The Anger of Compassion

Republicans: A Godsend to the Left

"The political left in America," writes Patrick Chisholm of csmonitor.com, "is emerging victorious."

No, this isn't about the damage that Jack Abramoff's mischief has done to the political right. Nor is it about President Bush's lousy poll numbers. And it doesn't refer to Democrats' recent win of two governorships.

It's about something much deeper; namely, that the era of big government is far from over. Trends are decidedly in favor of that quintessential leftist goal: massive redistribution of wealth.

Republicans' capture of both Congress and the White House was, understandably, a demoralizing blow to the left. But the latter can take solace that "Republican" is no longer synonymous with spending restraint, free markets, and other ideals of the political right.

It sure as hell isn't. Chisholm's story isn't pleasant news, but it's also not news. It was Richard Nixon, remember, who gave us the Environmental Protection Agency; Ronald Reagan who bequeathed TEFRA, or tax "reform," and, together with Alan Greenspan, put Social Security on life support instead of allowing it to die a decent death; and most recently, a Republican administration agitated for and the leadership of a Republican-dominated Congress twisted arms to pass the lovely prescription drug "benefit":

The prescription drug benefit was another victory for the redistributionists. While it is true that the left wants even more spent on that program, Republican efforts have netted an additional $1.2 trillion being redistributed over the next 10 years.

Certain trends have been favoring the left for the past several decades. In the early 1960s, transfer payments (entitlements and welfare) constituted less than a third of the federal government's budget. Now they constitute almost 60 percent of the budget, or about $1.4 trillion per year. Measured according to this, the US government's main function now is redistribution: taking money from one segment of the population and giving it to another segment. In a few decades, transfer payments are expected to make up more than 75 percent of federal government spending.

Chisholm is not sanguine about the future, but I'd like to point out to him and to anyone else listening that this situation is much worse than he thinks. It is the commonly-accepted belief of the era, contra Mises, that there actually is a moral and practical "third way" between capitalism and socialism. It's even worse than that, actually, because we're in a culture which sees such redistributions are simply the right thing to do. Capitalism and altruism, as has been noted before, are not compatible. Do you expect to see much discussion of this during the upcoming goatgrab election of a new House Majority Leader?

Right. Let me advise against holding your breath.

Posted by Craig Ceely at January 23, 2006 03:09 PM