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Bradenton, FL, USA - Somalia has been the most libertarian country on Earth for over a decade. It has had no organized government, no taxes, no public schools, and no onerous regulations to keep entrepreneurs from running their businesses however they wanted. Now its capital, Mogadishu, is in the hands of radical Islamists some analysts believe have close ties to Al Queda. This is a crushing defeat for libertarians everywhere, who have always told us that if we freed ourselves from the evils of government regulations
(and taxation) everyone would be happy, happy, happy.
Of course, in Somalia the libertarians' pet theories have fared no better than communist theories did in the old Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, instead of being a "worker's paradise," was a repressive, fascist state run by madmen and thugs who denied even basic liberties to their countrymen. Somalia, instead of becoming a place where enlightened self-interest led to a better life for all, had gun-toting nutcases all over the place, shooting anyone who pissed them off or threatened their supply of khat.
Naturally, the U.S. government has sided with the libertarians (or "warlords," as many call them). The idea of a terrorist-connected Islamist government in Somalia is awful, but it was an easily-foreseen consequence of libertarian extremism. Our government should have known better than to support the Somali warlords instead of trying to find a more moderate solution to the country's problems. But President Bush and his people are not exactly moderates themselves, so I suppose we should not be surprised at how they have behaved toward Somalia.
The more extreme a government (or in Somalia's case, non-government) becomes, the more extreme the reaction to it is likely to be. Fidel Castro managed to grab power in Cuba because the previous Batista regime was both repressive and corrupt. Without the huge rich:poor divide and bloody reactions to any and all opposition that were the primary hallmarks of Batista's Cuba, it is doubtful that Castro and his followers would have gained enough public support to become more than a minor nuisance.
Extremists of all stripes love to say, "The only things you find in the middle of the road are yellow lines and roadkill, hah, hah, hah," but whenever the solutions they offer are actually put into practice, they tend to be far worse than moderation for most people.
My primary worry about the current U.S. regime isn't what it's doing today, but what might happen if today's corrupt Republican crowd controls our government for another five or 10 years AND THEN we see a leftist backlash.
I'd rather head toward the center now than watch wild gyrations between right-wing extremists and left-wing extremists that would leave our country dizzy and confused ã and ruin the business and employment climate for almost all of us, rich and poor alike.
I suspect that most sensible Americans agree with me. We'll find out if I'm right in November.
WEB SITE PICK OF THE WEEK: When you're in the mood for smart and snarky political commentary, you can do worse that Chris Floyd's Empire Burlesque. Visit when you're not here. Enjoy!
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