- Habeas corpus applies to anyone, citizen or not, in custody under American law, no matter what President Bush and President Obama decree.
- House Republicans’ cuts to the Department of Education, which will spend over $70 billion next year, didn’t even amount to $1 billion.
- “Regardless of whether Pakistan gets its way, its impudence in pushing Afghanistan to abandon America exposes the real balance of power in the region.”
- “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to refer to a government whose intelligence service assists military efforts by al Qaeda and the Taliban against U.S. troops in Afghanistan as an ‘ally.’ ”
- Here are five ways to cut military spending today without changing our strategic focus:
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Saving Hayek from His Friends
George Soros is to be commended for coming to the Cato Institute on Thursday for a civil and scholarly panel discussion. Soros appeared on an illustrious panel—including Richard Epstein, Ronald Hamowy, and Bruce Caldwell—discussing the impact and influence of F. A. Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty, which the University of Chicago Press has recently published in a wonderful definitive edition. (You can watch the event here.) Soros’s appeal for more dialogue and understanding between two political persuasions—very roughly speaking “pro-market” and “pro-regulation”—was underscored by his willingness to come to Cato. I thank him for doing so.
So I want to continue the conversation he began Thursday—to open up lines of communication and articulate differences and points of contention. The focal point should be on Hayek, his ideas and his reputation.
Hayek was a complex and challenging thinker who deserves to be taken seriously by all who are interested in political philosophy. His most profound ideas are immense abstractions that can produce as much confusion as they do insight. Moreover, like all highly abstract ideas, Hayek’s insights are difficult to transform into concrete action and policy. In other words, there is a lot of disagreement over “what would Hayek do?”
But, at the very least, Hayek deserves more than simply calling him an “apostle of market fundamentalism,” as Soros did both at Cato and in his excerpted remarks in Politico. I think this characterization is fundamentally mistaken. Moreover, characterizing Hayek as a market fundamentalist only builds up the wall of miscommunication that Soros has criticized.
Calling Hayek a fundamentalist has become the preferred method of ignoring him. Whatever the term “market fundamentalist” actually means definitionally, its main purpose is to paint opponents as unthinking dogmatists. At best, Hayek was a “market presumptionist” who presumed that markets were the best choice absent compelling evidence that regulation or intervention was needed. He believed in a broad array of social welfare programs while being extremely skeptical about the effectiveness of centralized planning. He thought this not because he saw government as an immoral monstrosity, but because he believed that effective government action required effective knowledge and that knowledge “is not given to anyone in its totality.”
But some advocates of free markets would not even call Hayek a “market presumptionist.” Murray Rothbard, one of the most vehement supporters of free markets, resoundingly condemned The Constitution of Liberty in a memo: “F.A. Hayek’s Constitution of Liberty is, surprisingly and distressingly, an extremely bad, and, I would even say, evil book.” In a subsequent piece, Rothbard spent many pages listing, in bullet points, all the market interventions and government programs that Hayek advocated, including a minimal welfare state and social security. For Rothbard, this list said it all: Hayek was no friend of markets.
But Rothbard, like Soros, was wrong. Hayek was a great friend to markets and a supporter of government intervention. In this way, Hayek was like most modern political thinkers of a liberal (in the classic sense) democratic bent: a little bit of government with a little bit of markets, a dash of welfare programs for taste.
So why is Hayek so marginalized in modern political thought? Well, Hayek was leery of government regulation in a way that others, for example John Rawls, were not. By offering a systematic explanation for why “rule by experts” would likely fail, Hayek pretty much guaranteed that the would-be experts—professors, economists, other intellectuals—would condemn him. As Professor Russ Roberts and John Papola put it in the latest edition of the brilliant Keynes vs. Hayek rap battles: “The economy is not a class you can master in college, to think otherwise is the pretense of knowledge.”
Nevertheless, despite his relative academic marginalization, Hayek largely won the debate that most concerned him: the debate over large-scale central planning. After the war, particularly in Britain, large-scale planning was en vogue. Businesses and individuals were shuffled about the economic stage like pieces on a chess board. Quotas were given, prices were set, work weeks were limited, the minutiae of business were given over to government regulation. Even in pre-war America, the economic policies that were enacted as part of the New Deal, such as the National Industrial Recovery Act, would shock many modern observers as hubristic over-meddling by government.
Partially thanks to Hayek, our current debates are usually over less draconian government interference. Hayek deserves a place in this modern debate as a proponent of a subtle and nuanced position, not as a religious adherent to market purity that Soros describes. Understanding Hayek’s actual ideas can help us better communicate on these issues and follow Soros’s lead in reaching across to the other side. Let debates over Hayek and his ideas continue. Even (especially?) in rap form.
