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Online usersPollWhat should the government do about ailing financial institutions? Nothing, except to back off and get out—as any Objectivist knows, intervention is treating the disease with the disease 85% Intervene judiciously—enough to avert a catastrophe that is otherwise imminent 3% Intervene massively—as it's doing 2% Nationalize the whole economy and be done with it. Bring on the USSA! 2% Something else (specify) 8% Total votes: 59
 Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell
 Economics In One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
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Why The Left Really Love Rail Submitted by Lance on Thu, 2008-07-03 10:07.
Since Marcus linked the really quite awful article from the Guardian where Seumas Milne extols the virtues of rail and nationalisation something struck me about the Labour government buyback and the Greens constant praising of rail as a mode of public transportation. I'm sure I'm not the first to make this observation, and it may be bleedingly obvious to some, but the public train vs the private motor car is a nicely parallel representation of collectivism vs individualism. To the fiercely collectivist left the train epitomises their way of thinking. All passengers on a train are sitting in the same type of seats (unless Kiwirail trains have a first class cab? I thought not), they are all paying the same fare, following the same path, going at the same speed, and heading to the same final destinations. They are all so wonderfully equal. Compare to the private motor car: Yours may have leather seats, you may have vinyl, you may have cloth fabric, you may go via scenic routes to enjoy the view or visit friends, you may pay more in running and maintenance costs, you may pay less, your car could be all different levels of quality, colour, size, shape, design, power; you can customise, lower, raise, paint, add bits on, take bits off, go fast, go slow... I'm not so much of an automophile that I consider cars beyond the utilitarian and occasionally aesthetic, but when it comes to the private motor car vs the public rail, I think the debate goes well beyond "environmental sustainability" and into the realm of what the two represent.
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User loginFeatured BookNavigationSyndicate  The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
 Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
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Rail and Dependency
Public railway, especially when it is a government monopoly, creates more dependency.
Wm
Lance
Along with the basic choices about cars you just mentioned, there's far more to the left's hatred of the car then mere superficialities.
When the car first into mass production in the middle 20th Century, it brought wealth and productivity which had been impossible at anytime before, even during the industrial revolution, and was the centrepiece of an amazing economic boom, much of which couldn't have been possible without it. The car brought social mobility to millions of people around the world, by allowing for practical travel around large areas, cheaply -by destroying the confines of distance over land. The car separated man from man's excrement and allowed for pleasures only enjoyed by the wealthy to be enjoyed by even the poorest man, such as holidays and privacy.
Many environmentalists claim that the car is a "dirty" vehicle. I take the opposite view -never before has there been a mode of transportation so clean. Men no longer had to live with two miles of work, and walk in overcrowded and filthy city streets or take overcrowded and dirty trams to get around. Men no longer had to live within the confines of everyone else to enjoy the benefits of living in a rational society. That's why the left hate it so much. Man no longer had to live a public life to reap the benefits of living around other men.
The car represented a great leap forward for man, and made possible the first time in history that a society of privacy was possible for everyone in that society, not just the rich. The car is the embodiment of individualism, rational-self interest and Capitalism.
"Socialism may be dead, but its corpse is still rotting up the place." -Ayn Rand
As Rand said...
"Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy."
In its day, rail was progress, as well, and Atlas exhibits a love of cars and planes, too.
Rail vs Roads
Months ago I had a conversation with Phil about this very subject, commenting that Ayn Rand had unfortunately backed the wrong horse by representing Capitalism with Dagny's railroad. For readers today, railways are a decaying remnant of times past; governments prop up the railways in New Zealand and the US. The automobile is a much better symbol of individuality and capitalism.
Of course I realise that this was at least partly her intention, as the private railways at the time were coming increasingly under attack from the looters and moochers.
Brilliant observation!
"...you may pay more in running and maintenance costs..."
Funny enough, the UK Government has managed to make rail more expensive than car driving despite trying to tax motorists off the road with 50% paid in tax and fuel duty.
Seumas Milne would have you believe this was due to privatisation, but in reality it is due continued state interference and bureaucratic regulation in the management of the train companies. They are not allowed to own the tracks they run on, nor compete with other train companies, nor choose which routes they may operate on, nor in many cases set their own ticket prices.