Omnipotent Government

The Far Middle episode 128 premieres on November 1, 2023, coinciding with the anniversary of Chuck Cooper’s NBA debut. Cooper, a Pittsburgh native and this installment’s sports dedication, has several connections to both Nick and prior Far Middle conversations. And if you’re saying, who is Chuck Cooper, then most certainly give this episode a listen.

Moving from Chuck Cooper breaking down barriers, Nick calls out the following quote from Thomas Sowell: “Freedom is not simply the right of intellectuals to circulate their merchandise. It is, above all, the right of ordinary people to find elbow room for themselves and a refuge from the rampaging presumptions of their ‘betters.’”

Nick explains that Sowell is speaking of the power and benefits associated with capitalism, free markets, and the individual reigning supreme. “Despite the overwhelming data over centuries that prove the superiority of capitalism, the Left continues to make concerning inroads across societies and economies rolling back all that hard-earned progress in the process,” says Nick. “Today the popular trend is toward omnipotent government.”

The theme of omnipotent government then permeates the episode’s topics. Nick notes the term is the title of a great book by economist Ludwig von Mises, which you can read more about in Nick’s essay, “Heed the Historical Rhyming of Ludwig von Mises’ Omnipotent Government.” And for further reading, see Precipice, specifically chapter two on “The Deep State.”

Nick goes on to examine a host of recent developments illustrating the expanding and intrusive presence of government today, touching on: banking sector regulations, the administrative state’s growth, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget Circulars, President Biden’s regulatory actions and their cumulative costs, the cost to operate and maintain vacant federal government buildings, and more.

In closing, Nick offers a birthday shout-out to someone who in many ways represented omnipotent government and then ended up paying a heavy price for it when arrogance got the best of her. This individual also ties back to episode 81  Who is that individual? Press play and find out!