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The New Road to Serfdom

Page 15

by Daniel Hannan


  Contract with America, 166–68

  Copenhagen Climate Summit, 57

  Council of Europe, 147–48

  Cousins’ Wars, The (Phillips), 173–74

  Cuba, 125, 133, 136

  Daily Mirror, The, 86

  Dawkins, Richard, 133–34

  death penalty, 15, 63

  Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, The (Gibbon), 51

  democracy, 169. See also elections American, 17–40

  direct election, 28, 34–39, 46, 116, 117, 118

  election of judges, 142

  free elections, 15

  inclusiveness of American, 12

  Jeffersonian, 17, 27–29, 39, 134, 166, 186

  leaders as accountable, 34–39, 57

  loss of, 25

  meaningful change through, 40

  as more easily truncated than extended, 38–39

  open primaries and, 28, 29, 31–34, 46

  opponents of, 8

  recall mechanisms and, 28, 39, 46

  referendums and, 46, 116, 165

  representative, 59

  term limits, 28, 39, 46, 67

  two-party system, 29, 32

  Democratic Party, 7, 33, 163

  Great Depression and, 66–67, 69

  health care issue, 90

  Denmark, 128

  Descartes, René, 78

  dispersal of power, xv, 16, 27–29, 46, 57, 59–60, 61

  economy, xxiii

  arguments against Europeanization of, 74–85

  centralization as deleterious to, 52–53

  competition as key to, 52–53, 54

  dispersal of power and, 59

  European, 74–85, 126

  European“third way,” 84

  European worker, 79–80, 126

  government regulation, 80–81

  government spending and, 70

  income per capita table, 55

  Lisbon Agenda, 78

  New Deal and, 67–68

  share of world GDP, 77

  size of nation and, 54–55, 55, 56

  social market, 77

  state ownership of key enterprises, 85

  taxes and, 53

  unemployment, 77, 81, 127

  U.S. growth vs. EU, 77–78

  working days, length of, 77

  education, 76, 168

  Eisenhower, Dwight D., 12, 163

  elections

  British election rules, 29–30

  direct election of officials, 28, 34–39, 46, 116, 117, 118

  European cynicism, 24

  local government and, 28 (see also localism)

  open primaries, 28, 29, 32–34

  policy coming from bottom up, 33

  turnout at American, 22–23, 23

  turnout at European, 23, 23–24

  two-party system, 29

  Euro-corporatism, 84, 126

  European Charter of FundamentalRights, 147–48

  European Commission, 47–48, 134

  unelected Commissioners, 134–35

  European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), 147–48

  Europe/Europeans

  American TV programs in, xx

  Ash’s summary, 121–22

  average amount yearly to charity, xxi

  cars and oil addiction, xviii-xix

  centralization of power in, 44, 47–48 (see also European Union)

  competition, dislike of, 53–54

  criticism of Obama/U.S., 14–15

  culture vs. U.S., 119, 123

  cynicism about government, 20–21

  decline of church attendance, 104

  decline of the family, 101–3

  depopulation threat, 105

  desire to prevent recurrence of World War II, 47

  “dish cities,” 113

  economy of, 74–85

  end of U.S. military protection, 120

  evils projected onto America as their own, xx-xxi

  immigrants in, 105, 106, 113–14

  loss of faith in government, 21, 105–6

  Marshall Plan and, 83

  mass migration following WWII, 83

  Muslims in, 104–5, 138

  Muslim terrorists in, 113–14

  no pan-Continental affinity in, 49

  pluralism, abandonment of, 52

  politeness of, xvii

  politicians invulnerable to public opinion, 31–32

  proportional representation, 29, 31–32

  richness of heritage, 49–52

  rise of Western civilization, 50–52

  state churches, 104

  suburbs of, xix, 113

  as superstate, 52

  U.S. view of, as ingrates, 121

  European Union (EU)

  anti-democratic propensities, 123, 134

  big government and Euro-woes, 115

  bureaucracy, 80

  centralization of power in, 44, 52, 117, 134

  Comecon nations, 82

  competition, dislike of, 53–54

  Constitution, 41–49, 80 (see alsoLisbon Treaty [EU Constitution])

