A-Team Stands for Anarcho-Capitalism
September 18, 2006 6:29 PM Subscribe
Heh, this reminds me of the write-up of Harry Potter as a positive libertarian rolemodel.
(Whoa - a quick googling reveals that the meme has spread)
I love it when people try to stretch their pet theories around popular media. Always good for a chuckle.
posted by lekvar at 6:39 PM on September 18, 2006
(Whoa - a quick googling reveals that the meme has spread)
I love it when people try to stretch their pet theories around popular media. Always good for a chuckle.
posted by lekvar at 6:39 PM on September 18, 2006
I pity the tool.
posted by hovercraft at 7:05 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by hovercraft at 7:05 PM on September 18, 2006
Very clever. Makes me want to buy an A-Team DVD set.
posted by brain_drain at 7:13 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by brain_drain at 7:13 PM on September 18, 2006
great post
posted by tonygarcia at 7:17 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by tonygarcia at 7:17 PM on September 18, 2006
You're missing a batshitinsane tag.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:25 PM on September 18, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:25 PM on September 18, 2006 [1 favorite]
*rolls vehicle in tremendous accident
*starts crawling out before moving to the next scene.
posted by Hicksu at 7:35 PM on September 18, 2006
*starts crawling out before moving to the next scene.
posted by Hicksu at 7:35 PM on September 18, 2006
So the deal this is some libertarian version of the postmodern essay generator, right? Oh well, at least the first comment after the essay is a Big Lebowski reference.
posted by The Radish at 7:44 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by The Radish at 7:44 PM on September 18, 2006
believe it or not, i was just thinking about this over the weekend. not so much in strictly anarcho-capitalist terms, but something close.
could you imagine a show with Army deserters for heroes getting made in today's United States?
posted by mrgrimm at 7:53 PM on September 18, 2006
could you imagine a show with Army deserters for heroes getting made in today's United States?
posted by mrgrimm at 7:53 PM on September 18, 2006
This reminded of me of Dan Quayle's exhortations about how Murphy Brown was a bad role model for children.
posted by clevershark at 7:54 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by clevershark at 7:54 PM on September 18, 2006
Hmmm private property rights without the state to guarantee those rights? Get your guns folks. And stock up on gas.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:01 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by Ironmouth at 8:01 PM on September 18, 2006
In case anyone is curious about the bias of the author, it's from the Ludwig von Mises Institute (wikipedia link).
posted by MetaMonkey at 8:04 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by MetaMonkey at 8:04 PM on September 18, 2006
could you imagine a show with Army deserters for heroes getting made in today's United States?
I don't know you could call the A-Team deserters, remember: they were sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit.
They weren't deserters, they were escaped felons.
posted by quin at 8:24 PM on September 18, 2006
I don't know you could call the A-Team deserters, remember: they were sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit.
They weren't deserters, they were escaped felons.
posted by quin at 8:24 PM on September 18, 2006
Innocent ones! Who only want to help!
posted by longsleeves at 8:29 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by longsleeves at 8:29 PM on September 18, 2006
with clownish mowhawked drowning-in-bling Mr. T, a foolish, pitiable character.
posted by longsleeves at 8:32 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by longsleeves at 8:32 PM on September 18, 2006
This post is about the A-Team, and is therefore good.
posted by chunking express at 9:48 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by chunking express at 9:48 PM on September 18, 2006
Get your guns folks. And stock up on gas.
You say this like it isn't every mom's-basement-dwelling libertarian's wet dream.
posted by Jimbob at 9:55 PM on September 18, 2006
You say this like it isn't every mom's-basement-dwelling libertarian's wet dream.
posted by Jimbob at 9:55 PM on September 18, 2006
It actually isn't, Jimbob, because Libertarianism is not Anarcho-Capitalism. There's still a state is Libertarianism.
posted by spaltavian at 10:11 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by spaltavian at 10:11 PM on September 18, 2006
Could you imagine a deserter as President in today's United States? "To my knowledge, he never showed up," Turnipseed said .... [Boston Globe 5/23/00]
Nah.
posted by hank at 10:18 PM on September 18, 2006
Nah.
posted by hank at 10:18 PM on September 18, 2006
How about "The Allah Team", they were sent to secret CIA prisons by a military tribunal for a crime they didn't commit ;-)
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:28 PM on September 18, 2006
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:28 PM on September 18, 2006
This is amazing. If they'd actively set out to confirm all my worst prejudices about 'anarcho-capitalists', I don't think they could have done it better.
