I just returned from a short visit to Mexico (went down to Baja to ride the Rosarito to Ensenada bike ride) and as I was coming home through Tijuana via the toll road a thought occurred to me as I zipped past the shacks and trash strewn lots and streets.

This is what the US would look like if Libertarians and Republicans ruled unchecked.

Now I’m not saying they want to reduce the US to such a state, but the consequences of the policies they push would lead to it. No social safety network, very little regulation on business, environmental or safety practices, minimal municipal services… it all leads to what we see in Mexico. The well off live in walled compounds with private security, the only decent roads are toll roads, and pollution is everywhere. Things we take for granted such as public trash cans, drinkable tap water and public schools don’t exist. There are few laws that regulate business and labor practices. 6 year olds hawk cheap goods on the street at 10 pm. Big corporations make millions while paying their workers bare subsistence wages and polluting the environment. High illiteracy and poverty rates create an environment that fosters graft and corruption.

Next time someone wants to toss the word ‘Liberal’ around like it’s an insult, think about what life would really be like without liberals to push for a clean environment, safe food and water, fair labor practices, decent infrastructure, and compassionate social services.

Controling what we do is a slippery slope.

Thats your reply Chief- tid-bit paranoia to empiric evidence?

While the spectre of despotsim looms large in many peoples minds when we try and decide things with some forethought democratically, don't you think letting go without any forethought is the real danger? That other un-democratic elements have and will fill the gap?

You are comparing apples to a pile of crap, and you know it. Mexico has an entirely different history and set of shared experiences than the United States. The United States in point of fact, didn't have social programs in place until the Great Depression. This country was founded on a different set of principles entirely, and to compare it to Mexico is just ridiculous. We're not perfect, surely, but our worst is better than 75% of the rest of the world at their best.