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Revolution in Italy! ROTHBARD-ROCKWELL REPORT Revolution crumple here as well? Well, one problem was the in Italy! seeming permanence and by Murray N. Rothbard realism of democratic struc- tures. The reply to this opti- There is hope, hope for mism went as follows: ”Well, America. Despite our inmas- OK, Communism collapsed ingly socialized polity, and because it had a brittle one- our rapidly degenerating and party system that was vul- THE EAR crazed culture, there is hope. nerable at the core. But by Sarah Barton The first wonderful sign of remember, no ”revolution”: hope was, of course, the total (which can mean either A curtsy to the world’s collapse of Communism in armed overthrow or a radical leading gossipist, Taki, of the the Soviet Union and East crumbling)has ever occurred real Spectator and National Europe. Of course, not all in a ”democracy.” No radical Review (where he’s cen- problems were solved by this collapse has ever occurred sored). In his British ”High collapse, but still who could where there are free elections, Life” column, Taki has have believed that totalitarian amodicumoffreespeechand dubbed Clinton ”the Great communism, seemingly all- expression, and a two or Pants Dropper.” It should be powerful, headed by a one- multiparty system.” This BiU’s permanent moniker. party regime and backed by defense, whether one liked it a huge and ruthless secret or not, of the stability of ***** police, would need neither a democracy made a persua- bloody revolution nor a long, sive case. Even for those of us ”According to the Bible,” grueling march through the critical of the pretensions of the Great Pants Dropper told institutions to bring it down? democracy, it seemed that a the Arkansas troopers, a mar- Instead, it crumpled, sud- limited ability to sound off, ried man who has oral denly like a house of cards, plus the severely restricted sex with other women isn’t like the proverbial one-hoss choice of two or more similar committing adultery. Now I shay. After six decades in parties, provided enough of see that the promiscuous power, bam! Those of us who an outlet for frustrations to coke-head Chuck Robb, knew that socialismcouldnot keep the system going and to whom Ollie North will work, that it could not tackle mharmelpublic criticisms into trounce for the Senate in Vii- its grave economic problems, harmless and marginal @a, has virtually the same knew as a consequence that changes in the governing view, according to memos the despair of most conserva- party. As the leftist critic of from his own staff. tives about Communism was democratic forms (or what wrong: that one day it would might be called ”pluto- ***** tumble down. But no one (Cont. next page, d.2) (Cont. nextpage, col. 1) could predict how quickly the whole edifice would shat- ter. And if it can happen there, under monstrous Commu- nism, why not here? Why Quotes That Need No Comment.. .................................................... 9 couldn’t the statist system TheFranakcan Way by M. N. R..................................................... 11 (THE EAR cont from pg. 1) democracy”), Herbert Mar- Canadian politics had been Congrats to HowiePhillips cuse used to put it, the sys- fdly as boring and as hope for listing the neocons and tem, by allowing us a veneer less as our own. Three major left-libertarians who lent of free speech and free choice, parties: the Liberals, equiva- major financial support to locked us into a captive stat- lent to Left Clintonians in the Jim Miller over Ollie North. ist system by a method of U.S.;the Progressive Conser- They include: Elliott Abrams, ”repressive tolerance.’’ vatives, equivalent to centrist Rich Bond, Bill Buckley, But then, last winter, some- Clintonians; and frankly and Frank Carlucci, Larry thing happened. For the first openly socialist New Demo- Eagleburger, Richie Fink, time, a major, crats. What a Boyden Gray, Manny indeed govern- choice! Or Johnson, Chuck Koch, Dave ing, political rather, to hark Koch, Liz Koch, KOCHPAC, party in a func- back to the old Don Regan, and George tioning democ- Goldwater slo- schultz. racy, simply gan, what a folded, col- series of echoes! ***** lapsed, bam! I But while the speak of course Liberals of A piece of advice, dear of our neighbor courseassumed reader: never subscribe to a to the north, power in this neocon magazine because Canada. On the last election, the it ran one good article. The night of the Progressive latest issue of the Amencan Canadian elec- Conservative Spectator, all too typical, tion I called up collapse was includes a diatribeby two for- a Canadian matched by the eign lobbyists, an endorse- friend of mine rise of two new ment of the evil Kissinger to inqdabout parties: the Bloc by editor R. Emmett Tyrrel, the results. Quebecois, Jr., Tyrrell’s loopy praise of ”You know,” he pushing