Still, Mr. T is pretty awesome.
posted by moss at 10:32 PM on September 18, 2006
Still, Mr. T is pretty awesome.
posted by moss at 10:32 PM on September 18, 2006
You can tell the A-Team must be fiction because in real life, military tribunals don't make mistakes.
posted by uncle harold at 3:03 AM on September 19, 2006
posted by uncle harold at 3:03 AM on September 19, 2006
Speaking of the A-Team: my wife and I have been looking at houses, and last weekend, I wanted to buy one just on the basis of what they had parked in their driveway.
posted by COBRA! at 6:52 AM on September 19, 2006
posted by COBRA! at 6:52 AM on September 19, 2006
Some good points, but the capitalism angle is undermined by the frequent acceptance of cases where the person to be protected is inable to pay, or operations run on a loss (which also happens). The writer should have paid more attention to the canon.
posted by klangklangston at 7:53 AM on September 19, 2006
posted by klangklangston at 7:53 AM on September 19, 2006
Well, the A-Team never killed anyone, and neither did anarchy or capitalism
…err
posted by Luddite at 8:40 AM on September 19, 2006
…err
posted by Luddite at 8:40 AM on September 19, 2006
Of course the A-Team are anarcho-capitalists! They hold the patent for these magical bullets capable of ripping through locked doors & gates, but never hit human flesh. Why shouldn't they profit from such ingenuity? In fact, their refusal to share these magical bullets with the rest of the world could be viewed as an act of Randian, Howard Roarkish defiance. They also made a lot of money with their innovative strategy of marketing Boy George in country & western bars.
posted by jonp72 at 8:47 AM on September 19, 2006
posted by jonp72 at 8:47 AM on September 19, 2006
From the "Case from the Empire" link:
Make no mistake, as emperor, Palpatine is a dictator--but a relatively benign one, like Pinochet.
Killing several thousand of your citizens is the hallmark of a "benign dictatorship" now?? Never mind the other atrocities of the Pinochet regime.
posted by knapah at 8:52 AM on September 19, 2006
Make no mistake, as emperor, Palpatine is a dictator--but a relatively benign one, like Pinochet.
Killing several thousand of your citizens is the hallmark of a "benign dictatorship" now?? Never mind the other atrocities of the Pinochet regime.
posted by knapah at 8:52 AM on September 19, 2006
That's pretty funny, but it left out one major thing that the A-Team has in common with workable anarchy:
It only exists in make-believe.
Not true. I have several anarchistic arrangements that work very well. We likely all do. I hate to be a hippie and bring up the Indians (Native Americans), but that seems a lot like anarchy. And they did fine ... for a while.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:09 PM on September 19, 2006
It only exists in make-believe.
Not true. I have several anarchistic arrangements that work very well. We likely all do. I hate to be a hippie and bring up the Indians (Native Americans), but that seems a lot like anarchy. And they did fine ... for a while.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:09 PM on September 19, 2006
I hate to be a hippie and bring up the Indians (Native Americans), but that seems a lot like anarchy. And they did fine ... for a while.
mrgrimm
Er, what? Can you explain your reasoning here? Native Americans certainly did have complex political/social structures prior to the arrival of the Europeans. If you mean "anarchy" in the sense that not all Native Americans shared a single government or authority, then I guess you're right, but that doesn't seem to be the point you're making.
posted by Sangermaine at 3:48 PM on September 19, 2006
mrgrimm
Er, what? Can you explain your reasoning here? Native Americans certainly did have complex political/social structures prior to the arrival of the Europeans. If you mean "anarchy" in the sense that not all Native Americans shared a single government or authority, then I guess you're right, but that doesn't seem to be the point you're making.
posted by Sangermaine at 3:48 PM on September 19, 2006
What about Pirates as anarchists?
They probably fit the anarcho-capitalist model too, so the pirate/a-team connection continues.
posted by illovich at 4:27 PM on September 19, 2006
If you mean "anarchy" in the sense that not all Native Americans shared a single government or authority, then I guess you're right, but that doesn't seem to be the point you're making.
Why not? I don't mean "pure" anarchy, as if there is such a thing, but from my (admittedly meager) schooling (years and years ago), I remembered an extremely decentralized and voluntary system of organizations. Not true?
Pirates, fo sho. Just b/c you live by rules doesn't mean it's not anarchy, right? I'm just blowing air here, of course ... IANAEOA.
posted by mrgrimm at 6:36 PM on September 19, 2006
Why not? I don't mean "pure" anarchy, as if there is such a thing, but from my (admittedly meager) schooling (years and years ago), I remembered an extremely decentralized and voluntary system of organizations. Not true?
Pirates, fo sho. Just b/c you live by rules doesn't mean it's not anarchy, right? I'm just blowing air here, of course ... IANAEOA.
posted by mrgrimm at 6:36 PM on September 19, 2006
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It only exists in make-believe.
posted by Bookhouse at 6:36 PM on September 18, 2006 [3 favorites]