When I first read Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, I thought there was one a single error in it, aside from the “typical American” happy ending. Her description of the state developing into a cancer, which devours the body of a society, did not fit the USA to the degree it did Germany. This, however, did not reduce my pleasure in reading it by any means.
These days, I am sure, I was right. A new development has been initiated that comes right out of this book: politicians and economic experts are discussing a new assault on any productive person left in Germany, which exceeds by far last week's tax raise, the worst since WWII, by the way.
Now, the Beast has dropped his mask for a moment. "Bedingungslose Grundversorgung," which translates as "unconditional basic allowance," was the topic of a public discussion of economy experts and politicians. Every person no matter which age, gender or employment status, will be eligible to receive a basic allowance of one thousand five hundred u20ACuros a month.
Persons who intend to earn more will be free to do so, but in order to finance the basic allowance, sales of “luxury items,” – as in, goods of “no essential necessity” – will be prohibitively taxed. And, of course, nobody has the right to decide his "needs" by himself…
This comes quite close to most definitions of socialism, and it appears that Fernando Carpio got it right on the point, saying that nations or other forms of collectives can't learn, but only individuals can. The collapse of the Soviet Empire, or, our late neighbor, the German Democratic Republic, did not teach our intellectual elite an iota.
The statements used to defend this scheme reminded me chillingly of the words of the Starnes heir who had invented the way the 20th Century Motor Company in Starnesville had been driven into bankruptcy. Normally, novels describe what happens in reality or imagination. Now we see reality as a persiflage on a novel.
John Galt, can you hear me?
May 22, 2006