  declamatory legislation, 78–79, 129–32

  dependency on state and, 99–100

  economic problems, 56–57, 77–78, 81–83, 84

  European integration and, 44, 47, 49, 53–54, 56, 74, 75, 84, 120, 123, 124, 138–39

  exporting its ideology, 139

  failures on human rights, 133–37

  first foreign minister, 135

  first president elected, 57

  foreign policy, 120–27

  GDP, 77, 78, 82, 126

  Haiti earthquake relief, xxi

  health system, 85

  Human Rights Agency, 147–48

  internationalizing its values, 140–41

  lack of democracy by design, 48

  lack of European demos and, 49

  lack of national identity, 109

  MEPs, 130–31

  military capacity, 126

  population decline, 101

  response to tsunami disaster, 130–31

  self-deception in, 78–79, 125, 126

  shift away from elected officials, 24, 147

  Social Chapter, 126

  state jurisdiction into home, school, and church, 100–101

  Switzerland’s refusal to join, 117

  taxes, high, 77

  Temporary Workers Directive, 126

  unemployment, 77, 81, 127

  welfare dependency, 92–93, 99–100

  worker in, 79–80, 126

  working days, length of, 77

  euthanasia, 168

  family

  cradle to grave welfare, effect of, 105

  European decline, 101–3, 105

  European Muslims, 104–5

  fertility rates, 101–2, 101–2, 104, 105

  U.S. birthrates and population, 103

  federal government. See U.S. government

  federalism, xv, 115–18, 60

  welfare reform and, 94–95

  Fonte, John, 123

  foreign policy

  Africa and, 7, 133

  American straight talk on, 129

  Anglo-American imperium, 180–82

  Anglosphere, 182

  climate change and, 127–28

  EU gesture politics, 78–79, 129–32

  EU human rights failures, 133–37

  European External Action Service, 136

  Europeanizing of American, xvi, 76, 118, 128, 129

  exporting of ideology and, 139

  Founding Fathers and U.S., 133–34

  international jurisprudence, 140–51

  Israel-Palestine dispute, 137–38

  Jefferson on, 119

  sympathy and, 136–37

  UK’s Crown prerogative, 185

  U.S. aid to tsunami victims, 130

  U.S. and repressive regimes, 133–34

  U.S. fostering of democratic accountability, 133–34, 140

  U.S. protectionism, 168

  U.S. vs. Europe, 120–51


  Fortuyn, Pim, 106

  Founding Fathers, 46, 59, 61

  design of American freedoms, 16

  Europeanization as incompatible, 118

  Helvetic Confederation and, 116

  national sovereignty and, 57 prevention of concentration of power by, 27–29, 62, 64, 71 states’ rights and, 64

