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Friday, February 10, 2012

Self-Interest And The Pathology Of Power: The Corruption Of America Part 2

The self-interest of the alcoholic is to keep drinking. Is this truly in his best interests? The answer illuminates the pathology of power in America.

If we ignore the lip-service showered on "reform," we find that there is really only one strategy in America: extend and pretend. Individuals, households, communities, cities, states, enterprises and the vast sprawling Empire of the Federal government and its many proxies--all are engaged in extend and pretend.

The closest analog is a seriously ill alcoholic who tells himself he just has a hang-over when it's abundantly clear he is suffering from potentially terminal cancer. With a hang-over, extend and pretend is the only strategy that works: you can try various "magic potions" to relieve the symptoms, but the only real cure is to give the body enough time to cleanse itself of the toxins you've created and pretend to be functioning in the meantime.

In the case of aggressive cancer, then extend and pretend is the worst possible strategy: ignoring the rapid progression of the disease only makes eventual treatment more difficult and uncertain.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its been going on for a long time but now the world is ready to collapse because of it.

Anonymous said...

The closest analog is a seriously ill alcoholic who tells himself he just has a hang-over when it's abundantly clear he is suffering from potentially terminal cancer.

Anonymous said...

Raising minimum wage only puts more businesses out of business resulting in more people out of work. Raising the minimum wage sounds good but in reality it doesn't do anyone any good. It will also force up prices that everyone else has to pay because the business has to pass along the additional costs to its customers.