Chesterton's Fence Revisited

One very important philosophical principle is that of Chesterton's Fence, by author G.K. Chesterton.  

Per Wikipedia:

"Chesterton's fence" is the principle that reforms should not be made until the reasoning behind the existing state of affairs is understood. The quotation is from Chesterton's 1929 book, The Thing: Why I Am a Catholic, in the chapter, "The Drift from Domesticity":

In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, "I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away." To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: "If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."

In other words, before you remove or destroy a fence (or policy), make sure you know why it was put up in the first place.  That's just common sense.

(Hey DOGE, are you listening?  Seriously!)

Of course, the apocryphal "Five Monkeys Experiment" is a good foil to counterbalance that principle.  That is, sometimes various policies really have outlived their usefulness, were rotten from the start, and/or do far more harm than good.  And wisdom is to know the difference between the two cases.

(The latter pitfall is sometimes called "status quo bias".)

Today's "conservatives", especially Trump, Musk, and MAGA Republicans, are really not conservatives at all, since they really aren't conserving anything.  Rather, they are reactionaries and regressives who want to "turn back the clock" to a bygone golden age that never really existed, and are essentially the mirror image of radicals, as they seek to make truly drastic changes.  The rash, arbitrary, and wholesale gutting of long-standing government agencies and programs by DOGE under Musk and Trump is but one of many glaring examples of such regressive radicalism, and is thus a willingness to tear down every fence in Chesterton just to manufacture chaos.  Or "move fast and break things", as Zuckerberg would call it.  And it needs to stop.  NOW.

Seriously, Elon, lay off the ketamine and SLOW DOWN!  Better yet, STEP DOWN, as NO ONE ever elected you.

Where are the real conservatives when you need them?  Because we know THEY would respect Chesterton's Fence.

Why Trade Wars Are A Dumb Idea

One, two, three, four, let's start a trade war!

Or, how about we DON'T!  Seriously.  Imposing punitive or even so-called "protective" tariffs on goods imported from other countries, which then provokes them into imposing retaliatory tariffs on goods exported from our own country, is a negative-sum game.  In other words, it's a lose-lose proposition all around, shrinking GDP on all sides.  And who actually pays for it all?  Ultimately, we all do, as the higher costs inevitably get passed onto consumers.

A few seconds of Googling "Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act" should be enough to make even the numbest of numbskulls reconsider their appetite for tariffs and similar beggar-thy-neighbor policies.  If this trade war continues, the best we can hope for is a bad case of stagflation, and it goes downhill from there.  All the way down to full-blown depression.

Just like a few seconds of Googling "Recession of 1937" should be enough to make even the numbest of numbskulls reconsider whether fiscal austerity (*cough* DOGE *cough*) or monetary tightening from the FERAL Reserve is really such a wise idea.  Spoiler alert:  it really isn't.

No wonder Trump's two harshest critics lately have been......Chuck Dow and Edward Jones.  And that's just a leading indicator.

P.S.  It is entirely possible to have protectionism without tariffs or any other trade barriers, by the way.

Stranger Than Fiction

It is truly stranger than fiction what has happened to our country.  Mass deportations, mass firings, chaos manufacturing, tariffs and trade wars, alienating our allies, selling Ukraine down the river to Putin, and so on.  And so many Americans are still apparently cool with it, cheering it on, or are callously indifferent to it.

Seriously, WTF is wrong with you?  Even President Ronald Reagan is likely spinning in his grave right now.