I will assume he was as competent as you portray him to have been. That's a problem. Because 99% of government actors, especially at high levels, are not.
Not because they don't have the innate talent, but because they work within a system that discourages competence. It often preempts competition while rewarding failure.
I don't want to ever encourage government taking the role of anything that is not both bound by the shackles of the Constitution and what history has taught us that governments should never attempt.
If we assume that the federal government should have been involved in Germany post-war or that it should have designed the federal highway system (dubious), celebrating Mr Clay's accomplishments will serve to encourage more "good government" - while ignoring the fact that most government should be dismantled and replaced with a variety of competing free market solutions that will beat the pants off of any government attempt to do same - no matter how competent any of its employees or contractors may be.
For every one Clay, there are thousands of government employees and contractors who are mismanaged, idle, incompetent, and a colossal waste of taxpayer money.
Worse, the work product of those government employees is usually to do more harm than good while their leaders' #1 priority is sustaining and expanding their budgets.
Mr. Clay may well have been an exceedingly accomplished and admirable person. But let's not take our eyes off the ball: Government needs to be radically downsized.
General Clay is, no doubt, spinning in his grave at what Europe has become, at where the US political "Elites" for the last 60 years (since Pres. Kennedy's murder) have taken America, at the "Clown World - Upside Down World" insanity that has taken hold across the globe. Decades in the making, we are now at all-out crisis point.
Thank you for this fine piece of writing on the extraordinary work of General Lucius Clay. We could sure use SEVERAL HUNDRED GEN. CLAY'S RIGHT THIS MINUTE!
My mom and dad, both immigrants to the US from Europe and fluent in German, used to laugh when reminded of JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. Dad would remark, "He doesn't look like a jelly-filled doughnut, but like any politician he's bound to be full of something."
I often wonder if we are seeing incompetence explained away by conspiracy theories, or conspiracies explained as incompetence theories. Whether our leaders are inept or corrupt, neither reflects well on the people who elect them.
Great story about someone I was unaware of. I’m starting a list of heroes to keep track of all those I’m learning about and watching during this time of great change.
Yes we need more like Lucius Clay. None such in the woke military, clueless universities, or time-serving civil service today, unfortunately. The writer of this post, Dr Peter McCullough, is a doctor who actually treats patients, with common-sense, analytical rigor, and compassion. Viciously sanctioned and censored by the drug interests, he comes back with undiminshed energy to bring the real covid story to everyone's awareness. One of the real leaders of the medical profession today, Dr McCullough operates in a different field from Lucius Clay, but with similar courage and determination against long odds.
Democracy is, as Hoppe noted, the god that failed. Is it time for an American Caesar to surgically excise our rapidly metastasizing Administrative State?
USA didn't join the Eastern front until 1944. Up until 1943 USA's big business, such as IBM, Coca-Cola, Chase, Ford, AT&T and others were trading with Nazi Germany, building them up, so they fight the Soviets. The USA government turned a blind eye to such dirty business dealings by USA companies. In 1943, when the Soviets defeated the Nazis in a turning point battle of Kursk and were pushing the Nazis back to Berlin, USA and British government finally sprang into action, recognizing they need to get involved or the Soviets will take ALL of Western Europe for themselves. They allowed American and British soldiers to finally join the Soviet 'allies'. At that point the Nazis were a shadow of what they were in 1941. The Western soldiers were usually in battles with a perfect three(USA/Britain) to one(Nazi) ratio, at that point. And now I'm reading in this article that the Soviets were blockading Berlin in 1948. I must be missing something. As far as I know Berlin was split after 1945, half for the West and half for the USSR. After the loss of 27 million Soviet people and Soviets single-handed(if we are being honest) defeating the Nazis, no wonder Soviets were doing to Nazis whatever they did to Soviets and no wonder they took territories. After all, some countries that were taken by the USSR, were fighting on Nazi side. By the way, Stalin was asking for USA and UK to help, open Western front, before 1944, but they refused.
"What would he think of the inept, hollow, disordered, self-aggrandizing lightweights who now occupy the world stage?"
Even if General Lucius Clay were here to tell us his view the odds are he would be censored!!
What a comparison between then and the idiots, prostitutes and morons we mostly have now!
I don't know this man, but I don't celebrate him.
I will assume he was as competent as you portray him to have been. That's a problem. Because 99% of government actors, especially at high levels, are not.
