Mad Max

I was SO disappointed that I accidentally deleted my post last week about Max Borders, the free-market extremist at Civitas whose philosophy include this precious assertion:

"If boiling people alive best served the interests of the American people, then it would neither be moral or immoral." Max Borders, Civitas Institute

As many of you know, Mad Max and I had a bit of a tussle last week when he engaged in an ad hominem attack to accuse me of engaging in ad hominem attacks. When the dust settled, I thought we had lost dear Max and that he had been terminated for cause (as he should have been). He was noticeably absent from most of his regular stomping grounds, and unusually quiet for a paid-Puppet blogger.

Never fear, though. Max is still around, and is apparently still tasked with being the loose canon for the Civitas Institute.

Regarding health care for children, Max quite astoundingly takes issue with "standards of justice" being enforced by the state:

And remember, when their standards of justice become enforced by the state, you don't have to actually BEHAVE MORALLY (even if you agree that everyone has moral duties to give to middle class citizens' healthcare), all you have to do is comply. Their jackboot will absolve you of your sense of obligation.

And so the essence of free-market extremism is uncovered. It's okay to agree that everyone has moral duties, but if people don't actually behave in concert with those duties, well, that's their business. So, for example, if I believe the Republican leadership in America is raping taxpayers to enrich corporatists engaging in war profiteering, I should have the freedom to refuse to pay taxes to the federal government.

Hmmmm. I like the way Max thinks. Except for that part about boiling people.