Perhaps when that happens, we will be able to field a libertarian to run for presidential candidate but till then, every libertarian must struggle against the rising tide of collectivism and statism in their midst.

You certainly have a way with words. “Greased lightning.” You actually had me visualizing that unique display of light. In fact your article is sprinkled with colorful phrases and ignited with passages of descriptive wisdom.

Socialists and other big government advocates swing wildly at leaves, scattering them in all directions. It seems the winds of unforeseen change eventually blow them into a rotting pile of death—a pile of death that these liberty violators attempt to scatter once again without much success. Is it any wonder that the stench of decay permeates the atmosphere?

By the way, I advise anyone desiring to put pizzazz into his or her writing to read and study your article.

Robert A. Meyer

F.A. Hayek very thoughtfully qualified his writings with the terms “possible, probable, and necessary.” Understanding the distinction between these self-appointed terms is very important when reading and interpreting his brilliant work. My personal interpretation is that Friedrich Hayek may have thought it “probable” that Western Civilization, as he knew it, would collapse in his lifetime; however, he did not think that this was [necessary] i.e. an absolute certainty that Western Civilization would collapse in his lifetime. Throughout his writings he continually acknowledged unknown variables, such as technology along with the unpredictable will of the people, and how that could change any of his extrapolated outcomes. Time does not permit listing all the things that make Hayek’s work great. Both his implied and direct acknowledgement that the future is not completely known by any man or woman, including himself, are counted among his fine attributes as a man and an author.

Most of the time we, as humans, can only assign what is possible or probable. Less often can we say what is going to be certain or necessary.
In my opinion, “the old Chinese story of the farmer and his horse” that libertarian speaks about in his comments perfectly illustrates the difficulty one faces in making predictions about the future.

I will stick my neck out and make this educated guess: if you are under the age of forty, no, make that 50, I think it’s safe to say that the chance of western civilization collapsing in your lifetime is more than possible; it’s probable, but not necessary. If certain conditions are met, the world can continue to “muddle through.” F.A Hayek spoke of the various conditions in his book ” The Road To Serfdom. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read, as I do, the thoughts of a great mind.

Besides surprising things sometimes happen. F.A. Hayek was sure that the US would, using technology, become a totalitarian regime within his lifetime. He even wrote a book about it: The Constitution of Liberty. Oddly enough, ARPANET was begun in 1969, nine years after Hayek published his book. The successor of the ARPANET, the Internet, is quite possibly the best tool around for ensuring free speech around the world.

That’s what the statists fear the most. Unable to control the flow of information, they cannot exert social control. That failure was one of the main reasons the Berlin Wall came down and could also explain why our intelligence agencies failed to see it coming. After all they were looking at military might and espionage attempts, they weren’t paying attention to the people.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, controls on information control are attempted in this administration. One of the bellwether signs will be the “fairness doctrine” applied to radio talk shows. Those shows are overwhelmingly conservative, something that must stick in the craw of socialists everywhere.

Hmm, should be quite a show when the leeches lose their host and are suddenly responsible for their own welfare. No more affirmative action, no more welfare, no more Social Security, no more medicare, no more freebies. You either make yourself valuable and trade it for an equal value or you starve.

I wonder how many people will be able to make the change.