Reading President Buchanan's State of the Union address on the eve of the Civil War (in late December 1859) is a sobering experience.
At present [the slave] is treated with kindness and humanity. He is well fed, well clothed, and not overworked. [...] Both the philanthropy and the self-interest of the master have combined to produce this humane result.
Ah. Slaves were leading a golden happy existence. And why? Because slave-owners are, of course, philanthropic. You don't think so? Well, then, because it's in their own self-interest . Sound familiar?
There's something Andy Rooneyish in me that wants to ask: "ever notice how when we have a sneaking suspicion that what we're doing is indefensible we start claiming that self-interest is in the best interest of society?"
Remember "voodoo economics"? "supply side: economics? "Trickle-Down" Economics? Didja think it had retired? Turns out there is no scrap heap to history; it's all very recyclable.
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