Machine Head

When it all was over
We had to find another place
Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
--Deep Purple

Nice story of Henry Hazlitt's battle vs the establishment during the Bretton Woods period. Hazlitt became an editorial writer for the New York Times in 1934 and used this position to rail against the growing collective movement, particularly w.r.t. monetary policy. It really is quite amazing that the NYT printed such views--given the paper's modern day position as an organ of the State.

Particularly interesting to me was Hazlitt's observation (remember that this was 1944) that Americans had come to believe that government-sponsored organizations provided machinery that could solve any problem. If the president was behind a program, then this machinery 'could make water run uphill or to keep rocks from falling.'

This observation is completely transferrable to current times. Relative to the Gulf oil spill, for instance, it seems that many if not most Americans are looking to President Obama for the 'solution' to the problem, and expect the Federal government to organize in a manner that will make things whole.

Similar dependency behavior was displayed during the credit meltdown and health care episodes.

As Hazlitt constantly noted, reliance on government to solve these problems approaches the height of folly. Not only are bureaucrats short the skills and incentives to effectively deal with such issues, but relying on government machinery inevitably results in loss of individual freedom in exchange for State shackles.

position in oil