears to be a COVID crackpot. Many Gilded Age fortunes were earned legitimately … what ?
posted by caviar2d2 at 8:48 AM on April 11 [3 favorites]
posted by caviar2d2 at 8:48 AM on April 11 [3 favorites]
My pithy definition of "capitalism", after nodding to Marx for coining the term (initially as the structure of industrial production, and later as a political system), is "Rule by investor."
It means those with the capital have their hands on the levers of power to make and enforce law.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 8:51 AM on April 11 [4 favorites]
It means those with the capital have their hands on the levers of power to make and enforce law.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 8:51 AM on April 11 [4 favorites]
I think this is wonderful. We are witnessing in near-real-time a libertarian waking up to the idea that the powerful will use ANY lever of control, not just the big bad government.
He's not all the way there yet, but give him another 30-40 years and he'll be ready for anarchism.
posted by McBearclaw at 8:56 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
He's not all the way there yet, but give him another 30-40 years and he'll be ready for anarchism.
posted by McBearclaw at 8:56 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
(Oh my god, I just looked at his Wikipedia page and he converted to Catholicism... Truly, we contain multitudes)
posted by McBearclaw at 8:58 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
posted by McBearclaw at 8:58 AM on April 11 [5 favorites]
The influence of Orthodox Christianity was what initially undermined my libertarianism and helped me move to anarchism.
I know there are "tradcaths" and their orthodox counterparts who love empire and all the least Christ like aspects of Christian religion, but hopefully he'll fall in with better sorts.
posted by The Manwich Horror at 9:18 AM on April 11 [3 favorites]
I know there are "tradcaths" and their orthodox counterparts who love empire and all the least Christ like aspects of Christian religion, but hopefully he'll fall in with better sorts.
posted by The Manwich Horror at 9:18 AM on April 11 [3 favorites]
Fair point, TMH - he strikes me as a trad, but learning about the Catholic Worker movement and liberation theology greatly influenced my thinking (even if it resulted in me leaving the church entirely).
posted by McBearclaw at 9:26 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
posted by McBearclaw at 9:26 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
Tradcaths dare to ask the important question: "What if aging white men were the ones in power?"
posted by AlSweigart at 9:46 AM on April 11 [10 favorites]
posted by AlSweigart at 9:46 AM on April 11 [10 favorites]
Capitalism and Communism are about as relevant to modern society as buggy whips are.
You can still beat the shit out of someone with a buggy whip, though. Just because the tools of the state are outmoded doesn't mean they are no longer effective measures of oppression.
posted by slogger at 9:53 AM on April 11 [4 favorites]
You can still beat the shit out of someone with a buggy whip, though. Just because the tools of the state are outmoded doesn't mean they are no longer effective measures of oppression.
posted by slogger at 9:53 AM on April 11 [4 favorites]
> Could we not use the word corporatism? Its original meaning was what Mussolini gave it...
Sorry but language does that. A coinage by a single political philosopher, even one who managed to seize control of a large State, does not have the sort of intrinsic attachment to "original meaning" that comes via derivation from proto-Indo-European. People will hear "corporatism" and deconstruct it to mean what they think it ought to mean, and Mussolini's intentions are going to be more or less irrelevant to that process. As they should be.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:23 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
Sorry but language does that. A coinage by a single political philosopher, even one who managed to seize control of a large State, does not have the sort of intrinsic attachment to "original meaning" that comes via derivation from proto-Indo-European. People will hear "corporatism" and deconstruct it to mean what they think it ought to mean, and Mussolini's intentions are going to be more or less irrelevant to that process. As they should be.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:23 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
It's furthermore hilarious that he includes a picture of the Amazon Helix in Arlington, which is the crowning achievement of a bidding process that had hundreds local and state governments across the US on their knees offering grand subsidies. Arlington approved the Helix... and then Amazon decided not to build it. But yeah, government monopsony is definitely the core issue, it all comes back to the government in the end.
posted by McBearclaw at 10:31 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
posted by McBearclaw at 10:31 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
@ocschwar
> Oligarchism is the right term.
