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April 28, 2005
Right-Wing Alarmism Vs. Left-Wing Alarmism
Matt Yglesias opines about teen pregnancy and parental notification. He made a comment about "bus drivers getting thrown in jail for letting pregnant women on", which I was confused by.
So I went and read the link. And what it is is a left-wing alarmist post about the possibility that this might happen.
That, in turn, got me thinking about Matt's point that right-wing alarmism is often correct.
So that, in turn, got me thinking, when has the left been right about the long term consequences of alarmist predictions.
I can think of one example - that capitalism will increase the gulf between the rich and the poor - which is true, although given that the standard of living has risen so dramatically for the poor, it is, I think, specious; but I'll give on that one, and simply ask for another one.
I can think of other claims that haven't been true:
- repeal of the assault ban will result in mass killing sprees.
- We will run out of oil in 30 years (it turns out that there are proven reserves for 100 years at current usage)
- The population will explode over the next 30 years
Others?
Note that I'm not implying that the right-wing alarmism is justified, or warranted. I'm also not implying that there are no accurate predicitions from the left wing. But I do get a sense that the left wing alarmism seems to be less accurate than right-wing alarmism.
Posted by jb at April 28, 2005 03:49 PM
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