Monday, March 14, 2005
A Useful How-to Guide
...Many on the left bent themselves into pretzels supporting blatant totalitarians in hopes of seeing George Bush fail. Other leftists continue to be strong Marxists, supporting socialist regimes with a blind eye towards their human rights records.
While the socialists are probably a loss, there is still hope for much of the left to craft a freedom- and individual-rights-based foreign policy that libertarians could find compelling -- I handed out some free advice here. However, before the left can really make progress here, the need to learn how to recognize a dictatorship:
You Know its a Dictatorship When:
1. Michael Moore portrays the country as a kite-flying paradise
2. Jimmy Carter sanctioned their last election
3. The UN certifies that there is no genocide
4. They sign friendship pacts with other dictatorships (also here and here and here too)
5. They are a member of the UN Human Rights commission (not 100% foolproof but getting closer every year)
6. They were once a French colony, and/or France is opposing sanctions against it (also here too)7. Their people are impoverished and they lag the world in economic growth