This is a great narrative to teach the lessons from A Road To Serfdom in the classroom, illustrating the timeliness of a book written decades ago.
“There’s no work for us anymore—we’re out of work a year at a time,” he said. “It’s because of them”—he waved toward the financial district. “The people who are holding us back. The banks, the government, anyone who controls the money.”
Two middle-aged men had stopped in front of Moss and begun to argue with her in heavy Russian accents. “Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela is the ultimate destination of what you’re doing,” the first Russian said.
“My wife if midwife—she has a job,” the second man said.
“Congratulations, that’s great,” Moss said.
“You can get job, too.”
“I’d love one. Can’t find one.”
“This is waste of your time. Go look for job—put your time into that.”
“Bottom line: go to North Korea,” the first Russian said. “This is your final destination.”
—George Packer. December 5, 2011. “All The Angry People.” The New Yorker. Pages 32-38.
How would a progressive reply, and let's be fair in asking. I'm guessing they might say, "You can have an active government without a dictator. That's what elections are for. Look at France. Look at Sweden. Do those resemble North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela?
I might have to change my assessment of The New Yorker. I inferred from James Surowiecki's columns it had an active editorship which forced a progressive slant to all articles. The fact that the editors allowed the narrative above increases the magazine's value—to me, at least.