May 22, 2007
Ass-Deep in Blackwater
I really want to make a good joke about Deepwater or Blackwater, but it’s just eluding me. Let’s see…Deepwater…What do you get with loads of “free” taxpayer money, no oversight, and several colossal bureaucracies? Nah, just depresses me.
But you heard about Deepwater, right? Part of the program was to lengthen already existing Coast Guard boats to the tune of 10 million per boat. Yes, I said lengthen. Apparently, you can lengthen boats, just like you would, oh, trick out an El Camino. Of course, it didn’t work, and the government is blaming the contractor, and taking the project over, but something tells me only the government could get itself in such a stupid situation in the first place.
Now if we can only take some of this genius technology and widen the planet, we’ll have some more room for all the babies in China.
I’m glad you brought this up: I was snooping around in ‘Blackwater’ info a few weeks ago, and was tempted to sort of “challenge” my impression of the libertarian mindset, by taking you on head to head – ‘quasi-leftist dreamer types’ vs. ‘libertarians’, with Blackwater as one example. Then I considered this an ill conceived notion, as you are more steeped in ‘liber-theory’, and I’m coming from a very likely naive position of ‘well, shit, this is how it seems to me…’, and it wouldn’t have ended up much of a discourse…
But now that you’ve brought it up I’ll go ahead an ask: how can one consider a position of ‘less regulation of buisness, less govt.’ in the face of this shifting situation where mercenary buisness’ are being subbed the work of soldiering – killing and ‘holding down the fort’ while nation building attempts to go forward? Plus all of the corporate contracting that goes into nation building-
I mean, is this not “onward christian soliders” to a disgusting extreme? From a certain perspective, the conflict becomes insurgents vs. mercenaries – two sides of the same coin. And in a climate where so many of the legit actual US soliders are willing to throw the rule book out the window (recent survey finding high rate of willingness to look the other way if a fellow soilder whats to chuck the Geneva convention in a situation), I can’t imagine what the mentality behind chirstian mercenaries finds acceptable. I can’t realte to ‘left ot their own devices, with less rules and oversite, corporations will do the right thing and their flowering competitive spirit in the free market will make the big picture better for all’.
Again, I admit the possibility that I’m muddled here, but can you break it down for me, as you see it?
BTW, I’m not arguing a need for specific oversight or some solution, I don’t have one.
As far as Blackwater specifically goes, I don’t think “libertarians” have a unified opinion. I don’t think it’s right to sub-out soldiers specifically for the lack of accountability (as if our military has much though…) As far as other war-related “opportunities” go, I’m not so sure how I feel about it. Probably come closest to Radley Balko’s opinion.
So to answer your question:
Easy. When it comes to essential public services, like police, military, fire department, etc. they should obviously be tightly controlled and regulated and government run. This is the view of most libertarians, as far as I know. Everything else should have minimal regulation. The reason for that is regulation creep, the law of unintended consequences, and the fact that regulation actually encourages illegal activities; look no further than the example of ENRON and their abuse of mark to market accounting (the SECs own regulation).
OK cool, discourse…
Is ‘the law of unintended consequences’ another way of saying chaos (in terms of it’s ‘organic’ growth, anti-statis qualities as opposes to it’s destructive side)?
Fuck unified opinion…in any ideology. Black and White is out. A diversity of shades respecting one another, while still maintaining it’s ability to discern (focus), is in.
I agree about a tendency of some regulations to encourage illegal activities. But when the big fish eat up all the small fish something is lost.
*Cue “The Trees”…while still remembering the irony implied in the last line. (lol – because I’m being silly, but also making a point)
I think in our culture, by which I guess I mean ‘Americans’, vital community interactions are being lost through something faceless in corporate dynastys. I’m hinting at ‘mom and pop charm’, still present in many European/Asian community habits. It used to be more present here, but we went another direction. Now everything here is a little cheaper and easier for the individual, also colder and shittier. I guess I also mean, ‘on the street’ in this point, because much commerce now is ‘direct to the home’ shipping. But remember the net (and it’s cheap AND easily diverse ways) isn’t there for everyone…yet, guess trickle down tech is inevitable but will take time. There is also also an elitist angle here in the credit system as it stands.
But how to reverse this trend (i.e. cold souless “community” left by faceless corporate sprawl), or convince my countrymen of this point, without encouraging the use of regulation is beyond me.
There’s actually a wiki page on unintended consequences, hilarious. Some good examples there though. Among my faves:
Blowback is a good example, particularly relevant to the Ron Paul link I just posted. Your past will catch up with you Amerikkka. Whether it’s training Bin Laden’s and co. during the Soviet-Afghan war or creating the next generation of terrorist now in Iraq, blowback’s a bitch…