The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Why Liberals Hate You

Posted on | September 19, 2012 | 113 Comments

Rare is the day when I have cause to express gratitude to Matt Yglesias, but his expression of the statist view could not be clearer:

 

 

Could we write a 10,000-word essay on the crypto-totalitarian assumptions of this statement? Sure we could. But why bother, when Iowahawk does it in 140-characters or less?

 

 

The temptation to teach a political philosophy class here is strong, but must be resisted. Let us merely assume, therefore, that our readers are familiar with those conservative thinkers who scoff at the “state of nature” in which too many philosphers have based their deluded egalitarian theories. There was never any such “state of nature.”

Government began with the family, and its authority was developed in other such organic institutions which the state did nothing to create, but which the state is obligated to defend. The state should be the servant of its citizens and not the master, and there is no “democratic” right that permits the state to defraud citizens of their property for the benefit of any special interest or political constituency. But as I say, I’m resisting the temptation to teach a class. Let’s keep it to Tweets.

 

 

At this very moment, the state’s wife is trying to get the state’s children out of the state’s beds, but they’re not going to the state’s schools to get the state’s education. The state may tax us to provide such schools, but the state cannot compel our children to attend them — at least, not yet. Matt Yglesias would probably say that my wife and I are stealing these children from the state.

UPDATE: William J. Hoge wonders, “What are they teaching kids these days?” Ah, but Yglesias was magna cum laude at Harvard.

The absolute disconnect between the statist idolatry of Yglesias and any real sense of history is not, I think, accidental.

“To live for the moment is the prevailing passion— to live for yourself, not for your predecessors or posterity. We are fast losing the sense of historical continuity, the sense of belonging to a succession of generations originating in the past and stretching into the future.”
—Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism (1979)

This is what the the statism of Yglesias neglects, “the sense of belonging” to something more permanent than a peer group, a social clique or a self-chosen political category. Yglesias is profoundly alienated from America, unable to relate to or empathize with the Founders or their vision, and thinks it “false consciousness” (or ignorant adherence to a “myth”) if others do.

Patriotism the decadent likes of Yglesias cannot comprehend, except insofar as they can redefine America to fit their philosophy, and then command your allegiance to their creation.

Nor is it an accident that such shallow self-regarding elitists contemptuously dismiss religion as another ignorant myth, because God and God’s laws must be overthrown if their own authority to dictate to others — performing the role of Platonic archons — is to be recognized without challenge. Their possession of elite credentials would otherwise be devalued, and they would be unjustly deprived of that which they most crave, an unquestioned status of superiority over others.

Their egalitarian theory is thus exposed as dishonest hypocrisy: While they are willing to redistribute the property of others, they cling with jealous ferocity to that which they most fanatically crave, namely their own prestige and privileges.

Our humility in thinking ourselves no better than our ancestors — my great-grandfather was entirely illiterate, as perhaps were your own forebears — is incomprehensible to intellectuals, who confuse their skill at articulation with wisdom and virtue. Hayek examined this confusion in “The Intellectuals and Socialism,” as did Thomas Sowell in The Vision of the Anointed. Once you understand that a man might be fluent and persuasive while yet being foolish and vicious, then you are less likely to be dazzled or deceived by the elite credentials and wordy pretensions of such impudent intellectual bullies as Matthew Yglesias.

They hate you most thoroughly, except you are so microscopically insignificant as to be beneath their notice, so that these would-be philosopher-kings regard you with complete contempt.

 





 

 


Category: Intellectuals

Comments

113 Responses to “Why Liberals Hate You”

  1. @MattYglesias Exposes Himself « The Camp Of The Saints
    September 19th, 2012 @ 10:32 am

    […] of the fedora to Stacy McCain who comments: Government began with the family, and its authority was developed in other such […]

  2. JeffS
    September 19th, 2012 @ 10:35 am

    That depends on Matt.

  3. chuckatpdo
    September 19th, 2012 @ 10:38 am

    As a semi-pertinent aside, does anybody know if Matt credited Jimmy McMillan for the title of his book?

  4. JeffS
    September 19th, 2012 @ 10:38 am

    Never heard of the drug seizure laws, have you?

