Quote of the Day: Social Engineering is about Unequal Justice

Understand that social engineering, by its very nature, calls for a double standard. Under social engineering, blacks with night sticks at voting stations are given a pass. Union thugs beating up a black Tea Party member is no problem. Killing more than a million unborn (and some born) babies a year is okay. Make no mistake about it, social engineering is not about equal justice. It’s about unequal justice. It’s about the power thugs having it all their way.

This is from self help and libertarian author Robert Ringer at his website discussing implementing socialism via social engineering.

Norway’s War on Butter Causes Crimes

The nanny state wants to control even our diets. They pretend to know what is best for us.

But each time they do so unintended consequences arise.

From NY Daily News, (hat tip Dan Mitchell)

A pair of slippery smugglers were busted in Norway looking to peddle an illicit contraband - butter.

The two men, who snuck into the country from Sweden, were arrested with about 550 lbs of butter divided into 18-ounce packets, the Norwegian daily newspaper Adresseavisen reported.

They were nabbed Saturday, and both admitted to churning up the scheme, authorities said.

So in effect, Norway’s high tariff on butter prompts some people to engage in smuggling. In short, the government’s “social engineering” regulations creates criminals. This another noteworthy example of the corrupting effect of repressive/arbitrary laws.

Worse, the shortage of butter have made many Norwegians ‘bitter’ to the point that lawmakers are considering a temporary easing of high tariffs, as shown in the video below from Al Jazeera.

I'd further say that any backtracking or implied retreat by Norway's government may eventually lead to its liberalization, a sign of government failure.

Fat Taxes and the Road to Serfdom

From Yahoo

On Oct. 1, consumers in Denmark saw a sudden jump in the cost of many of their favorite bread-friendly products. The average price of a half-pound package of butter increased by 2.5 krone (or 45 U.S. cents). A pound of cheese rose from 34.5 krone ($6) to 36 krone ($6.50). And don't even think about lard. In a single day, the cost of a half-pound block of pork fat skyrocketed from 12 krone ($2.15) to 16 krone ($2.85) — a 35% increase. Thanks to a new fat tax, Danes are paying more for just about anything they might want to slather on a piece of bread.

Other countries have imposed tariffs on food and drink considered unhealthy, but Denmark is taking the "fat tax" appellation literally. In the name of reducing cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes, the law that went into effect on Saturday specifically targets saturated fats — the fats found most commonly in animal products like butter, cream, and meat. But few outside the government seem to think it's a good idea — or even a healthy one.

Social engineering policies like the above, which attempts to “nudge” people’s behavior, are expressions of how political leaders think of us. They see as incorrigible idiots who don’t know what is the best interest for ourselves. They essentially are imposing their value preferences on us.

While waging war against the 'fat' or 'obese' seems noble sounding, the unintended consequence is to politically stigmatize people who are ‘fat’ or ‘obese’. In short, such paternal nudging policies promote discrimination and societal divisiveness. Shouldn’t we also tax skinny people too who may also signify as health hazards?

The other unintended effect has been to raise consumer prices which affects not only the fat but even the non obese. So the social costs of rectifying such aberrations will unfortunately befall to everyone.

Social engineering policies signify as slippery slope or incremental steps towards total control of people—a totalitarian state.

As Ludwig von Mises wrote,

The "social engineer" is the reformer who is prepared to
"liquidate" all those who do not fit into his plan for the arrangement of human affairs.

On the other hand, the welfare state, whom have increasingly been burdened by financial strains as a result of the ballooning of the unsustainable system, has been using such ‘sin taxes’ as pretext or as propaganda to raise funds in order to maintain or preserve on the privileges of the political class.