More Fun From the Mail Bag

In response to my warlord article, I received a few heckling emails. This one gentleman and I went back and forth, concerning his assertion that there will always be a few jerks (not his term) who will desire power and take over. To this I replied that a few jerks can, at worst, kill a few hundred people, and that to achieve carnage on the scale of the State, you need a few jerks issuing orders that are carried out by millions of obedient subjects.

Anyway, when answering my email he quoted my lines where I said that a few jerks can at best kill a few hundred people, and said in retort:

> Sure, just like the Nazi's extinguished the lives of
> over 8 million people
> and Stalin just about 25 million. You really should
> get your nose out of the
> economic texts and into a bit of history.
Now what's really funny about this response is not that it completely ignores my point. No, what's funny is that he is actually arguing that I was too preoccupied with backward bending supply curves of labor to notice that there were these things called Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia.

So let's be clear, once and for all: During the course of my schooling (not to mention watching the History Channel), I've heard a few references now and again to these chaps. (And for what it's worth, I have never understood how the examples of totalitarian governments somehow prove that government is necessary for society.)

Comments

  1. Anonymous2:21 PM

    The fact that there actually were "millions of obedient" subjects to carry out orders kind of indicates that, like it or not, there is going to be a government.

    Sure society would get along fine without a government if we could just alter that little something called human nature... sheeps and wolves...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just like the fact that there slavery existed for thousands of years "indicates" that, "like it or not," there will always be slaves and masters?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1:03 PM

    So have we evolved?

    As that great liberal thinker Zappa put it:

    "the problem with that is you think the pigs are essentially kind at heart . . .but the pigs are essentially pigs"

    ReplyDelete
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