- Parliamentary democracy (or republicanism) is, over all, the worst possible form of government. It is a context in which rational people pursuing self-interest act in a way to commit national suicide and destroy everything they hold dear.
- Legislatures are to The Law what state economic planning boards are to the economy. Law should be made by judges settling cases according to known ethical standards with an eye on precedent. Law made by gigantic committees are as likely to be conducive to just laws as the post office is likely to be efficient or Amtrak to turn a profit. Legislation is to law what Esperanto is to language.
- Controlling the world is not a workable defense strategy.
- It is perfectly possible to imagine an unelected ruling class making society better for everyone, so long as that ruling class is made up of a genuinely superior culture. But it is impossible that a ruling class will do anything but damage a society if the ruling class is at the same cultural level as the servile class. And the ruling class will always believe that they are a superior culture.
- The best way to run a tyranny is to train everyone in “the rule of law” and get them to believe in it and be proud of it. If you are an open dictator you will have to micro-manage way too much to have any fun. Everyone will be paralyzed awaiting your pleasure. But give people confidence in the rule of law and you will have a prosperous society. All you need is to provide a way to force exceptions for yourself when you want to. This will actually be easier to do when everyone is confident that they have the rule of law.
- Rule by elected parliamentarians means rule by invisible people.
- The war between the haves and have-nots is an illusion. It is actually a war between the have-mores and the have-not-as-muches. They always say it is “about the children” when it is actually about the teachers’ union. The have-nots never have real clout. They get benefits that provide jobs to managers of their benefits.
Various and Sundry Political Opinions
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