Hippie Meets Hitler
by The Hippy // October 12 2009
Rick Giles is a pretty unassuming fellow. His clothes match his rural origins, a woollen jumper with a simple pattern but there is something about him which just doesn’t gel.
It could be his habit of frowning when he disagrees with something, it could be that slightly nasal accent that sounds just a little bit like a politician or perhaps it is just what he is saying.
From what I can tell, his message is pretty simple:
1. Economics is the new morality.
2. Political power relies on force, so is inherently immoral.
3. Material equality is not important, political equality is important.
Politicians coming in and forcing the trader’s hand are the source of all evil. People aren’t poor because of economic inequality; the fault lies in welfare, the evil, forceful hand of the state. “Be a trader not a predator.”
And then the kicker: there has been no evidence of the free market failing in the history of the world. It is the perfect system.
Rick Giles is genuine, he claims a 2 year old could work out these facts. Without friendly corporations, those guys in sweatshops would be walking barefoot over trash heaps. Climate change just justifies more politics, let the markets sort everything out.
And then I see it. What has been bugging me, what is wrong about everything he is saying: the “science of Economics” is God. The morality he talks about; has a capital M. I’m back in religious education at school, with some wide eyed nut job telling me about how important I accept a dead Jew into my life.
Rick Giles and his ACT buddies are the new Priests and like every dominant ideology, they have good evidence for their faith. Jesus walked on water but Capitalism turned the most conquered island in the history of the world into “Britannia ruling the waves.”
The only time the free market fails, a politician will be responsible. Every fact about the higher levels of poverty on the planet today than ever before, child slavery, genocide, issues with the recession, these are government faults not…the…unrestrained powerful individuals who engaged in the trading which causes the suffering.
Rick Giles lies, ACT doesn’t go to the facts, ACT sticks to a dogmatic principle and by Economics, do they stick to it rigidly. Put your trust into the market and the poor will be ok (or at least they will sell you their organs for beer money). Work hard enough and the market will give you eternal life (or at least pharmaceuticals and plastic surgery will get you close). You even mention politics name, and the tsumani will hit (or at least the market will not be able to adequately deal with a disaster).
Rick Giles doesn’t appear to be the rich white male who you usually associate with ACT but the ideology he stands for is evil. And as the Hippy has pointed out before - denying climate change is licensing genocide and he failed to mention that ACT parties policy on climate change changed after a $200,000 donation from a prominent denier – how much would it cost to make them believe the world is flat?
A brief thanks to John Foulkes, Sarah Campagnolo and Aishah Kerr-Zabidin for helping the Hippy write and the Editor for having fantastic taste in columnists and TV shows (Facebook: “Save Our Editor” so next year we don’t have a 20 page UCSA advert every week). Thank you for listening and finding your own truth.
May peace and love be with you and always:
Vive la revolution!