Pitt's Wisdom

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.

The above quotation comes from William Pitt in 1783. I ran across it on a site that I frequent, and I liked it, so I thought I'd reproduce it here. We Americans have embraced this creed with a vengeance, and it's made us a nation of slaves. Don't believe me? Here are a few, quick examples. How many people objected when the Busheviks curtailed personal freedoms after 9/11? Not many, because they bought the alarmist claim that those measures were necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. They've embraced it again in this economic crisis. Billions and billions of taxpayers monies to bailout rich bankers? It's necessary to save the economy. More bullshit. And the need to let the insurance companies get their fat, greasy fingers into a national health care plan. It's necessary, you see. There's the market, and capitalism. And who wants socialized medicine anyway? You don't get to pick your doctor. You don't get any say in your treatment. Blah-blah-blah, but the know-nothing American public is all too willing to buy it.

Steelworkers in northeast China aren't so prostrate. On the 27th, The Guardian reported that, when workers at one of the country's largest steel plants were told that 25,000 of them would lose their jobs in a takeover, they killed the messenger. That's right, they beat to death the firm's executive who gave them the news. The deal was subsequently cancelled. Maybe people shouldn't kill executives, or maybe they should. I don't much care one way or the other. However, there's definitely a lesson to be learned here. No real change takes place until people decide to take things into their own hands. The only thing the masters really fear is mass social disruption. Individual acts of terrorism they can handle, and at times they're even welcomed, because they can be turned against those who seek change. Social upheaval is a horse of an altogether different color, a coal-black horse, a stalking horse that scares the crap out of them.

And since I've mentioned China, welcome to the new boss, he's the same as the old boss. On the 25th, the Straits Times, which is a newspaper that is published in Singapore, reported that 90% or more of China's billionaires are the sons and daughters of high-ranking government officials. Is that really any surprise?