Chiracism Is the New Lobotomism of Our Age

Matt Welch | March 24, 2005

I didn't think it possible to like French President Jacques Chirac any less, but now I see he has just committed the dumbest public invocation of Godwin's Law in recent memory:

Ultra-liberalism is the new communism of our age.

As opposed to the old communism, which was part of France's governing coalition way back in the 21st century.

Comments

|3.24.05 @ 3:21PM|#

Time to pull his feeding tube.

|3.24.05 @ 3:51PM|#

I thought that Godwin's Law referred only to comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis--comparisons to Communists were McCarthyism...

|3.24.05 @ 4:15PM|#

David T.,

Yes, this is clearly an incorrect application of Godwin's law.

Henry,

He'll be gone in early 2007 (unless he decides to run again - a Chirac v. Sarkozy tussle would be interesting to watch).

Matt Welch,

Not even a kind word for lifting the 35 hour week? :)

|3.24.05 @ 4:16PM|#

Godwin's Law explained: http://www.answers.com/topic/godwin-s-law

|3.24.05 @ 4:36PM|#

Gary,

Thanks for the link explaining Godwin's Law.

Godwin's law seem to be a succint way of stating that an argument is a stew of logical fallacies.

|3.24.05 @ 4:45PM|#

Gunnels,

It's been a long time - well, since the man himself - that France produced a truly great man like de Gaulle.

"Once upon a time there was an old country, wrapped up in habit and caution. We have to transform our old France into a new country and marry it to its time."

QFMC cos. V

|3.24.05 @ 4:48PM|#

So by European standards, wouldn't that mean that Ultra-liberalism is pretty good, if flawed in practice, but much better than that capitalism crap?

|3.24.05 @ 4:49PM|#

Fabius,

Well, maybe Sarkozy will fit the bill. I'll be voting for him.

_____________

BTW, Matt Welch and I apparently share one thing in common: we both have no love for J.C.

_____________

Drooling Richard,

I love the addendums, etc. as well. :)

|3.24.05 @ 4:54PM|#

BTW, it wasn't that "public."

|3.24.05 @ 4:57PM|#

Basically, all this posturing by Chirach, Schroeder, etc. about the "social model" concerns efforts to keep France from voting against the new E.U. constitution, which is getting a lot of criticism from the French left. As far as I can tell, in light of what is actually going on in France re: the 35 hour week, etc., the rhetoric doesn't reflect reality.

|3.24.05 @ 4:58PM|#

meanwhile cnn argues that the french have taxation right:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/22/news/economy/taxreform_vat/index.htm?cnn=yes

AHH!!! "Add new taxation and keep the old ... one is silver ...."

Mike|3.24.05 @ 5:05PM|#

I thought that Godwin's Law referred only to comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis--comparisons to Communists were McCarthyism...

You're obviously a Godwin's Law textualist. A more elightned view is to see Godwin's Law as a living document, that should be interpreted to fit the times.

Matt Welch|3.24.05 @ 5:14PM|#

I take the Skvoreckian view of Godwin's Law, and I would hope most of you here would join in....

GG -- I'm pretty much incapable of kind words for the man at this point, unless he volunteers to drop his immunity from prosecution....

|3.24.05 @ 5:23PM|#

Mike,

Ha ha ha. :)

Matt Welch,

I meant a kind word for France; not J.C.; it took some guts for the Parliament to reform the work law.

Anyway, he will lose immunity as soon as he leaves office (unless he keels over before then). Since is immunity is written into the French constitution (for better or for worse), I don't even know if he could constitutionally give up immunity while in office.

Can you elaborate on Josef Skvorecky's view on Godwin's law?

|3.24.05 @ 8:27PM|#

Well, maybe Sarkozy will fit the bill. I'll be voting for him.

Gary-

How will an Alabama native be able to vote in a French election?

|3.24.05 @ 9:22PM|#

Better yet - Vote for Madelin, leader of the Liberal Party (yes there is one in France...) Chirac is a worm. He's the product of a political system that rewards survival over principle. Only a few years ago he was saying "there is no choice for France other than liberalism . Or to be more precise liberalism is not a choice but a necessity" (Il n y a pas d'autre choix que le libéralisme. Plus exactement, le libéralisme n'est pas un choix mais une nécessité...)

http://www.cerclesliberaux.com/newsite/newcercles/lettre/lettre1703_2005.htm

|3.24.05 @ 9:53PM|#

3 hours and 38 minutes for the Gunnells JB comment. You're getting a little slow, thoreau. :)

I half expected, "Sarkozy? He can't be worse than Kerry."

Gene Berkman|3.24.05 @ 10:10PM|#

I hope everyone understands that in Europe "ultra-liberalism" refers to an "extreme" position in favor of free market capitalism.

Otherwise, Chirac just sounds like Ann Coulter when he conflates "ultra-liberalism" and Communism.

|3.24.05 @ 10:37PM|#

Mo-

I didn't say anything about JB. I asked Gary to explain a confusing comment.

|3.24.05 @ 11:41PM|#

thoreau,

I meant that I support him. Sorry about the phrasing. :)

Philippe L,

Well, no one ever claimed that Chirac was either honest or consistent. :) He's definately playing to the French left these days; maybe because Sarkozy has seized the French right.

|3.26.05 @ 12:07PM|#

Thanks for the link on Godwin's Law Gary.

I noticed Newman's corollary,

"Newman's corollary as restated by Gordon Libertarianism (pro, con, and internal faction fights) is the primordial net.news discussion topic. Any time the debate shifts somewhere else, it must eventually return to this fuel source."

..., which if true, would imply that Hit & Run and other libertarian blogs are destined to form the center of the blogoshere. This means that, eventually, we'll frame the center of the debate online!

So everone will someday be arguing about 1) Were the Communists worse than the Nazis? 2) Regionalism and the Civil War and 3) Can the Libertarians and Republicans reconcile? ...oh, and 4) Should Objectivists be allowed to vote?

...Well, maybe not the last one.