Not to be overly political (although how do you avoid it with a topic like this?) but I think it’s just another part of “MAGA maoism” as it’s been called. The idea of the Republican party as a small government free market pro liberty group died with Trump, who painted over that whole philosophy with his focus on culture war grievances, state control, and “owning the libs”.
Matt Yglesias had a good piece two years ago about how the tariff regime essentially makes a mini central planning department and we’ve seen Trump expressly use it as such, trying to bend the economy to attack companies and nations over personal grievances.
And Scott Lincicome of the CATO institute has covered this new brand of “state corporatism” as he calls it quite well IMO, about the nationalization of various companies and the various market distortions it creates.
“First they came” is a famous poem about the oppression of people, but it’s also a good general warning for all sorts of behavior. What someone will happily do to another is what they can happily do to you if you ever cross them. Whether that be the chick who cheated on her husband for you cheating on your new relationship, stuffing people into camps, or using the full force of government to smash your company into bits if you aren’t compliant.
There’s likely to be more of this behavior coming in the future. They’re trying to unlock themselves a new power, and what hammer doesn’t seek out a nail?
“First they came” is a famous poem about the oppression of people
The versions now in use go something like
First they came for the Nazis,
and I cheered, because fuck Nazis.
And everything worked out great!
and
First they came for us,
and now we come for them.
Fuck Around and Find Out.
Neither of these are really in keeping with the spirit of the original poem you reference, but insofar as there is such a thing as the Moral Law, I’d say the second is much more in keeping with it. As the Bible says, Vengeance is Divine.
Not to be overly political (although how do you avoid it with a topic like this?) but I think it’s just another part of “MAGA maoism” as it’s been called. The idea of the Republican party as a small government free market pro liberty group died with Trump, who painted over that whole philosophy with his focus on culture war grievances, state control, and “owning the libs”.
Matt Yglesias had a good piece two years ago about how the tariff regime essentially makes a mini central planning department and we’ve seen Trump expressly use it as such, trying to bend the economy to attack companies and nations over personal grievances.
And Scott Lincicome of the CATO institute has covered this new brand of “state corporatism” as he calls it quite well IMO, about the nationalization of various companies and the various market distortions it creates.
“First they came” is a famous poem about the oppression of people, but it’s also a good general warning for all sorts of behavior. What someone will happily do to another is what they can happily do to you if you ever cross them. Whether that be the chick who cheated on her husband for you cheating on your new relationship, stuffing people into camps, or using the full force of government to smash your company into bits if you aren’t compliant.
There’s likely to be more of this behavior coming in the future. They’re trying to unlock themselves a new power, and what hammer doesn’t seek out a nail?
The versions now in use go something like
and
Neither of these are really in keeping with the spirit of the original poem you reference, but insofar as there is such a thing as the Moral Law, I’d say the second is much more in keeping with it. As the Bible says, Vengeance is Divine.