I Won't Get What I Want
14 October 2007
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Thomas Friedman wants "a president who can unify the country around meaningful action on energy and climate" ("Who Will Succeed Al Gore?" October 14).
I get the creeps whenever I encounter anyone seeking national "unity." A practical impossibility in a nation of 300 million people, "unifying the country" really means government seizing enormous amounts of additional power in order to embark upon schemes of social engineering - schemes whose pursuit gratifies the abstract fantasies of the theory class and, simultaneously, lines the very real pockets of politically powerful corporations, organizations, and "experts."
I want a president who will stick exclusively to protecting my freedoms.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Thomas Friedman wants "a president who can unify the country around meaningful action on energy and climate" ("Who Will Succeed Al Gore?" October 14).
I get the creeps whenever I encounter anyone seeking national "unity." A practical impossibility in a nation of 300 million people, "unifying the country" really means government seizing enormous amounts of additional power in order to embark upon schemes of social engineering - schemes whose pursuit gratifies the abstract fantasies of the theory class and, simultaneously, lines the very real pockets of politically powerful corporations, organizations, and "experts."
I want a president who will stick exclusively to protecting my freedoms.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Saturday April 12, 2008 at 12:58pm