@blatham,
blatham wrote:
As Farmerman pointed out, you've made a pretty shady omission in disregarding the broad move of the Dixiecrats into the Republican party. It is one of the most significant political realignments of the last century. You know this history, surely, so why the pretense it didn't happen?
I merely noted the fact that there was relatively more Republican support for the Voting Rights act when it was enacted than Democrat. The Dixiecrats are no more, and I reject your suggestion that the Republican legislatures (where they exist) in the South are their equivalent. Things change over time, though it is apparent your prejudices don't.
blatham wrote:I put a question to you at the end of my last post. Can you respond to it, please. If a libertarian scheme of governance (of the sort you favor) is as effective in producing broad prosperity and liberty in a nation, one would expect to see some fine instances of the thing extant in the world. I see no such thing.
I've offered several questions and topics for your comment, but note that you avoid responding to any that might create difficulty for you. Read my last few posts.
As for the economic effects of progressiveism, they show a great deal of what biologists call hormesis. A little of it is good for you (Indeed none at all can be harmful) but increasing doses do increasing harm with an end point of death. The presence of various metals in the body is a good example (Iron, aresenic, selenium and others are all essential in small quantities but fatal in large doses.
As for the example you seek, consider the United States during the past two centuries and the slow down we have been experiencing for the last two decades. Throughout the 2oth century we led Europe in economic performance and growth by large margins - even after consideration of their self-induced wartime destruction. Today only two European nations rank higher than the USA in ppp GDP/capita : they are Norway and Switzerland (I'm omitting Monaco & Luxembourg). Norway is an exception to all rules due to its small population and oil wealth: Switzerland is far more libertarian and less social democratic than all its European Neighbors. Our GDP/capita is more than 22% higher than that of Canada, and as well, Austria, Ireland, Sweden and Iceland (the top ranked EU nations); over 30% higher than those of Germany, France Denmark and the UK; 70% higher than those of southern and Eastern EU nations.etc. Interestingly Hong Kong has a GDP/capita about equal to ours and it is a model of free market caaitalism.
blatham wrote:If there are no such examples, yet in contrast many examples of highly successful and free nations which operate with progressive systems, how can you or anyone else have any confidence at all that your notion will work? I don't quite get this.
Well, as noted above there are numerous examples of relative economic performance measures that contradict your unsupported statements.. The subject is, of course, more complex than can be fully represented by a single statistic. However I note that you have offered nothing whatever to support your many broadly stated opinions.