The Pillars Of The State

The Pillars Of The State

I’m not particularly disposed to libertarianism, particularly the anarcho-capitalist strain represented by Murray Rothbard, Lew Rockwell, et al.

And yet, watching this financial crisis unfold and the government response, I recalled this quote from Lew Rockwell in a piece I wrote about Ron Paul last year:

“Ron Paul has shown that the core of the state is the Pentagon and the Federal Reserve.”

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

I’m not particularly disposed to libertarianism, particularly the anarcho-capitalist strain represented by Murray Rothbard, Lew Rockwell, et al.

And yet, watching this financial crisis unfold and the government response, I recalled this quote from Lew Rockwell in a piece I wrote about Ron Paul last year:

“Ron Paul has shown that the core of the state is the Pentagon and the Federal Reserve.”

Considering the fact we’ve spent $800 billion on the War in Iraq, and will likely spend somewhere near a trillion(!) on whatever RTC-like entity Congress comes up with, this quote seems to have a certain prophetic heft.

It’s almost enough to make you think that the anarcho-capitalist (as well as anarcho-Marxist) critique of the state has some merit: times like this is really does look like the State exists to make war and protect capital.

But! I’m not ready to throw in the towel on my dreams of social democracy just yet:

Nouriel Roubini offers another model to deal with the bad assets, one that looks more appealing;

Barney Frank says any firm that gets bailed out should be forced to accept cahnges to their executive compensation, and;

Yglesias says we progressives should extract our pound(s) of flesh.

Be part of 160 years of confronting power 


Every day,
The Nation exposes the administration’s unchecked and reckless abuses of power through clear-eyed, uncompromising independent journalism—the kind of journalism that holds the powerful to account and helps build alternatives to the world we live in now. 

We have just the right people to confront this moment. Speaking on Democracy Now!, Nation DC Bureau chief Chris Lehmann translated the complex terms of the budget bill into the plain truth, describing it as “the single largest upward redistribution of wealth effectuated by any piece of legislation in our history.” In the pages of the June print issue and on The Nation Podcast, Jacob Silverman dove deep into how crypto has captured American campaign finance, revealing that it was the top donor in the 2024 elections as an industry and won nearly every race it supported.

This is all in addition to The Nation’s exceptional coverage of matters of war and peace, the courts, reproductive justice, climate, immigration, healthcare, and much more.

Our 160-year history of sounding the alarm on presidential overreach and the persecution of dissent has prepared us for this moment. 2025 marks a new chapter in this history, and we need you to be part of it.

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 during our June Fundraising Campaign to fund our change-making reporting and analysis. Stand for bold, independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward, 

Katrina vanden Heuvel 
Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x