In his book Little Report, HL Mencken writes: “The desire to save mankind is almost always the false face of the desire to rule it.” Power is what the messiahs really want: not an opportunity to serve. This is true even of the holy brothers who carry the gospel [sic] in other parts of the world.”
With a little rewriting, we can update the measure to be secure:
“The desire to protect the nation is almost always a false face of the desire to rule it. Power is what all defenders want: not opportunity to serve. “
National defense is a common reason for protective taxation, and it has been carried to absurd extremes: clothing, sugar, and baby food have all been described as essential to national defense and below the cost.
A great example, Senator Rick Scott of Florida he called for a ban on garlic grown in China for reasons that threaten the security of the country. Now, maybe if we were a tribe of vampires, this claim would make sense. But it’s hard to see how garlic, even potentially contaminated garlic, poses a threat to national security. Scott argues that garlic poses a potential health risk, but that is not the same as a national security threat.
The irony of Scott’s argument is that he does not the need to ban Chinese garlic as a national security threat if it is as dangerous as he says. We already have a food safety system here in the US, and goods from other countries are also subject to it. If Chinese garlic is a threat to public health, the FDA has the authority to issue recalls and effectively ban the contaminated product if it poses a threat to human or animal health. It is unclear why Senator Scott’s action was necessary.
Going back to the theme I’ve been talking about in recent posts, any intervention needs to be justified beyond just some speculation. Just to show that some intervention he can achieving a certain desired result does not mean that an action is justified or desirable. We need to examine the current state of laws and regulations to see if the intervention is really justified, or if it is just a cover for corruption under a false face. One question Senator Scott (or others defending this intervention) must answer is: why is the current law inadequate? It is already illegal to sell contaminated food in the US. If Chinese garlic is such a threat, why hasn’t the FDA banned it?
National defense is one of those reasons that people don’t seem to think much about. It is requested and not simply asked. Indeed, this is why “national defense” is such an effective false face for recruitment: few pay much attention to the mask. Perhaps, like the partygoers at Poe’s masquerade e Masque of the Read Deathpeople who support false national security claims are afraid to see what’s under that mask.
Jon Murphy is an assistant professor of economics at Nicholls State University.
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