Not because they don't have the innate talent, but because they work within a system that discourages competence. It often preempts competition while rewarding failure.
I don't want to ever encourage government taking the role of anything that is not both bound by the shackles of the Constitution and what history has taught us that governments should never attempt.
If we assume that the federal government should have been involved in Germany post-war or that it should have designed the federal highway system (dubious), celebrating Mr Clay's accomplishments will serve to encourage more "good government" - while ignoring the fact that most government should be dismantled and replaced with a variety of competing free market solutions that will beat the pants off of any government attempt to do same - no matter how competent any of its employees or contractors may be.
For every one Clay, there are thousands of government employees and contractors who are mismanaged, idle, incompetent, and a colossal waste of taxpayer money.
Worse, the work product of those government employees is usually to do more harm than good while their leaders' #1 priority is sustaining and expanding their budgets.
Mr. Clay may well have been an exceedingly accomplished and admirable person. But let's not take our eyes off the ball: Government needs to be radically downsized.
Magnificent!
Dr. M,
Thank you for bringing to my eyes a piece of history I had not known!
General Clay is, no doubt, spinning in his grave at what Europe has become, at where the US political "Elites" for the last 60 years (since Pres. Kennedy's murder) have taken America, at the "Clown World - Upside Down World" insanity that has taken hold across the globe. Decades in the making, we are now at all-out crisis point.
Thank you for this fine piece of writing on the extraordinary work of General Lucius Clay. We could sure use SEVERAL HUNDRED GEN. CLAY'S RIGHT THIS MINUTE!
My mom and dad, both immigrants to the US from Europe and fluent in German, used to laugh when reminded of JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. Dad would remark, "He doesn't look like a jelly-filled doughnut, but like any politician he's bound to be full of something."
Damn shame he's dead. Pondering the practical virtues of my own mother, all I can offer is 'they don't make 'em like they used to.' Dr Jo East Anglia
I often wonder if we are seeing incompetence explained away by conspiracy theories, or conspiracies explained as incompetence theories. Whether our leaders are inept or corrupt, neither reflects well on the people who elect them.
The antithesis of Mark Milley.
Great story about someone I was unaware of. I’m starting a list of heroes to keep track of all those I’m learning about and watching during this time of great change.
Yes we need more like Lucius Clay. None such in the woke military, clueless universities, or time-serving civil service today, unfortunately. The writer of this post, Dr Peter McCullough, is a doctor who actually treats patients, with common-sense, analytical rigor, and compassion. Viciously sanctioned and censored by the drug interests, he comes back with undiminshed energy to bring the real covid story to everyone's awareness. One of the real leaders of the medical profession today, Dr McCullough operates in a different field from Lucius Clay, but with similar courage and determination against long odds.
Unfortunately our political class is beholden to special interests and donors. And I’m not sure you can find good leaders in industry who aren’t woke!
I would say General Pershing might be a better example.
https://www.biography.com/military-figures/john-j-pershing
Democracy is, as Hoppe noted, the god that failed. Is it time for an American Caesar to surgically excise our rapidly metastasizing Administrative State?
USA didn't join the Eastern front until 1944. Up until 1943 USA's big business, such as IBM, Coca-Cola, Chase, Ford, AT&T and others were trading with Nazi Germany, building them up, so they fight the Soviets. The USA government turned a blind eye to such dirty business dealings by USA companies. In 1943, when the Soviets defeated the Nazis in a turning point battle of Kursk and were pushing the Nazis back to Berlin, USA and British government finally sprang into action, recognizing they need to get involved or the Soviets will take ALL of Western Europe for themselves. They allowed American and British soldiers to finally join the Soviet 'allies'. At that point the Nazis were a shadow of what they were in 1941. The Western soldiers were usually in battles with a perfect three(USA/Britain) to one(Nazi) ratio, at that point. And now I'm reading in this article that the Soviets were blockading Berlin in 1948. I must be missing something. As far as I know Berlin was split after 1945, half for the West and half for the USSR. After the loss of 27 million Soviet people and Soviets single-handed(if we are being honest) defeating the Nazis, no wonder Soviets were doing to Nazis whatever they did to Soviets and no wonder they took territories. After all, some countries that were taken by the USSR, were fighting on Nazi side. By the way, Stalin was asking for USA and UK to help, open Western front, before 1944, but they refused.
Amen, Well said.