  U.S. foreign policy and, 133–34

  Fox, Charles James, 175, 176

  France

  Britain’s ascendancy over, 51–52

  cynicism about government, 21, 27

  pays légal and pays réel, 155

  rejection of Lisbon Treaty, 43

  Revolution of 1789, 110

  stoning of McDonald’s, 137

  “the suburb problem,” xix

  freedom, xv, xxiii

  America as repository of, 8, 41

  as constitutional, 118

  design of American, 16

  as essence of America, 2

  free exchange of ideas, 3

  of individual vs. government, 4

  liberty as virtuous application informed judgment, 3, 98

  liberty in civil affairs and, 1, 2

  license vs., 2–3

  localism of government and, 3

  New World and seekers of, 3–4

  personal, 3, 16, 33, 42

  of religion, 2

  U.S. Constitution as guarantor of, 42

  Friedman, Milton, 53, 131

  Galbraith, J. K., 163

  gay rights, 18, 168

  GDP, 32, 82

  defense budgets and, 83

  Norway’s, 126

  share of world, 77

  George III, 174, 175, 178–80, 185

  Germany

  centralization of power in EU, 52

  population decline, 101

  Rhineland model, 77

  Wirtschaftswunder years, 82

  Gibbon, Edward, 51

  Gingrich, Newt, 166–67, 168

  Giscard d’Estaing, Valéry, 42, 44

  globalization, 182–83

  Gorbachev, Mikhail, 144

  Guantánamo prison, 14

  Haiti earthquake relief, xxi

  Hayek, F. A., 25, 160

  health system, 85–91

  British, 85–88

  Europeanizing of American, xvi, 15, 75

  European model, 85

  Obama’s reforms, 12, 162

  reform in the spirit of the U.S. Constitution, 90

  Singapore model, 89–90

  Ted Kennedy and, 157

  Helvetic Confederation, 116

  Henry, Patrick, 116

  Heritage Foundation, 160

  Hoover Institute, 160

  House of Cards (TV series), 21

  Hussein, Saddam, 122

  idées fixes about Americans, xvii-xx

  immigration, 106–15

  American assimilation, 108–9

  American Muslims, 107–8, 108,114

  deportation and, 141–42

  desire to enter U.S., xxii-xxiii, 107–8

  in“dish cities”of Europe, xix, 113

  emigration to Europe, 105, 115

  identity problems of European second-generation Muslims, 113–14

  scorn of new homeland, 115

  Swiss and, 117

  UK’s Muslims as disaffected, 111–14

  International Criminal Court (ICC), 57–58, 140, 148–51

  Iran

  EU relations with, 125, 133, 136

  Revolution of 1979, 110

  Iraq, 13, 122, 139

  Ireland

  Belfast Agreement, 142

  Lisbon Treaty and, 43–44

  Irish Republican Army (IRA), 112–13

  Israel, 137–39

  Italy, xx, 27

  Jackson, Jesse, 11–12

  Jefferson, Thomas, xiii, 17, 27–28, 42, 60, 61, 64, 183

  Johnson, Lyndon B., 69

  Jones, James, 149

  jurisprudence. See law, crime, and judiciary

  Kagan, Robert, 119–20, 122–23, 181–82

  Karimov, Islam, 134

  Keenan, Brian, 112–13

  Kennedy, Edward“Ted, ”33, 94–95, 157, 166

  Kennedy, John F., 157

  Kipling, Rudyard, xxii, 111, 181

  Kissinger, Henry, 143–44

  Kosovo, 139

  Latin America

  anti-Americanism in, 8

  GDP, 77

  loss of faith in government, 21

  tinpot caudillos in, 21

  law, crime, and judiciary

  American election of judges, 142

  American jurisprudence, 141–42

  crime in European suburbs, xix deportation and, 141–42

  ECHR and, 147–48

  Genocide and Torture Conventions, 145–46

  gun ownership and, xix-xx

  ICC and, 57–58, 140, 148–51

  international jurisprudence, 140–51

  judicial activism, 142–43

  London and head of Metropolitan Police, 36–38

  minimum/maximum sentences, 142

  “new world order, ”144–45

  Nuremberg trials, 143

  “universal human rights, ”146–48

  Lawson, Nigel, 87–88

  Leonard, Mark, 124–26

  libertarianism, 4, 160

  Lisbon Agenda, 78

  Lisbon Treaty (EU Constitution), 41–49

  Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, 42

  democracy and rule of law in, 126–27

  political integration and, 47, 49, 56

  power of the state as focus, 42,45

  ratification failure and imposition of, 43–45, 125, 134, 135

  UK and, 135