  5. Matt Yglesias Never Watched The Wire « Andrew J. Patrick
    September 19th, 2012 @ 10:49 am

    […] us all stomp, like Stacy McCain, like Andy at Ace, upon the socialist fallacy of the day: @mattyglesias The concept of […]

  6. Garym
    September 19th, 2012 @ 10:53 am

    Because of my poor writing skilz, I didn’t get my simplistic point across. Free market is the only true form of democracy. I.E. people “vote for” by purchasing things they like or enjoy, OTOH people “vote out” items or services that they don’t purchase.

  7. A social discussion of redistribution | Emigre From A Podunk Outpost
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:14 am

    […] http://theothermccain.com/2012/09/19/why-liberals-hate-you/ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=327954337270718"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "facebook-jssdk")); […]

  8. richard mcenroe
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:21 am

    The third and fourth volumes are The Lotus Eaters and Amazon Legion. Also, he wrote the feel-good novel of 2005, Watch on the Rhine.

  9. richard mcenroe
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:23 am

    Add machine guns and that’s John Ringo.

  10. ThomasD
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:44 am

    No, Vanderbilt belongs to the premier college Conference. Harvard is the Davidson of the North.

  11. ThomasD
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:48 am

    Which is precisely why our Founding Fathers sought to place the police power as close to the citizen as possible. In order to limit authority and foster accountability.

    And why progressives of all stripes have been moving it further and further towards DC ever since.

    None of this is accidental.

  12. Rob Crawford
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:50 am

    Well, see, he’s got the right pedigree. An Ivy League degree means he’s One Of The Right People.

  13. Rob Crawford
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:52 am

    From what I’ve read, recent discoveries indicate the impulse to stay in one place predated agriculture. We learned how to grow our own food as a RESULT of having a concept of “our” territory vs. “others” territory.

  14. Rob Crawford
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:53 am

    The collectivists believe THEY will get it right. They’re so smart, after all. Why, when they were in their teens and twenties, they discovered sex!

  15. Rob Crawford
    September 19th, 2012 @ 11:54 am

    Gordon Gecko was a fictional character, invented by a leftist screen writer. He doesn’t exist. He never existed.

    Yet lefties insist on basing policy on not just his existence, but his ubiquity.

  16. DYSPEPSIA GENERATION » Blog Archive » Why Liberals Hate You
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:05 pm

    […] The Other McCain is on the case. Rare is the day when I have cause to express gratitude to Matt Yglesias, but his expression of the statist view could not be clearer: […]

  17. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:18 pm

    If Obama came over, Matt would want to make a sandwich.

  18. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:18 pm

    This was a bad week for Romney? Really?

  19. Wombat_socho
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:23 pm

    :facepalm:

  20. Wombat_socho
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:24 pm

    You are a sick, sick man, Mr. McEnroe.
    +1

  21. Wombat_socho
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:25 pm

    Only in the Posleen War novels; I gather the rest of his stuff isn’t quite as gory.

  22. Wombat_socho
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:26 pm

    No problem. I actually started with CALIPHATE, which is, if anything, even more grim than A DESERT CALLED PEACE and its sequels.

  23. No, Government Did Not Begin With Family | Daily Pundit
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:30 pm

    […] Government Did Not Begin With Family Posted on September 19, 2012 9:30 am by Bill Quick Why Liberals Hate You : The Other McCain Government began with the family, and its authority was developed in other such organic […]

  24. theCL Report: Beginning to See Daylight
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:31 pm

    […] "In short, you didn't build that, you don't own that. You owe all to the merciful, life giving state… […]

  25. UncleCrumpty
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:47 pm

    Days like this I miss Dennis the Peasant. He loved tearing little Matty a new one

  26. Quartermaster
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:48 pm

    Heh!

  27. Mortimer Snerd
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:51 pm

    For those under 45 who have never heard of The Village People, they were…..well, they were hard to describe.

  28. Mortimer Snerd
    September 19th, 2012 @ 12:53 pm

    You can at Harvard!

  29. Nick Hail
    September 19th, 2012 @ 1:12 pm

    There is stupid and then there is weapons grade stupid.