Dead: ‘Al Qaeda’s Leader and Symbol’
What delightful news President Obama delivered last night! Osama bin Laden is dead—“al Qaeda’s leader and symbol,” as the president called him.
Bin Laden was the founder of the al Qaeda network, which executed the devastating 9/11 attacks just under a decade ago. Thousands of Americans lost their lives in those attacks, and Americans lost the sense of security and peace of mind that had taken root in the post-Cold-War era. The 9/11 attacks catalyzed two wars, costing tens of thousands of lives and well over a trillion dollars in U.S. expenditures. Personally, bin Laden gave me a darker decade than I would have had, both professionally and personally.
When I learned the news of bin Laden’s death, my first thought was of the implications for our policy. Before too long, I realized I was just plain happy about it. I took some champagne over to my neighbors, and we enjoyed watching the returns on TV.
My Cato colleagues will be parsing many details of this event over the days to come. Among the fascinating dimensions: the substantial Abottabad, Pakistan compound where bin Laden was apparently in hiding; the role of Pakistan’s security service, the ISI; the brilliant success of the intelligence effort and the attack on the compound; the near-term threat that al Qaeda affiliates may try to avenge the death of bin Laden.
Osama bin Laden failed to reach any of his geopolitical goals. He did not topple any Middle East dictator toward the end of establishing a Muslim caliphate. Indeed, the people of the Middle East have begun toppling their own dictators toward the end (we earnestly hope) of establishing more liberal societies. (We examined the role of the Internet in Middle Eastern freedom movements at a Cato on Campus event a few months ago.)
Few beyond the kids that made their way to the White House Sunday night believe that bin Laden’s death mean it’s “over” for al Qaeda and terrorism. Indeed, a key question is whether bin Laden’s death will give the U.S. and its allies an upper hand against terrorism, and for how long.
In this, the issues are the same as they have always been. As we noted in the introduction to the Cato book, Terrorizing Ourselves: “Terrorists have motivations, there is a strategic logic to their actions, and examining these things can reveal strategies that frustrate and dissipate their efforts.”
The killing of bin Laden begs the question: How, and how well, will his death signal to terrorists that they are better off desisting from attacks and choosing other behaviors?
There will be many opportunities in the days and months ahead for American political and media figures to signal to terrorists and potential terrorists that theirs is a lost cause. The death of bin Laden simply initiates that effort.
This week, watch the news around bin Laden’s death not only with your own apprecation, relief, or other feelings in mind. Consider how events will be perceived in the communities around the world from which terrorists have come.
How various groups around the world interpret the death of “al Qaeda’s leader and symbol” will dictate our security from terrorism going forward.
You can review our two major conferences on counterterrorism policy here and here.
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Bin Laden Is Dead
All Americans celebrate the news that we have been waiting to hear for over nine and a half years: Osama Bin Laden is dead. The operation that resulted in his demise is a credit to the prowess and professionalism of the men and women in our military, and our intelligence and law enforcement agencies. All Americans — and the world — owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
Bin Laden’s death does not end the threat posed by al Qaeda and its affiliates, but it goes a long way toward delivering justice for the victims of the 9/11 attacks, and al Qaeda’s other acts of terrorism. Importantly, the operation appears to bear resemblance to earlier operations that captured the 9/11 plotters Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh. The details should remind us that some of the most effective counterterrorism techniques do not rely on tens of thousands of troops stationed indefinitely in distant lands.
It is now clear that unrelenting pressure has severely weakened al Qaeda. Its capacity to harm Americans has been degraded for years, and yet we continue to dedicate tens of billions of dollars to combating terrorism in all forms. Here’s hoping that this evening’s welcome news contributes to an evolution of U.S. counterterrorism strategy that avoids costly and counterproductive policies, and that, going forward, we will always balance our efforts to advance American security with the need to preserve our essential rights and liberties.
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This Week in Government Failure
Over at Downsizing the Federal Government, we focused on the following issues this week:
- A lot of Americans are aware that their tax dollars subsidize cotton farmers. However, it’s unlikely that many Americans are aware that their tax dollars are now supporting cotton farmers in Brazil.
- Chris Edwards released an updated version of his Plan to Cut Spending and Balance the Federal Budget. No sacred cows are spared. Defense, domestic, and so-called entitlement programs are all cut.
- The good news in a new Deloitte survey of members of the U.S. business community is that optimism is on the rise. The bad news is that the heavy hand of government is still a dark cloud hovering over the recovery.
