There have been a number of posts, columns, and interviews regarding Obama’s “you didn’t build that, somebody else did” admission last week, but none that I have seen touch on the origin of such nonsense. From what I can tell, the earliest work that outlines this belief in depth is William Godwin’s “Enquiry Concerning Political Justice,” published in 1796. (I must give props to Doctor/Philosopher/Economist Thomas Sowell whose invaluable book “A Conflict of Visions” delves into the origins of political ideologies and has helped me, time and again, regain understanding of the dark side as much as I am able.)
Before I continue, and considering this is a blog, I think I need to draw the distinction between this Godwin (William) and the author of “Godwin’s Rule”, Mike Godwin, so as not to cause any confusion. Mike’s rule is that, given enough time, invariably an online conversation will invoke Hitler or Nazis. It’s an interesting little rule, but, alas, I’ve only seen it abused and substituted as an actual argument by the unthinking left when they’re confronted with the reality of where Stateism leads. It’s like an online version of squeezing your eyelids shut, cupping your ears, stamping your feet, and repeating, “Blah, blah, blah, blah,” as loudly as you can, over and over again, followed by a speedy exit and, once far enough away, downshift into a strut like you just out-debated Daniel Webster. It’s cute, just not edifying and completely different from William Godwin’s writing.
Anyway, here are a few of good ol’ Bill’s quotes. See if you can glean a few similarities with His Majesty’s latest reductio ad absurdum. (You may need to read it with a stilted, halting inner dialog to get the full Barry):
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