Where I Think We Are

Doug Reich of Rational Capitalist had a good, upbeat appraisal of the health care situation, which defenders of freedom sorely need at this point.

I posted a comment, the initial catalyst for which was Doug noting the disappointing fact that some legislators seem to have opposed the health care bill only because they didn't want funding for abortions. Of course as an Objectivist I am opposed to outlawing abortion, I am opposed to basing policy on religious scripture, and I am disappointed when politicians will not aggressively defend self-interest and oppose altruism. My comments:

I find that to be so pathetic. Their support for capitalism and individual rights is similar to their focus on the unborn: potential, not actual. An entire industry is about to be put under a government jackboot and that's all they can object to!

That's what happens when you focus on things that are not of this world: you no longer care about the here and now.

Although the vote was depressing, I think that Obama is going to be the "high" point of liberalism. There will be a Republican backlash, but it will be short-lived because they have no moral backbone (see above). It may even swing back again towards the liberals in the following cycle. Liberalism has a slight moral advantage now, which makes up for its utter lack of practicality.

However, better ideas are getting out there, and it's going to become harder and harder for our opponents to take advantage of people's ignorance. Liberals (and some conservatives) still think Ayn Rand is just a simplistic crackpot who had nothing to say; therefore they're not really paying attention. They won't even know what hit them until it's too late.

I think the whole battle is going to come to a head as a public moral showdown between egoism and altruism (and the underlying battle for reason). At some point, altruists will realize what's at stake, and they will fight tooth and nail to smear egoism and paint it as evil.

But it's not going to work, because we know what's right, and unlike current conservatives, we're not going to back down. And that's when we'll really start to gain ground.

Of course I am aware the Republicans voted against the health care bill, and I am glad for that. However, if they had taken a more principled moral stand against the type of controls/abuses/expropriation contained in the health care bill over the last few decades, we would not be on the threshold of socialized medicine.