Jan
5
2025

Today's Etymology Lesson

It's a word you can use: kakistocracy. And the Google will tell you that it derives from the Greek kakistos, meaning "worst", and the English -ocracy suffix, meaning… well, you know. Hence: government by the worst.

Google also seems to indicate the alternate spelling is in less frequent use: cacastocracy. And our inner five-year-olds know what "caca" is.

Which brings us to:

Shameful and corrupt. And business as usual for these last few weeks of the Biden Administration.

Other reactions:

Scott Lincicome writes at Cato on Nippon Steel and the "National Security" Hoax.

Today, President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of US Steel on the grounds that “there is credible evidence” the Japanese steelmaker “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.” What “credible evidence” might push the president of the United States to block a multi-billion dollar investment in an ailing American steel company by a publicly traded corporation headquartered in one of the United States’ closest allies? Well, Biden never says, perhaps because—as I wrote right before the holiday—there is none…

Scott usually doesn't get this hot under the collar. So, yeah, it's bad.

Over at Reason, Eric Boehm finds perfection: Biden blocking the U.S. Steel sale is a perfectly disgraceful end to his career.

By intervening in the private business affairs of the two companies, Biden is demonstrating once again his expansive view of executive power, hubristic sense of government's ability to order economic affairs, and willingness to stretch the definition of "national security" to justify his big government agenda even when there is plainly no national security threat.

Those elements have been central to Biden's political persona for decades. Even as his charisma and mental facilities have failed, they remain. From his earlier support for the drug war, the USA PATRIOT Act, and Obamacare to his administration's attempts at broad student loan forgiveness and inflation-inducing Bidenomics, Biden has rarely been deterred by norms or laws that limit federal power or by economic good sense. If there's something Biden wants to do, he'll simply find a way to do it.

And in case you want more in the same vein, Don Boudreaux has a compliation of these and other reactions at Cafe Hayek. His excerpt from the WSJ editorialists:

President Biden’s order on Friday blocking Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel is an act of economic masochism that will harm U.S. manufacturing and security. It is also a corruption of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Cfius) for raw political favoritism that will harm the U.S. reputation as a destination for capital.

…..

None satisfied United Steelworkers boss David McCall, who favors a tie-up with Cleveland-Cliffs, which was outbid by Nippon Steel in 2023. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves lobbied the White House to block the Nippon deal because he wants to create a steel-making cartel shielded from foreign competition by tariffs and Buy America rules.

A Cleveland-Cliffs-U.S. Steel combo would control 100% of U.S. blast furnace production, 100% of domestic steel used in electric-vehicle motors, and 65% to 90% of other domestic steel used in vehicles. But Cleveland-Cliffs—currently valued at $4.7 billion with $3.8 billion in debt—will struggle to find the money even to buy U.S. Steel, much less to invest enough to revitalize its factories.

Which goes back to our etymology lesson above. As far as I know, Hayek never used the word "kakistocracy" but chapter 10 of his The Road to Serfdom was titled "Why the Worst Get On Top". And (again) our inner five-year-olds know what floats.

And so did Ben Franklin:

In Rivers and bad Governments, the lightest Things swim at top.

Also of note:

  • A supplement to our etymology lesson. Provided by Steven Greenhut, who wonders: Is America entering her kakistocracy era?

    The Economist this year named kakistocracy its word of the year after reflecting on President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R–Fla.) for attorney general, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services secretary, and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. Those picks are indeed among the most noteworthy events of the year—and a reflection of the sorts of people who probably shouldn't be in power.

    The U.S. House released a report, which alleged "substantial evidence that Gaetz violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress." Gaetz denies any wrongdoing and has withdrawn from consideration, but please don't expect meritocracy.

    Trump says that he will let anti-vaccine activist and apparent victim of a brain worm, RFK Jr., "go wild" on public health. He presumably will also let Gabbard—the former Democratic representative known for her unusual views about Syria and Russia—go crazy on U.S. intelligence. Whatever their charms, it's odd to see them float to the top.

    Steven also notes the Ben Franklin quote, but not the Hayek chapter title.

  • As the intelligence of our leaders declines… Maybe the computers will save us! Because, as Megan McArdle says, we are On the brink of an unimaginable AI future. Excerpt:

    I won’t speculate about the risk of an emerging artificial superintelligence casually disposing of its inefficient carbon-based architects; I’m not enough of a technician to understand whether this is likely. What’s clear is that things are going to get weird.

    AI will replace a lot of work that humans do now, from writing code to diagnosing illness to analyzing databases to making art. Aesthetes may protest that the computer-generated stuff will lack the crucial human element, but a quick glance over the past 200 years suggests that most people will eagerly substitute cheap, mass-produced anything for a lovingly handcrafted version that’s more expensive.

    And this time around the machines will displace some of the highest-status, highest-paid jobs. This is not entirely a bad prospect, especially as regards the problem of inequality. A whole lot of affluent people are likely to become considerably more equal. But those folks will not give up good jobs quietly. Political and cultural upheaval can be expected as the elites fight to maintain their status.

    Megan is open to apocalyptic speculation. But I'm old enough to remember reading Future Shock by Alvin Toffler, which claimed "the accelerated rate of technological and social change leaves people disconnected and suffering from 'shattering stress and disorientation'".

    And, reader, that was 55 years ago. So I'm not too worried about today's predictions of tech-caused doom: I've heard and read dozens of 'em over the decades. We've gone through a lot of "real soon now" promises and predictions.

    Wake me up when they happen.

  • Dylan on tech. Nate Anderson, writer at Ars Technica tells us that Bob Dylan has some Dylanesque thoughts on the “sorcery” of technology. And digs out a quote from a 2022 interview:

    I’ve binge-watched Coronation Street, Father Brown, and some early Twilight Zones. I know they’re old-fashioned shows, but they make me feel at home. I’m not a fan of packaged programs, or news shows, so I don’t watch them. I never watch anything foul smelling or evil. Nothing disgusting; nothing dog ass. I’m a religious person. I read the scriptures a lot, meditate and pray, light candles in church. I believe in damnation and salvation, as well as predestination. The Five Books of Moses, Pauline Epistles, Invocation of the Saints, all of it.

    Since I have a dog, I'm required to watch some dog ass stuff. But otherwise, Bob's your uncle.

  • Another language lesson, this one short. David R. Henderson takes issue with the NIMBY acronym: It's Not YOUR Backyard.

    Here’s the problem: People who use the term, whether they oppose it or favor it, are using words incorrectly. That matters.

    If you objected to people building something in your backyard, you would be on solid ground (pun intended.) The reason is that, unless you gave them permission, they would be trespassing. Imagine someone tries to build a small cottage in my backyard without my permission. Almost everyone, whatever his or her view of housing development or housing density, would agree that that person should not be allowed to do so.

    What do people really mean when they “Not in my backyard?” They mean that their neighbors shouldn’t be allowed to build in their backyard—or front yards, for that matter. So if they wanted to use words honestly, an acronym that would be much closer to the truth is “NIYBY.” This stands for “Not in your back yard.”

    You can see why they don’t want to use that term: it makes explicit that they favor violating other people’s property rights.

    Belated New Year Resolution: try to avoid that acronym in the future.


Last Modified 2025-01-06 5:18 AM EST