This knee jerk hysteria is exactly the same as the reaction to 9/11... A major shock to the system freaks people out because the work isn't conforming to (comfort-oriented) expectations and so they instantly look to someone who looks good who promises them a return to mindlessness.
The abrogation of responsibility by the many for their own lives and the arrogation of authority/magical-ability/etc. by the few (and the selling of that to increase power/profit at the expense of everyone else) is exactly the underlying mechanism that created the emergent, systemic failures.
An example people might want to look at is the examples in traffic management whereby busy, dangerous intersections have been redone so that there's less separation and therefore more required of all of the participants to pay attention.
I particularly like that example but there are plenty of other good examples from the driving and traffic world if you look around.
"The abrogation of responsibility by the many for their own lives and the arrogation of authority/magical-ability/etc. by the few (and the selling of that to increase power/profit at the expense of everyone else) is exactly the underlying mechanism that created the emergent, systemic failures."
Do you not see how this leads directly to an argument against libertarianism?
Many individuals (and firms) made decisions that turned out not to be rational and did not suit their interests. In turn, this led to a collapse that has negatively impacted even those who did not make poor decisions. Arguably, this collapse could have been much worse without decidedly non-libertarian intervention.
In short, human beings, in aggregate, are not good enough decision makers for strong libertarianism to be a viable way to structure our affairs.
The abrogation of responsibility by the many for their own lives and
the arrogation of authority/magical-ability/etc. by the few[...]
That's a collective abrogation of responsibility by the public at large, not one by individuals within it. The constituent members of the public do not have (or feel they have) the responsibility or power to effect any sort of macroscopic change to the economy. In that sense, it's not surprising that the public nominates someone to have that power and responsibility.
That's a collective abrogation of responsibility by the public at large, not one by individuals within it.
Ptui! How, exactly, do you think such "collective" behavior comes about? By the collective, emergent behavior of the individuals!
The constituent members of the public do not have (or feel they have) the responsibility or power to effect any sort of macroscopic change to the economy.
That's the point... The masses of individuals give it up and few take advantage by taking it up and extending their own power by manipulating people with FUDGE (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt, Guilt, and (the hope for self-) Enrichment).
Doesn't anyone else find it odd that the "educational" system in the US doesn't actually teach anything about how the political system really works? I.e., it's all the pablum puking pap of the simplistic notion of checks and balances and what not but doesn't actually get into how it's been gerrymandered over the centuries, how people manipulate the (non-) voters in so very many ways, and especially not how to approach, think, and act to responsibly and effectively participate? Sigh.
In that sense, it's not surprising that the public nominates someone to have that power and responsibility.
Indeed. What's surprising is that people believe they are more free and that the overwhelmingly vast numbers of the so-called "thinkers" buy into the he-said, she-said games rather than going at the underlying issues. The simplest example for this group would be the debate of Creationism "versus" Evolution.
This knee jerk hysteria is exactly the same as the reaction to 9/11... A major shock to the system freaks people out because the work isn't conforming to (comfort-oriented) expectations and so they instantly look to someone who looks good who promises them a return to mindlessness.
The abrogation of responsibility by the many for their own lives and the arrogation of authority/magical-ability/etc. by the few (and the selling of that to increase power/profit at the expense of everyone else) is exactly the underlying mechanism that created the emergent, systemic failures.
An example people might want to look at is the examples in traffic management whereby busy, dangerous intersections have been redone so that there's less separation and therefore more required of all of the participants to pay attention.
I particularly like that example but there are plenty of other good examples from the driving and traffic world if you look around.
Sigh.