Honestly, m'Lud, this will be my last act of thievery

(And if you believe that, you'll believe anything!)

I know, I know, I'm a recidivist nicker of other men's trifles but honestly, some of my fellow bloggers are just so good at turning up excellent stuff and I can't resist cutting and pasting.  Take that Malcolm Pollack at waka waka waka, for example, where did he find this quote from Montesquieu and then publish it just exactly as my own quiet but insistent misgivings concerning the dis-United States of America were rising to the surface?

“It is in the nature of a republic to have only a small territory; otherwise, it can scarcely continue to exist… In a large republic, the common good is sacrificed to a thousand considerations; it is subordinated to exceptions, it depends upon accidents. In a small one, the public good is better felt, better known, lies nearer to each citizen; abuses are less extensive there and consequently less protected.”

– The Spirit of the Laws, ch. 16

For some time now I have become increasingly worried at what seems to me to be the internal disintegration of the USA.  Their 'body politic' gives every sign of being rotten to the core and their political class seems both venal and vicious and stupid beyond belief.  I only watched about five minutes of the recent Congressional hearings into the Benghazi scandal but as an example of how to conduct such an important enquiry it was deeply depressing.  One expects a fair degree of viciousness in the amateur-land of 'Blogdom' but when you see practising politicians actually descending even lower than the worst sort of pig-ignorant blogger it is time to start worrying.

Mind you, I still cling to the slight hope that perhaps it was ever thus and that the only thing to have changed is that via the wonders of the 'internet-thingie' I can now see a lot more at first hand.  There is some evidence for this if you read any history of, say, the Kennedy clan, a bunch of Irish-American thugs who could have given the mafia a run for their money - in fact they did, I seem to remember!  It's just that in the old days of mere newspaper reports, usually days late, their true nature did not appear to us 'over here'.

Even so, it seems to me that the mutual antagonisms between Republicans and Democrats have reached such a low that I'm not sure how long America will be governable.  It is, of course, very, very early days, but I keep spotting the odd piece here or there in the American press suggesting, for example, that Texas should secede from the Union.  Absolute rubbish, the commentariat shout, it'll never happen!  Probably not, I agree, but not impossible and anyway it doesn't matter too much whether the Texans succeed or not the damage will be done even if they just try.

(Things to do right now so I will  publish what I have written so far and come back to it later on)

So, to continue . . .

Of course, political animosity is part and parcel of the democratic process but in America it is increasingly bedevilled by vicious black/white relations.  The Democrat party over recent years has inflicted on the black population even greater cruelties than the old, 19th century, southern aristocracy.  They have nurtured feelings of resentment as they have crowded impoverished blacks into big city ghettos, helped, indeed encouraged, the breakdown of black family life so that illegitimate birth rates to single girls is enormous and the men fall back on the only business available to them - the drug trade.  Needless to say, the Democrats have ensured that as many as possible are hanging from a government teat thus ensuring a large black vote in every election.  Perhaps from this distance I am not seeing straight but it seems to me that black/white relations have never been so bad.  What was once a southern, almost parochial, problem is now a threat to the entire United States.

Not satisfied with that, the Democrat party is busy hosing petrol on the fire by encouraging mass immigration from south of the Rio Grande thus providing themselves with yet another huge demographic they can quickly get on to government welfare rolls and thus ensure a steady supply of yet more hundreds of thousands of votes.  Quite what will happen when impoverished blacks realise that the even more impoverished Hispanics are starting to take their jobs because they will work for less is anyone's guess.  All of this leaves the Republicans floundering and divided in their responses which no doubt explains some of their vitriol.

Returning to Montesquieu's shrewd observation up above, there are some real-life examples which rather confirm his assessment.  The USA, as we can see before our eyes, is a huge but stumbling giant, and the infant EU is like one of those young teen-agers who shoot up taller than their parents far too quickly and then seem quite incapable of controlling their limbs.  Both the USA and the EU share another characteristic, they try, sort of, to run themselves on a roughly (very roughly!) democratic set of premises and there-in perhaps lies their weakness.  Consider two other national giants, Russia and China.  They make no effort to hide their rule by diktat.  And, to be honest, it seems to work for them - although their flirtation with international finance, trade and economics is leading them up an obvious dead end.

So perhaps the old saying is true, size does matter but, as it turns out, the bigger you are the more intractable the problems - and the harder you fall.  At the risk of re-igniting 'SoD' (see comments thread to earlier post), perhaps this is the strongest argument for us to avoid anything other than simple, straightforward trade deals with the EU and instead to concentrate on running our own 'parish pump' affairs the best we can.  Smaller is better!

VOTE LEAVE!

 

Comments

[Whitewall]

David, things here are coming to a boil all right. While you were on Malcolm's blog, did you notice the entry before yours by libertybelle? She offered part of the solution from a Constitutional perspective.

[backofanenvelope]

If one looks at the last 200 years you can see that France and Germany have cocked-up just about everything. The EU was, and is, a racket to keep the French in the style they think they are entitled to. Now the Germans are feeling their oats and swinging a wrecking ball in all directions. We should keep our heads down and wait for the dust to settle. In the meantime, no more American OR EU wars!

[David Duff]

Weeeeeell, BOE, let's not rule out *all* American wars, one or two of them have proved fairly helpful in the past even if it took them a while to get stuck in!

[backofanenvelope]

The past is another country (LP Hartley)

[Whitewall]

David old sport, I think your conclusions are quite good. Poor minorities are so useful to the Left. They have shifted gears from Fabian socialism to a more visceral "get it all now" socialism of Obama and the New Left.

