Friday, December 7, 2018

Are the Yellow Vest Protests Really a Libertarian Revolution?

Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute emails:

Greetings Bob!

Just wanted to write you on your most recent piece on the "yellow vest" protests in France. It looks like you and I are the only two skeptical people in the world when it comes to this! From From David Duke to the labor left, it's all universal praise for this "people power" revolution in the streets of France. But as you pointed out:
Exactly what is it they want? No clue. They said they didn't want the gas tax and Macron canceled it. Normally you'd declare victory and go home. But as in the other phony "revolutions" like Ukraine, once a spooked government meets protesters demands the protesters just up the demands. The goal is regime change rather than the cancellation of a bad policy. 

Glad you mentioned Lenin - he understood that "the people" never rise up to shake off their chains. He realized that was the job of the tightly-controlled vanguard. Which is not to say that vanguard was above manipulating the people into believing they were part of the revolution. But things must be carefully and with absolute discipline put into place beforehand.

Here's Lenin:

This struggle must be organised, according to “all the rules of the art”, by people who are professionally engaged in revolutionary activity. The fact that the masses are spontaneously being drawn into the movement does not make the organisation of this struggle less necessary. On the contrary, it makes it more necessary


Frankly, I am shocked at how so many sound observers I know have fallen for this hook, line, and sinker. OK, we get it, Macron is a scumbag. A faux "people power" revolt absolutely demands that the target be fully demonized and for people to feel like a great victory was at hand for the average Joe at the expense of designated "bad guy" - who may well be a bona fide bad guy. Was it that long ago that many of these same people were going ga-ga over the exact scenario played out in Egypt against bone fide bad guy Mubarak? The whole "Arab Spring" was a covert-op launched largely by the likes of Hillary Clinton's State Department ("Smart Power"). And what happened when the big bastard Mubarak was deposed? Democracy and Switzerland-ization of the country? Not at all! A legitimately elected Muslim Brotherhood president who was then overthrown with US help and then the installation of a kind of mini-Mubarak. Round and round we go, yet otherwise sane people believe something has been achieved. Tunisia? Don't make me laugh. And Syria and Libya? Arab Spring? "People power"? 

So here it comes again, only this time in France. But people believe it's genuine - not for any reason other than they want it to be genuine. It's a perfect cook-up to forestall any real populist or anti-establishment conclusion in France and I guarantee if Macron goes he will be replaced by another (perhaps slightly lower-profile) member of the status quo political establishment. But some libertarians are convinced it's a libertarian, anti-state revolution. The Left is convinced it's a workers' revolt. Others see it as an alt-right revolt against the bankers. The David Duke people may even see it as a push back against "Jewish bankers"? But how the hell can it be all of these at once? It's a magical thing that appears exactly as those who gaze upon it wish it to look. Sorry...that's crazy. And I aint buying it.

Anyway, sorry to be so long-winded.

Cheers,
-Daniel

3 comments:

  1. All True, I fear. Since the majority of the "masses" believe deeply in their worst enemy - authoritarian collectivism - they will never allow freedom to darken their doorstep.

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  2. I love that picture of the protester holding a sign for "more government" while being clubbed by a cop.

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  3. Another excellent analysis by Daniel.

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