- In her budgets, in her speeches, and in her strategic plans, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis says that her “vision” for federal action is “Good Jobs for Everyone!”
- Some good news for once: President Obama’s dream of connecting 80 percent of Americans to a high-speed rail line appears to be dead.
Follow Downsizing the Federal Government on Twitter (@DownsizeTheFeds) and connect with us on Facebook.
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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good: Congressional investigators are in Arizona to gather information on the ATF’s ill-conceived “Gunwalker” operation that supplied Mexican drug cartels with weapons. As I wrote at National Review, street agents objected from the beginning, but were told in no uncertain terms to pipe down:
Agents raised warnings to their superiors about the quantity of sales and the rising violence across the border, but were told that the operation had been approved at ATF headquarters. They were also told that if they didn’t like it, they were welcome to seek employment at the Maricopa County jail as detention officers making $30,000 a year.
I’d like to think that investigators will find that managerial incompetence was the culprit and not intentional facilitation of cross-border violence in order to hype gun control for the sake of Mexico. We’ll see.
The Bad: Philadelphia TSA screener Thomas Gordon has been arrested on child pornography charges.
The Ugly: Unions worked (for unrelated reasons) to keep said TSA screener in his job a few months before his arrest.
Thanks to AFGE’s legal assistance, a TSO at Philadelphia International Airport will remain employed at TSA after being proposed for removal. TSO Thomas Gordon had difficulty maintaining his work schedule because he had to take care of a family member…
“It means a great deal to me to know that my union — AFGE — has my back in situations like this,” Gordon said.
Now that the TSA screener workforce has voted to unionize, the only question is which union will represent them. Expect a stout union defense against any allegations of TSA excesses in patting down children or attractive women. If a union doesn’t defend the bad apples, it isn’t doing its job. Just ask the families of Sal Culosi and Erik Scott.
Debt Ceiling: Political Games
Back in January I noted that some analysts believe that the statutory debt ceiling should be eliminated. They view the potential for political brinksmanship as creating an unnecessary risk that financial markets will get rattled if there’s a chance the government won’t make good on its debt obligations in a timely manner. I argued that “forcing policymakers to spar publicly over fiscal policy is healthy, especially at a time when analysts generally agree that the country is headed toward an economic catastrophe if Washington’s mounting debt isn’t brought under control.”
I maintain that view four months later, but an article in Politico illustrates the absurd political shenanigans that accompany debt ceiling deliberations.
Sen. Bob Corker (R‑TN) is building bipartisan support for a plan that would cap federal spending at a declining percentage of GDP over ten years. Spending as a percentage of GDP would eventually be reduced to 20.6 percent, which is equal to the average from 1970 to 2008. No tax increases.
Corker has been touring his state pitching the plan as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Democratic Senators Claire McCaskill (D‑MO) and Joe Manchin (D‑WV) have endorsed it, as has Sen. Joe Lieberman (I‑CT) who caucuses with the Democrats. Good news, right? Not according to Republican apparatchiks.
From the article:
“Corker’s heart may be in the right place on this legislatively, but it would help if he was more focused on winning back a Senate Republican majority, than hurting the feelings of vulnerable Democrats who recognize the political cover this affords them,” said one senior GOP aide. “McCaskill, Manchin and others can vote for it, and campaign on it, knowing full well that Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer have enough votes to kill it.”
On Tuesday, Corker got into a squabble with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which ridiculed Manchin for backing the plan by saying it had “zero chance” of passing because it was opposed by Reid. An angry Corker believed the NRSC was squashing the plan’s growing momentum, and had a series of phone calls with NRSC officials expressing his frustration. A spokesman for the NRSC later said that the political committee shouldn’t have “underestimated Sen. Corker’s legislative skills and certainly hope he is successful in this effort.”
Sad as it is, that’s the way it works in Washington, folks. Hey, nevermind that Corker is at the very least planting on Democratic soil the idea that a debt ceiling deal should be focused on reducing spending and not tax hikes. Nope, what’s really important is making sure that Democrats do the wrong thing in order to bolster Mitch McConnell’s Senate Majority Leader prospects. After all, spending and debt didn’t go through the roof when Republicans controlled the House, Senate, and White House, right?
Pardon my sarcasm and obvious contempt, but this is the sort of nonsense that I repeatedly experienced during my days as a Senate staffer. Americans tend to get all hot and bothered over this or that politician, but much of what “gets done” in Washington is actually carried out by party operatives, sycophantic staffers, and lobbyists. All of this leads to a refrain I increasingly end media appearances with: Why do we give these people so much control over our lives?