  workers’ rights, 80

  Livni, Tzipi, 143

  localism, 16, 33

  American tradition of, 3, 48

  benefits of, xiii, 28, 60, 116

  direct election of officials, 28

  limited government and, xv

  as self-government, 3

  state governments and, xiii, 59

  Switzerland and, 116–17

  welfare and, 96–98

  Madison, James, 59, 62

  McCain, John, 11

  McCarthy, Joseph, and McCarthyism, 7

  McGinnis, John, 61

  media

  American, xx, 20, 21

  British satire of politicians, 20–21

  European, 21

  Mercosur, 56

  Mexico, 8

  Micklethwait, John, 163

  Middle East

  fear of Americanization, 8

  GDP, 77

  Milton, John, 2–3, 98

  Monnet, Jean, 47

  Monroe Doctrine, 180

  Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (film), xv

  Mugabe, Robert, 143

  Murder in Amsterdam (Buruma), 113

  Native Americans, 8, 9

  NCPA, 160

  Netherlands

  assassinations in, 106, 113

  rejection of Lisbon Treaty, 43

  New Statesman, 15

  New Statesman, The (TV series), 20–21

  New Zealand, 182

  Norquist, Grover, 161

  Norway, 126

  nuclear disarmament, xxi, 75

  Nullification Crisis, 63

  Obama, Barack, xvii, 66, 73–74

  actions of administration, 12–13, 14

  American ideals and, 183–84

  appeasement by, xxi-xxii, 74–75

  cap-and-trade rules, 15

  election of, 11, 40

  Europeanizing and, 117–18

  federal resumption of welfare, 97

  health care reform and, 12, 162

  ICC and, 149

  inauguration, 40

  Nobel Peace Prize, 13

  stimulus package, 30–31

  Tea Party critics of, 156–58, 162

  O’Callaghan, Sean, 112–13

  Of Paradise and Power (Kagan), 119–20

  Ohanian, Lee E., 68
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  open competition, 15

  open primaries, 28, 29, 31–34, 46

  O’Rourke, P. J., 131–32

  Paine, Thomas, vii, 41

  Pakistan, 13

  Palestine, 125, 133, 137–38

  patriotism, 33

  American, 4–5, 109

  American Muslims, 107–8, 114

  derided by Euro-elite, 109

  European lack of national identity, 109

  non-Americans, 4–5

  sense of nationhood and, 49

  Perdue, Sonny, 32–33

  Phillips, Kevin, 173–74

  Pilger, John, 15

  Pinochet, Augusto, 142

  Pitt, William, the Elder, 175

  pluralism, 39, 46, 49–50, 97

  Poland, 101, 124

  private property, 15

  public choice theory, 60

  Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organizations (quangos), 24–25, 38, 135, 136, 184, 185

  racial issues, 11–12

  Rand, Ayn, 161

  Reagan, Ronald, 69, 109, 166

  religion

  freedom of, 2

  U.S. vs. Europe, 103–4

  Republican Party

  birthrates and, 103

  Bush family story, 163–64

  Bush’s mistaken policies, 18

  conservative movement and, 158–59, 163–64, 166–69

  Contract with America, 166–67

  elections of 2008, 154

  filling Ted Kennedy’s seat, 157–58

  Georgia governor, 32–33

  losses under Bush policies, 169

  states’ rights and, 18

  Tea Party, 154–58, 161–62

  think tanks and conservatives, 159–61

  U.S. senators, 19

  welfare reform and, 94–95

  Rice, Susan, 149

  Right Nation, The: Why America Is Different (Mickelthwait and Wooldridge), 163–64

  Road to Serfdom, The (Hayek), 25

  Roosevelt, Franklin D., 63, 66–70, 71, 133–34, 163

  New Deal and, 66–69

  Roosevelt, Theodore, 63

  Rothbard, Murray, 160

  Rumsfeld, Donald, 75, 129, 142

  Russell, Richard, 10–11

  Russia, 101, 110

  Schuman, Robert, 47

  Serbia, 124

  Sharon, Ariel, 142

  Short, Clare, 130

  Sinclair, Upton, 84

  Singapore, 89–90

  slavery, 8, 9–11

  Slovenia, 139

  small government, 16, 17, 46, 159–61. See also federalism; localism

  Social Democrats, 84

  socialism, 53–54

  social policy, 98–106, 166. See also welfare

  Solana, Javier, 120, 134

  Somoza, Anastasio, 134

  sovereignty, xvi, 57

  Spain, 21, 120, 128

  Spanish-American War, xxii

  Stamp Act of 1766, 175

  states’ rights and governance, xiii, 28

 

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