for Nixon as another Hubert said, that the separatism and Humphrey, ”though more [ruling] Pro- independence interesting,” and the photo gressive Conservative party for French-speaking Quebec; gallery from Hell (taken had a margin of [something and the brand new Reform at the latest AS dinner). like] 150 seats in Parliament?” Party, based in Western Among the assembled social ”Yes.” ’Well,” he continued, Canada, and enjoying only democracy: Elliott Abrams ”the Progressive Conserva- one seat less in Parliament wearing a scowl, Tyrrell tives are now down to 2 than the Quebecers. The wearing a medal (the Order seats.” ‘Wow!” I replied, ”that% Reform Party is great news: it of Bourbon?), and a bigshot a real landslide! From a mar- may best be described as a neocon, his own trophy wife gin of 150 seats to a margin of Pale0 Party: for drastic cuts in safely across the room, leer- only 2 seats!’’ ”NO,” he cut in taxes and expenditures, for ing at a colleague’s. Ah yes, sharply, ”not a margin of 2 privatization, and for getting offiaal conservatism. jeats. 2 seatsperiod!” the welfare state East off the Just like that! Finished! The backs of the prosperous free- ***** hgmsweConservatives, led market and populist West. by the glamorous female Kim And they are for immigration Beltway trends: Taco has Campbell as Prime Minister, restriction against a horde of Decome Gatto (not to be con- were wiped out, with Mrs. welfare clients who would fusedwith Gayto). Campbell losing her seat. inevitably wreck English- 2 = July1994 -speaking Canadian culture. from top to bottom. Italy had occupation force. The Reform Party, in short, become, in the common par- With the Center collapsing, is Our Party in Canada, sky- lance, a veritable Tang- and the Right seeminglynon- rocketing to a powerful oppe entopoli (Kickback City). existent, everyone believed sition to Liberal rule. Between Vigorish and bribes to parties that the Communists, refur- the Reformers and the Que- and political leaders alike bished and renamed as a beckers, the dreary collectiv- was endemic. "Social Democratic" Demo- ist, inflationist welfare statist For decades, all Italians cratic Party of the Left, would tyranny of Ottawa might be knew this was going on, and come to power in the late broken into its constituent shrugged cynically But then, in March Italian elections. parts, and both liberty and the last couple of years, what Because of a shift from pro- separatism might reign in the every Italian knew deep in portional representation to old Canadian realm. And his heart became all too glar- single-winner districts, the perhaps "Canada", at least as ingly evident. Big shot politi- "ex" Communists faced the we know it, might go the way cal leaders, mayors, judges, voters as leaders of a Progres- of "Yugoslavia" and the were sent to jail on a massive sive Alliance, which included "Soviet Union," down into scale. And suddenly, as if the a small hard-line Communist the dustbin of history. public had reached their tip- Party called the "Commu- Canada was the first sign ping point and simply got fed nists Refounded". It looked that even a democratic polity up, it all shattered, and the very much that, nearly a half- can crumble quickly. But monstrousChristian Democ- century after the Commu- even more exciting is the racy, along with its tame nists had been turned back at recent March 27-28 election in Socialist Party, simply disap- the pass, they would now, Italy. For, even more thor- peared. The Italian public had suitably cleaned up, buttoned oughly than in Canada, had enough, and peacefully down, and renamed, finally where the bad old Liberal but forcefully, threw the ras- come to power in Italy. Party remains in power, the cals out. So broken were the entire Italian political system, Christian Democrats and The "Freedom Alliance" the system of virtually one- Socialists that they faded out of the Right party Christian Democrat without even daring to face Just as the Left prepared to rule that was crafted and fas- the voters under their origi- romp to power, however, Fate tened upon the Italian politi- nal name and form. stepped in to save the day. cal system in 1948, this In 1948, when it looked as Dynamic media billionaire, vicious and corrupt tyranny if the Communists would Silvio Berlusconi, was deter- of centrist, statist partito- win the Italian elections, the mined to keep the "ex" Com- crazia (party-ocracy) has CIA and the U.S.A. poured munists from coming to fallen apart, and crumbled millions in dollars and propa- power in Italy. Berlusconi has into ashes. The seemingly all- ganda into stopping the been inaptly called the "Ital- powerful Christian Democ- Communists and installing ian Perot"; in his ownership racy, rulingfor a half-century, the Christian Democrats. The of three TV networks and simply is no more.
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