I think the word you want is just "oligarchy." Unless you're trying to suggest some kind of oligarchy-lite, where the oligarchs haven't (yet?) completely seized upon how to actualize the "-archy" part?
And to beat the dead horse One More Time on "corporatism," what you're asking for there is recognition of a special word indistinguishable from "totalitarianism"(1) except maybe with a private-ownership-allowed smell to it. And because "ownership" is supposed to be "natural," that is to say God-given and inviolable, the highly-contingent "ownership" that the smell signifies is arguably not really "ownership" at all.
(1) It is a sad thing that the word "totalitarianism" has passed out of the discourse, probably because of how it was appropriated by anti-Communists as a propaganda tool. It truly captures the essence of "no form of social organization, not even the family, is rightfully exempt from intrusive State surveillance and control." I think it was even coined to describe Nazism first, and (Soviet Bolshevist) Communism as a second example. Mussolini's word was forgotten because there's a better one.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:49 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
> Oligarchism is the right term.
I think the word you want is just "oligarchy." Unless you're trying to suggest some kind of oligarchy-lite, where the oligarchs haven't (yet?) completely seized upon how to actualize the "-archy" part?
And to beat the dead horse One More Time on "corporatism," what you're asking for there is recognition of a special word indistinguishable from "totalitarianism"(1) except maybe with a private-ownership-allowed smell to it. And because "ownership" is supposed to be "natural," that is to say God-given and inviolable, the highly-contingent "ownership" that the smell signifies is arguably not really "ownership" at all.
(1) It is a sad thing that the word "totalitarianism" has passed out of the discourse, probably because of how it was appropriated by anti-Communists as a propaganda tool. It truly captures the essence of "no form of social organization, not even the family, is rightfully exempt from intrusive State surveillance and control." I think it was even coined to describe Nazism first, and (Soviet Bolshevist) Communism as a second example. Mussolini's word was forgotten because there's a better one.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:49 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]
Hey, what the fuck is this bullshit
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:50 AM on April 11 [12 favorites]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:50 AM on April 11 [12 favorites]
a willingness on the part of the public and officials to relinquish freedom and fundamental human rights in the name of managing a public health crisis
Where were people like this jerk when GWB was creating the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA? Oh, were they busy endorsing the Patriot Act? Gee, figures.
It is a sad thing that the word "totalitarianism" has passed out of the discourse
Derail, but possibly more interesting/enjoyable than Mr. Tucker's writings: When I started a new job once, I was delighted to learn that one of my new co-workers was named Hannah Arendt. I was disappointed to discover that not a single one of my new co-workers understood why I found that delightful.
posted by nickmark at 12:34 PM on April 11 [5 favorites]
Where were people like this jerk when GWB was creating the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA? Oh, were they busy endorsing the Patriot Act? Gee, figures.
It is a sad thing that the word "totalitarianism" has passed out of the discourse
Derail, but possibly more interesting/enjoyable than Mr. Tucker's writings: When I started a new job once, I was delighted to learn that one of my new co-workers was named Hannah Arendt. I was disappointed to discover that not a single one of my new co-workers understood why I found that delightful.
posted by nickmark at 12:34 PM on April 11 [5 favorites]
were they busy endorsing the Patriot Act?
