Your humble scribbler is still recovering from major surgery and for that reason has of necessity been precluded from posting as frequently as he would prefer. Be that as it may, this has come to our attention, authored by none other than George McGovern, the far left Democratic nominee for President in 1972. Please read the entire op ed:
Since leaving office I've written about public policy from a new perspective: outside looking in. I've come to realize that protecting freedom of choice in our everyday lives is essential to maintaining a healthy civil society.
Why do we think we are helping adult consumers by taking away their options? We don't take away cars because we don't like some people speeding. We allow state lotteries despite knowing some people are betting their grocery money. Everyone is exposed to economic risks of some kind. But we don't operate mindlessly in trying to smooth out every theoretical wrinkle in life.
The nature of freedom of choice is that some people will misuse their responsibility and hurt themselves in the process. We should do our best to educate them, but without diminishing choice for everyone else.
Mr. McGovern's philosophical journey (maturation?) mirrors that experienced by ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ from a callow, Marxist university graduate to a wizened, libertarian senior citizen.
In the words of ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ‘ sainted sire: " Too quick you're old. Too late you're smart".
ht: John Ray
3 comments:
I think I read something on lewrockwell.com, or maybe somewhere else, about McGovern changing his ways. Good stuff to hear.
I suppose I should add that back when I actually was reading about McGovern, I only knew that he was LIBERAL. Don't think I ever really knew exactly what he stood for.
Actually, finally clicking on the WSJ link, maybe that was the same article I read.
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