In a Funk

… meaning, “a depressed [in the non-clinical sense] state of mind,” due to so many of the political things going on in the US right now.  I worry even more about the trajectory this country is on, not only because of what the state is doing and is likely to do in the future but also because so many Americans seem rather uninterested in – or worse, supportive of – state encroachment on our liberties.  Cue Benjamin Franklin quote here on security/liberty here (even if he didn’t mean what we do by it).  And unlike our ancestors, we have basically nowhere to go if our experiment fails here (sorry, Singapore isn’t a real alternative since economic liberty isn’t enough).

But what is to be done?  What can be done?  Is ignorance or political quietism really the rational solution to “deal” with this since the logic of collective action, the power of interested actors, and the disinterest in true liberty on the part of the masses and elites seem such high barriers to change?  I say “no” since there is honor and manliness in fighting even what could be a losing battle, being on the right side of truth (if not history), and not succumbing to despair.  Plus it is a consumption good to stick a finger in the eye of the man!  Yet I can understand why so many of his feel so funky right now.  But let’s not be sunshine patriots in the service of our fight for liberty no matter how tempting (and economically rational to the dirty utilitarians of the world).

I am not being asked by TFAS to say this, but perhaps the best way for us to fight back is to play the long game and spend our efforts (or our money) on educating the next generation of Americans on the beauty of liberty and the usefulness of free markets.  But I’m open to better suggestions.  And clearly there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer and a need to counterattack on multiple fronts.