(Rand Paul was vehemently against the Patriot Act!)
posted by mittens at 1:25 PM on April 11
(Rand Paul was vehemently against the Patriot Act!)
posted by mittens at 1:25 PM on April 11
>> smth about marx
> Do do what, learn how to make bad-faith arguments about why your "just so story" extrapolations are inevitable?
tell me you’ve never read capital without telling me you’ve never read capital
the earlier more explicitly hegelian stuff is blah imo and the manifesto is juvenilia, change my mind, and should be treated as such but turns out the stuff he wrote after he grew up and read all the economics/political economics to date 1: was damned smart 2: resembles in no aspect what the person one level of > in thinks it is.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 3:08 PM on April 11 [4 favorites]
> Do do what, learn how to make bad-faith arguments about why your "just so story" extrapolations are inevitable?
tell me you’ve never read capital without telling me you’ve never read capital
the earlier more explicitly hegelian stuff is blah imo and the manifesto is juvenilia, change my mind, and should be treated as such but turns out the stuff he wrote after he grew up and read all the economics/political economics to date 1: was damned smart 2: resembles in no aspect what the person one level of > in thinks it is.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 3:08 PM on April 11 [4 favorites]
Has there been a lot of disinformation being posted to MetaFilter in the last couple weeks or is this normal?
It’s everywhere, not just Metafilter. Might be paranoid but it really feels like somebody’s kicking the tires a bit before the election disinformation campaign starts up for real.
posted by Ryvar at 3:46 PM on April 11 [5 favorites]
It’s everywhere, not just Metafilter. Might be paranoid but it really feels like somebody’s kicking the tires a bit before the election disinformation campaign starts up for real.
posted by Ryvar at 3:46 PM on April 11 [5 favorites]
the real disinformation was the friends we made along the way
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 4:36 PM on April 11 [3 favorites]
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 4:36 PM on April 11 [3 favorites]
(Rand Paul was vehemently against the Patriot Act!)
Perhaps, but of course he wasn’t in office when was passed.
posted by nickmark at 5:05 PM on April 11
Perhaps, but of course he wasn’t in office when was passed.
posted by nickmark at 5:05 PM on April 11
Flagging this article for misinformation. Are other people not flagging it, or have the mods chosen to let it stay anyway?
posted by splitpeasoup at 8:03 PM on April 11 [1 favorite]
posted by splitpeasoup at 8:03 PM on April 11 [1 favorite]
Has there been a lot of disinformation being posted to MetaFilter in the last couple weeks or is this normal?
I noticed this in the last two weeks especially. I'm... not ready for this year.
posted by Johnny Lawn and Garden at 8:09 PM on April 11 [5 favorites]
I noticed this in the last two weeks especially. I'm... not ready for this year.
posted by Johnny Lawn and Garden at 8:09 PM on April 11 [5 favorites]
Mod note: Noting that this post has been flagged for including misinformation from right-wing think tanks. Just wanted to note that we've decided to let the post remain, given the healthy criticism in the responses below. That being said we need stricter guidelines against posting obvious propaganda.
posted by loup (staff) at 9:49 AM on April 12 [5 favorites]
posted by loup (staff) at 9:49 AM on April 12 [5 favorites]
Might be paranoid but it really feels like somebody’s kicking the tires a bit before the election disinformation campaign starts up for real.
OP's account is literally 20 years old, tho...
posted by Selena777 at 10:56 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
OP's account is literally 20 years old, tho...
posted by Selena777 at 10:56 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
I was delighted to learn that one of my new co-workers was named Hannah Arendt. I was disappointed to discover that not a single one of my new co-workers understood why I found that delightful.
The banality of email
posted by Dokterrock at 11:06 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]
The banality of email
posted by Dokterrock at 11:06 PM on April 13 [1 favorite]
« Older Akebono Tarō has left the ring | Two tennis balls surgically removed from scrub... Newer »
The motive force of Brownstone Institute was the global crisis created by policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. That trauma revealed a fundamental misunderstanding alive in all countries around the world today, a willingness on the part of the public and officials to relinquish freedom and fundamental human rights in the name of managing a public health crisis, which was not managed well in most countries. The consequences were devastating and will live in infamy.
The article makes some good points about the relationship between government and the private sector, but I'd be wary of the motivations the author has for making those points and I think skepticism needs to be exercised with what he sees as a remedy for them.
This group seems pretty heinous in their definition of "freedom"
posted by RonButNotStupid at 6:45 AM on April 11 [45 favorites]