Sometimes Bumper Stickers Are Informative.

Take this one found here:

Text follows:

SOCIALISM

Socialized Police Socialized Army

Socialized Firefighting Socialized Healthcare

When it's a matter of life and death, trust voters not shareholders.

The bumber sticker is interesting because it encapsualtes so many, many Progressive ideas.

1) All state actions are Socialistic: So governments ranging from the Khmer Rouge to feudal 14th century England are at their core socialist. If a wookie-suiter libertarian said that it would be inflammatory and nutty (like saying all "government is force"), for a progressive... well it's bumper sticker worthy.

2) Similarly, socialist is a wonderful word when used by progressives, but a hatful slur on the level of terrorist when used by those against "progress". And don't you dare call Obamacare socialist healthcare or a prelude to socialist healthcare or even "Obamacare", that is unless you're for socialist healthcare.

3) Also Socialist Healthcare is on par with the State having a monopoly on force. So, how many divisions does the NHS have? Consider that. Operations, drugs, and medical treatments done to your body require the same level of "voter control" as an act of War. Thus merely going to a doctor of your own choosing and entering into a private exchange of goods and services is equivalent to getting a gang of people and becoming a brigand or, with a boat, a pirate.

4) Not only is Socialized Medicine better than the alternatives but not having it is as frightening and horrible as having privatized police, corporate armies, and firemen that start fires to get more business.

5) There is no such thing as self defense. All maters of life and death are left to the state. Therefore you as a citizen are unfit to defend yourself or purchase means to enhance your own protection (private security or even personal arms).

6) Tangentially related to the previous two: Police and Military are equivalent state actors (as are firemen and doctors). Consider the growth of SWAT teams and their expanded use in the various Wars On Nouns.

7) Also the Anti-War and "Police are pigs" left finds nothing wrong with said groups when they are socialist in nature.

8) Note a critical absence. There no mention of "socialist" education. Education is run by the state as well. One supposes that education is not a matter of life and death, but it is no doubt critical to society. And is far more socialistic than health care (so far) or Fire Fighters.

9) This repeats the first point but... firefighters are socialist? There is no federal department of fire fighting, and there are many volunteer fire-fighters. Again if fire fighters are socialist then any governmental program no matter how small is socialist. However people like firemen, they're not controversial like police, military, healthcare, or even education.

10) Private enterprise is inherently immoral, and an organization being held responsible to those that voluntarily invested money into it is a reprehensible act.

11) Organizations with compulsory power (governments), are better and more moral than those without (companies). Therefore it is moral to use the state to compel people to do the right thing.

12) The "people" are virtuous only when their actions fit within approved criteria such as supporting socialism and not in other activities such as holding stock, organizing into corporations, engaging in commerce and presumably voting to reduce the size and scope of the organs of state.

13) And finally: the State has power over life and death. And this is a good thing. And because the state is so good at matters of "life and death", its power should be expanded into other areas.

Quite alot from a single, if wordy, bumpersticker.

Nautrally, Mr. A was considering this bumper sticker, to put on his car as he drove to his unfairly low taxed high-paying job. One supposes it would ameliorate his privileged guilt, without ruining his "economic advantage" and be a tasteful way to shock and awe his coworkers. Who says champagne socialism is played out?


This Robert A. Heinlein quote seems quite appropriate:

Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort.

And here's another that is somewhat related.