Manny's World

I was (once again) told what I believe on a fringe-right site.  I decided to tell the Righties what I really believe; here's what I wrote:

"Stop telling me what I believe. My beliefs are not simple - life isn't simple.

You (I'm pretty sure) and I both believe, fundamentally, that the right of the individual comes first, all other things being equal. I'm guessing that you and I also agree that the individual does not have the right to, say, cry "fire" in a crowded theatre - even though we're quashing an individual's free speech in order to appease a group (gasp!).

So we both agree that there are times when an individual must be "muzzled" when it harms others.

I used to be a Libertarian. Then, after a visit to Germany, I then made an extensive study of how good countries turn bad, e.g., how Germany went from being the most Jew-friendly country in the world, to having the Dachau concentration camp just a block away from a stop on the Munich subway line.   I've come to the conclusion that:

1. Unbridled Capitalism inevitably guts the middle class over time, since the Rich can (and inevitibly do) purchase laws that move Middle-Class money into their own pockets.

2. Gutting the Middle Class causes seriously bad things to happen - such as Nazi Germany, the US in the 1920s and early 1930s (KKK, American Nazi Party, etc - all the bad stuff they seem to forget about in history class...), and so forth.

3. Thus, the Middle Class must be protected from predation from the Rich, or we will see a repeat of the bad craziness of the middle of the last century. I suspect that it's already too late - but I sure hope that I'm wrong.

I don't believe in leveling income per se - but I do believe in ensuring that a rising tide does lift all boats - again, for the simple reason that if some goups' boats are sinking bad craziness will inevitibly follow.