The Pillage of the Future by the Present

City Journal is carrying a good read on the current addiction of the 'modern democratic state' to Keynesian-driven indebtedness, not from the normal American punditry, but in the context of the evolution of European states .

The thesis of German Peter Sloterdijk reminds us that we Americans are not alone when worried about our current 'financial unsustainability'.

The Grasping Hand
The modern democratic state pillages its productive citizens

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The modern democratic state gradually transformed into the debtor state, within the space of a century metastasizing into a colossal monster—one that breathes and spits out money.

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What is new is the gargantuan scale of public debt. Mortgaging, insolvency, monetary reform, or inflation—no matter, the next great expropriations are under way. Today, the state’s grasping hand even reaches into the pockets of generations unborn. We have already written the title of the next chapter of our history: “The pillage of the future by the present.”

Read the whole thing...