[Lawrence Duff]

What a load of old cock.

Our own Parish pump? There are 65,000,000 of us, with families spread all over the world.

As for Waka Pollacks, the thought that a small state might be more competent than a big one at the "common good", whatever tf that is, will only encourage that state to attempt more in the name of the "common good" than a big one. Since the fact is that will detract from my private good (no quotes, I know exactly what my private good is), I'd rather take my chances with the big state where they know they're shit and so do the people, and I can duck and dive without micro-common-good-doers poking their noses into my business and hands in my wallet.

And while we're on the subject of small shit states, I couldn't fail to notice you dissed the Portuguese president for exercising his democratic right to select the pm, but no mention of those unelected old codgers and codgeresses who've just stopped legislation by our elected parliament.

Great day at work, but feel a bit better now,

SoD

[Cuffleyburgers]

Morning SoD:

"I'd rather take my chances with the big state where they know they're shit and so do the people, and I can duck and dive without micro-common-good-doers poking their noses into my business and hands in my wallet"

But they don't though do they? Both the USA federal govt and the loathsome anti-democratic continent-wasting EU are continually extending their areas of what are laughably called "competence" to the detriment of freedom and living standards of all of us.

May it's true on the planet Zog that governments stop acting when they have the good sense to realise that perhaps it would be better not to involve themselves in some aspect of life; and if so please tell me how you managed to get there because I'd like to emigrate there.

Down here, I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that never in human history has the human race been so over-governed; and since the effect of government (outwith fairly constrained limits) is demonstrably baleful we can conclude that while things in general aren't bad in most corners of the globe, it could be soo much much better.

[Backofanenvelope]

If Lawrence is from the Planet Zog, it leads to the question as to what was our genial host doing there? Do they have armies ? And was he just a cpl? Perhaps a Field Marshal?

[Malcolm Pollack]

DD,

Thanks for the kind mention. One really has to be up on a particular cadre of nasty dead white males (in particular Locke and Montesquieu, and as a counterpoise Plato, More and Hobbes) to get into the heads of those even nastier DWMs (e.g., Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Franklin) who started the ball rolling down the hill over here. (Said ball was launched from a very high elevation, so it's had a good long roll, but it's nearing the bottom now.)

The rest of the Montesquieu passage I excerpted argues that while a small state can be well-managed as a republic, a middle-sized one will do better as a monarchy. The really big ones, though, says M., tend toward despotism.

As we see.

[Malcolm Pollack]

I should add, for clarity's sake, that the real battle in our Cold Civil War is not between Democrats and establishment Republicans -- who, as we can easily see from the lack of any effective resistance whatsoever despite GOP control of both houses of Congress, get along "like two coats of paint".

No, it is between conservative and traditionally minded Americans -- very few of whom are, in fact, Republican members of Congress, but who are legion in the general population -- and the implacable, relentless Left. And let me tell you, the pot is starting to boil, just as it is in Europe.

[Lawrence Duff]

"No, it is between conservative and traditionally minded Americans -- very few of whom are, in fact, Republican members of Congress, but who are legion in the general population -- and the implacable, relentless Left. And let me tell you, the pot is starting to boil, just as it is in Europe."

What about the people who don't like either of them?

SoD

[Malcolm Pollack]

SoD:

"When elephants fight, the grass is trampled."

What American conservatives want is, more than anything else, just for the bloated Federal leviathan simply to leave us alone, and to let the different people and communities and states around the nation just get about their lives as they like. So if that sort of liberty sounds appealing, folks in the middle should have an easy choice.

[jimmy glesga]

Malcolm, you are lucky to have different time zones. We all hear the same crap immediately but you Yanks get a breather.

[Lawrence Duff]

What it'll be like if Blighty votes for the "Billy No Mates" Brexit option: -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11963978/Britains-credit-rating-could-be-cut-by-two-notches-if-it-leaves-EU-warns-SandP.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11963978/Britains-credit-rating-could-be-cut-by-two-notches-if-it-leaves-EU-warns-SandP.html

The markets would bankrupt us through debt interest rate hikes.

The Sweaties would leave and the UK would disintegrate.

The chavs would rise up as they did in our cities a few years ago, and slaughter whoever and whatever remains.

Corbyn and the public sector would take over, declare emergency powers, and it's game over for Blighty.

SoD

[Lawrence Duff]

Second link should be this one: -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11962287/US-not-interested-in-trade-deal-with-post-Brexit-UK-senior-official-warns.html

SoD

[jimmy glesga]

Lawrence, we would carry on working as usual. Time to rid ourselves of Herman and Frog domination. Have some pride man be British. The USA, Canada and the Commonwealth are our friends.

[Cuffleyburgers]

SoD - calm down dear! you don't believe that alarmist crap being churned out by the ton by the In campaign do you?

For gods sake man get a grip. You do realise don't you that the forces arranged against Brexit include most if not all the main stream media in the UK, the government, the EU itself as well as the US state department?

The media because they are fundamentally mostly lazy bastards, the most ambitious have more of an eye on the house of lords than serving the interets of their compatriots, the government because the machine is run by and administrative class inbred with that of the EU itself, and the state department and the EU - well, I do hope you don't think they want us IN for the good of our health do you? For them it's a zero sum game.

There'll be dozens of stories like this in the next few months seeking to sow fear, distrust and misinformation.

Have the courage to think for yourself and read up the subject and you'll realise it's all bollocks.