Tea at Trianon: The End of Socialism

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, December 11, 2006

The End of Socialism

Here is an in-depth article by Murray N. Rothbard about the false-god who failed. Share

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: I have seen these forces of incentive (and lack thereof) in action here in India, and it is funny to think that anybody (especially the academics) could have been so ignorant of human nature as to think this system could work -- especially without God! This is something that every Indian housewife knows instinctively when dealing with her houseservants, even when India was fully socialist: Money is the most powerful incentive for a job well done.

India is a socialist country in transition to becoming more and more capitalist with each passing year, so it is interesting to see and compare the lingering socialist institutions left in place alongside the privatized companies. The difference is very stark. Just a few months ago, the government run Air India and India Airlines were finally sold into the private sector because they were unable to compete with the more efficient and nonmilitary style international commercial airlines which India opened up to just a few years ago. It is good to see the military-like uniforms (and treatment of passengers!) of airline workers go!

And similar comparisons can be made with the remaining institutions which still have the government finger in them, like the banks and hospitals. Ask anyone that if their child were seriously ill and if they had the choice, would they send him to a government or private hospital. No one would choose the inefficient, lazy, non-care attitude of the government hospitals over the private ones!; December 12, 2006 at 12:37:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Thanks for the insights, Georgette. I fear that we are becoming more socialist here in the USA everyday.; December 12, 2006 at 12:39:00 PM EST