I'm now completely done being amazed.

[Laelth]

70. Quite.

The essay I linked to above explores the rare and short periods in the 20th century when liberal policy directed the Federal Government. It seems that we have three options in order to bring about a leftward shift in government policy: 1) fear of revolution, 2) global depression, and 3) cold war against a leftist superpower. From my point of view, revolution is the least desirable of these three options. Revolutions are bloody, nasty affairs that injure a lot of innocent people. Besides which, their results are very unpredictable and the damage they do is very long-lasting. I suspect that a right-wing revolution in the United States is more likely than a left-wing revolution. Besides which, left-wing revolutions are just as dangerous and destructive as right-wing ones. The Russian Revolution of 1917, which ushered in the U.S.S.R., created a brutally repressive totalitarian state, despite the fact that the new government was founded on lofty, socialist ideals. In sum, if I had my choice of means to bring about fundamental change in our republic, revolution would be my last choice.

A true depression might be the better alternative. A recession is an economic event in which the poor and middle class suffer while the rich make record profits. That's what we have now. A true depression, on the other hand, is an economic event in which the rich suffer too, and, when they do, history shows that they will demand fundamental changes to the system. That, I think, is what we need in order to see a leftward shift in American politics.

Thanks for the reply.

-Laelth