  30. jeff cleanout
    September 19th, 2012 @ 1:18 pm

    That whole “endowed by their Creator” thing is over-rated #ThingsYglesiasBelieves.

  31. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    September 19th, 2012 @ 1:38 pm

    Rush is commenting on the Luntz review of this right now. Luntz is saying while the spin that Romney does not “care” about the 47% has the potential the harm him, if he distinguishes that and explains what he meant it has the potential to help him.

  32. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    September 19th, 2012 @ 1:39 pm

    Just don’t tell Michelle. She would kill them both.

  33. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    September 19th, 2012 @ 1:40 pm

    The only members of the NRO crowd that matter are Jonah and Mark Steyn. And both of them are not really part of the NRO crowd.

  34. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    September 19th, 2012 @ 1:41 pm

    I like Jim Geraghty too. And Kudlow and VDH have their moments.

  35. jwallin
    September 19th, 2012 @ 2:30 pm

    Why the hell are people disliking this comment?

    Maybe English is you all’s second language but I dissed MATT in this comment.

    The Stopped Clock sentence was aimed at matt.

    Not Stacy/Smitty.

    Unless of course a bunch of Matt Yglesias fanbois were on the blog earlier.

    I dunno. English is not that hard to understand folks. Unless of course you already have an opinion of what’s being said regardless of what IS said.

    I only mention it because I hardly ever get dislikes and not 5 at a time. (well unless I’ve been slumming at some progressive pit.)

  36. richard mcenroe
    September 19th, 2012 @ 4:49 pm

    Hey, they’re in the film version of the Producers musical…

  37. richard mcenroe
    September 19th, 2012 @ 4:50 pm

    Oh, come on! How was that novel not a win-win for everybody? Waffen SS Vs. Cannibal Aliens and dead transnationals everywhere!

  38. richard mcenroe
    September 19th, 2012 @ 4:51 pm

    I was referring to his “Ghost” political thriller novels.

  39. Finrod Felagund
    September 19th, 2012 @ 6:43 pm

    The pigeons in Finding Nemo are a near-perfect analogy for liberals. “Mine?” “Mine?” “Mine?”

  40. Wombat_socho
    September 19th, 2012 @ 7:32 pm

    Looks like Ryan’s headed in that direction already.

  41. Wombat_socho
    September 19th, 2012 @ 7:34 pm

    There were parts of it that verged on gore porn, and other parts that went all the way over that cliff. Otherwise, your plot summary is spot on.

  42. Wombat_socho
    September 19th, 2012 @ 7:34 pm

    Haven’t read those yet, doubly so since they gave rise to the OH JOHN RINGO NO meme.

  43. Wombat_socho
    September 19th, 2012 @ 7:36 pm

    The mood of the commentariat is often confused and usually inscrutable.

  44. richard mcenroe
    September 19th, 2012 @ 7:58 pm

    True, but I see where Kratman also looked unflinchingingly at the cost of being unwilling to make hard choices and at being willing to pay the price for hard choices made, and refused to back away from the fact that even the noblest war brutalizes. He’s a lot closer, in my opinion, to William Manchester than Rambo.

  45. richard mcenroe
    September 19th, 2012 @ 8:01 pm

    Let’s put it this way: his protagonist has demons which he almost always manages to rein in damned near in time.

    And I’m sorry, the scene where the terrorists are trying to torture a masochist for information… Loose synopsis:

    “Well, she’s screaming, oh my commander…”
    “But is she giving you any information?”
    “More like… instructions…”

    And you’ll never get better advice as to when to grab the axe during an ecstatic axe dance…

  46. Garym
    September 19th, 2012 @ 8:29 pm

    ; )

  47. Adjoran
    September 19th, 2012 @ 8:35 pm

    I dislike the whining about the dislikes you get.

  48. Adjoran
    September 19th, 2012 @ 8:36 pm

    If it ain’t Rule 5, he doesn’t have to look.

  49. Adjoran
    September 19th, 2012 @ 8:39 pm

    He’s not watching any video by an Eeeevil Joo.

  50. Adjoran
    September 19th, 2012 @ 8:40 pm

    Nah. She didn’t kill Reggie Love – just sent him away.

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