Last time, we mentioned that author Sohrab Ahmari makes a provocative point. Over the past two generations, the folk who own the country decided they’d change the economy. They turned it into a free-for-all. Greed became good. Everyone could aspire to be a millionaire. Millionaires started having dreams of making billionaire.
Howard Buffet and his peers believed an unfettered economy meant a better economy. (Better for whom? you’re no doubt asking.) It would also create a freer society, they proclaimed. But the opposite happened. Americans lost stable, well-paying jobs. When middle-class jobs dried up, local communities died on the vine. Check out the boarded-up storefronts in Douglas, Willcox, Bowie, etc. Freedom of contract means nothing on an empty stomach or when your well’s gone dry.
Without realizing it, Ahmari argues, citizens are now trapped. A dense web of corporate control hovers over every aspect of our lives–most importantly, how and where we try to make a living. Fine-print contracts and forced arbitration mean the employer always has the upper hand.
People are correct to question government interventions (like ADWR and the AMA). Folk in Cochise County have a fear of tyranny originating with the state. Less obvious, according to Ahmari, is the newer corporate tyranny. It’s grown to dominate many sectors of the economy. As we face Corporate Ag’s domination in our county, there are no obvious or immediate remedies.
Lucky for us, the second half of Tyranny, Inc. is about forging another way.
Sohrab Ahmari is no liberal or “commonist.” He’s a former opinion page editor of the Wall Street Journal. He calls himself a principled conservative.
Get this book and read it. We’ll be discussing it more in our next installment.