Libertarianism: Your Key to a Complete Economic Collapse

Mark Ames, Matt Taibbi's former partner in the Russian mag The eXile, in the New York Press presents a (doubtless largely invented) conversation with a Wall Street villain with a fresh take on why libertarianism would doom our nation: mostly, that a firm application of the rule of law to fraud and a stern refusal to bail out big financial market failures would, supposedly, cause every single big-money financier to go on a mad selling spree that would collapse all asset values everywhere.

The alleged conclusion from the mouth of Ames' alleged Wall Street insider pal:

"I think it's great that you and your friends memorized Road to Serfdom in between Star Trek episodes—no really, I'm happy for you. Yeah, we're all so proud. But here's the thing: We grown-ups are really, really busy now trying to sort out the free-market mess you made with that Lehman move of yours. Yeah, so why don't you run along to your libertarian chat rooms and have your little debates about Jekyll Island and the gold standard, because it really means a lot to us. And report back to me as soon as you have it all figured out, m'kay? Just get the fuck out of my face and leave the adults alone."

Oo, what a burn. For some more serious libertarian analysis of the causes and cures for financial crises, start here with Michael Flynn's January 2009 Reason magazine story "Anatomy of a Breakdown."