Speaking of Waking American Democracy from its Slumbers

The politically correct might denounce me thinking that I had committed the double plus un pc act of using American to refer to the USA forgetting that the Americas are two continents.

If I had done so I would have been particularly unforgivable as I have learned a correct genative form of USA "statunitense" which is a plain decent Italian word which the politically correct can use (in Italy) without being absurd. I aim to be politically correct and I am in Italy.

However, when I wrote of the awakening of Democracy in America, I thought of the awakening of Democracy in the Americas not of the awakening thatlarge American country in which I was born.

Now, in other American countries, Democracy is doing relatively well (relative to typical American history not necessarily compared to history statunitense). Still the extreme moderation of Lula da Silva has silenced and humiliated all of the many quarelling calls "hasta la revolucion sempre" whether the revolution in question is Gueveriana or Hayekian.

In the very homeland of Che, Revolution has recently received an unasked for blessing from Nestor Kirchner. I do not dare predict whether the amazing gift was received by the followers of Ernesto or of Friedrich, but the outrage must unite il pueblo and the rational utility maximizing agents.

Argentina remained Argentina when it is the model of globalization in the 19th century, when it is the only Latin American country determined to pay its debts, when Juan Peron seizes power, when the duly elected Juan Peron is overthrown in a coup, when the worlds most brilliant person (Jorge Luis Borges) mistakes depraved violent torturing murdering idiots for gentleman, when the radical civic union achieves a rate of hyperinflation not dreamed of by Peron, when the Peronist Arab Menem implments the program of Milton Friedman. But now Argentina must rise up or lose itself as the President has asked the people to eat less beef.

My imagination is limited. I have long learned that the fact that I cannot conceive of an eventuality is not strong evidence that it will not occur. I have learned this many times. One was the time that Michael Gorbachev demonstrated that he was both smart enough to become general secretary of the communist party of the Soviet Union and stupid enough to try to get Russians to stop drinking. How can this be ? He could not have reached the top without knowing who he could defeat and with whom he must find a compromise, yet he chose to set himself against Vodka itself. Those who the gods would make accidental architects of the astounding triumph of Democracy, they first drive mad.

Still I never dreamed that I would live to see both the days in which the general secrtary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union challenged Vodka and the day in which the President of Argentina challenged beef.

To quote Borges quoting Leibniz "We have witnessed the dawning of a new era. We should be thankful. History is not usually so generous"