George F. Will, blah blah blah →
Hyperbole is not harmless; careless language bewitches the speaker’s intelligence. And falsely shouting “socialism!” in a crowded theater such as Washington causes an epidemic of yawning. This is the only major industrial society that has never had a large socialist party ideologically, meaning candidly, committed to redistribution of wealth. This is partly because Americans are an aspirational, not an envious, people. It is also because the socialism we do have is the surreptitious socialism of the strong, e.g., sugar producers represented by their Washington hirelings.
In America, socialism is un-American. Instead, Americans merely do rent-seeking — bending government for the benefit of private factions. The difference is in degree, including the degree of candor. The rehabilitation of conservatism cannot begin until conservatives are candid about their complicity in what government has become.
A few notable things about this piece:
a) He seems resigned to the fact that an Obama administration is not going to share his views on role of government;
b) In terms of principle, he does note that people who yell about ‘spreading the wealth around’ and supported a lot of shit the past eight years are on (to say the least) shaky ground;
c) He seems to note that this scare cry of ‘socialism’ is some horseshit.
