Abu Hatem أبو حاتم

Hope is a virtue.  Indeed, it is one of the three cardinal Christian virtues, alongside of faith and love.  It is also one of the cardinal Muslim virtues - al-raja’ fillah or hope in God.  The early Muslims used to say “Whoever expects the best from his Lord will find the best.”

Barack Obama tells us to have the audacity to hope, whatever he means by that.  There is indeed some silver lining in the clouds, there are some positive benefits out of this election no matter who wins.

The fact is, no matter how imperfect and unideal our candidates have been since 1980, they have been vastly superior in economic policy than 1933-1980, consequent to FDR’s New Deal and the Keynesian economic revolution.

We may complain about our conservatives not being “conservative enough” on economic freedom, but the fact is that Bill Clinton, a democrat, was one of the more markedly free market presidents in our history.  Not for 28 years have we seen 90% top marginal income tax rates.

Reagan changed America.  When Reagan ran in 1980 on a platform of limited government and economic freedom he was derided by Carter as an extremist.  Freedom used to be an extremist view.  In the 80s, 90s, up until now it is a mainstream view.

Much has been written about the demise of true conservatism this year.  This coincides with republican dissatisfaction with Bush and the high prospects of republican defeat this year.  But this demise is pretty much set to be true.  This year is set to be a realigning election.  While the Reagan revolution, Reagan’s coattails in controlling the Senate, and Bush I’s election in 1988, a markedly freer market agenda was set in place (although it was certainly not a free market by any means).  Clinton’s election didn’t set things back, as Clinton was a “New Democrat” who believed in markets.  1994’s Republican takeover of the Congress by Newt Gingrich reformed welfare and with Clinton established balanced budgets in his last few years.

Then republicans took over all three branches in the age of Bush, and failed miserably.

If democrats control the congress by high enough margins, and Obama wins the presidency by a landslide, we should prepare for the worst.

The fundamental impetus of statism is crisis, as history so often tells us, and this Wall Street crisis and the misunderstandings which stem from it serve to establish a reviving statist Keynesian tide.

We should worry about freedom, which is now maligned openly, and which is in danger of becoming a marginal view of the American electorate and public opinion.  Even Francis Fukuyama, the former neoconservative who once was worshipping democratic capitalism like an idol calling it the “end of history,” is today saying that deregulation is a “discredited idea.“

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