Comments on: Out of the endless sprawl http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/ Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:08:46 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Conservative Pols Hate Government Subsidies, Unless They Subsidize Sprawl | Streetsblog Capitol Hill http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/comment-page-1/#comment-3870 Conservative Pols Hate Government Subsidies, Unless They Subsidize Sprawl | Streetsblog Capitol Hill Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:09:33 +0000 #comment-3870 [...] all conservatives miss the irony. Conservative blogger E.D. Kain of True/Slant wrote, “Sprawl is a result of massive statist interventions into our culture and society, and its [...] [...] all conservatives miss the irony. Conservative blogger E.D. Kain of True/Slant wrote, “Sprawl is a result of massive statist interventions into our culture and society, and its [...]

]]> By: JF http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/comment-page-1/#comment-1359 JF Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:35:41 +0000 #comment-1359 You think highways build themselves? You think highways build themselves?

]]> By: E.D. Kain http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/comment-page-1/#comment-1356 E.D. Kain Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:24:25 +0000 #comment-1356 Well, cars, cheap gasoline, and big agriculture are also the results of massive statist intervention... Well, cars, cheap gasoline, and big agriculture are also the results of massive statist intervention…

]]> By: Libertarians And The Sprawl « Around The Sphere http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/comment-page-1/#comment-1352 Libertarians And The Sprawl « Around The Sphere Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:15:20 +0000 #comment-1352 [...] E.D. Kain: Sprawl is a result of massive statist interventions into our culture and society, and its symptoms are equally enormous.  Everything that conservatism has historically stood for is undermined by sprawl.  It is not only the physical manifestation of our decline, it is a poison which continues to contribute to that decline.  Its repercussions can be felt in our discourse, in our speech, in our way of thinking.  This is not merely a matter of aesthetically pleasing communities, but of communities which allow individuals to be a part of the whole.  I doubt this is sustainable, this suburban maze – in any way: fiscally, socially, spiritually.  It is, as James Howard Kunstler called it, “a peculiar blip in human experience.” [...] [...] E.D. Kain: Sprawl is a result of massive statist interventions into our culture and society, and its symptoms are equally enormous.  Everything that conservatism has historically stood for is undermined by sprawl.  It is not only the physical manifestation of our decline, it is a poison which continues to contribute to that decline.  Its repercussions can be felt in our discourse, in our speech, in our way of thinking.  This is not merely a matter of aesthetically pleasing communities, but of communities which allow individuals to be a part of the whole.  I doubt this is sustainable, this suburban maze – in any way: fiscally, socially, spiritually.  It is, as James Howard Kunstler called it, “a peculiar blip in human experience.” [...]

]]> By: Drumbeat: March 13, 2010 | Bear Market Investments http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/comment-page-1/#comment-1351 Drumbeat: March 13, 2010 | Bear Market Investments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:58:35 +0000 #comment-1351 [...] Out of the endless sprawl Conservatism itself is rooted more in the community and especially in the fertile soil of tradition than in the individual. In a land of strip malls and ten-lane freeways, of rampant materialism and unending competition, tradition and community become irrelevant – become skeletal ghosts on display behind panes of glass. Anymore, the American right views its historical patrons – Burke, Oakeshott, et alia – as somewhat quaint figures, whose philosophy should be cherry-picked for all the ripest talking-points. [...] [...] Out of the endless sprawl Conservatism itself is rooted more in the community and especially in the fertile soil of tradition than in the individual. In a land of strip malls and ten-lane freeways, of rampant materialism and unending competition, tradition and community become irrelevant – become skeletal ghosts on display behind panes of glass. Anymore, the American right views its historical patrons – Burke, Oakeshott, et alia – as somewhat quaint figures, whose philosophy should be cherry-picked for all the ripest talking-points. [...]

]]> By: squeakyrat http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/comment-page-1/#comment-1333 squeakyrat Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:27:15 +0000 #comment-1333 I'm curious as to why you think sprawl is due to "massive statist interventions," rather than, say, cars, cheap gasoline, and the decreasing price of agricultural land. I’m curious as to why you think sprawl is due to “massive statist interventions,” rather than, say, cars, cheap gasoline, and the decreasing price of agricultural land.

]]> By: <fb:name linked="false" useyou="false" uid="1">Mark Gordon</fb:name> http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/comment-page-1/#comment-1332 Mark Gordon Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:22:34 +0000 #comment-1332 Fantastic post, and congratulations on making the critical connection between sprawl and the evisceration of the American soul. For those interested in discovering how we got here, read Kunstler's "The Geography of Nowhere." Fantastic post, and congratulations on making the critical connection between sprawl and the evisceration of the American soul. For those interested in discovering how we got here, read Kunstler’s “The Geography of Nowhere.”

]]> By: buckdiablo http://trueslant.com/erikkain/2010/03/12/out-of-the-endless-sprawl/comment-page-1/#comment-1331 buckdiablo Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:17:25 +0000 #comment-1331 Urban sprawl is a nightmare now, but it was once the dreamy vision of a prosperous country. So-called Burkean conservatives like to rail against what Bush Sr. called "the vision thing," and I agree that wet blankets play an important and under-appreciated role in restraining the excesses of visionaries, but that sort of temperament doesn't inspire people. The reality is, in order to win elections and get things done, you have to offer a vision to voters, not just a critique. American conservatism right now offers a vision of restoration, a return to an imagined past of righteousness, prosperity, security and global dominance while we await the rapture. As a progressive, it's hard to know where to start with what I find troublesome and downright scary with that vision, but it's easy to see the appeal it could have for a lot of people. I agree it's useful to counter ideological zeal with a Burkean temperament, but I don't see how that mindset could become a movement that inspires people anywhere on the political spectrum. Urban sprawl is a nightmare now, but it was once the dreamy vision of a prosperous country. So-called Burkean conservatives like to rail against what Bush Sr. called “the vision thing,” and I agree that wet blankets play an important and under-appreciated role in restraining the excesses of visionaries, but that sort of temperament doesn’t inspire people. The reality is, in order to win elections and get things done, you have to offer a vision to voters, not just a critique. American conservatism right now offers a vision of restoration, a return to an imagined past of righteousness, prosperity, security and global dominance while we await the rapture. As a progressive, it’s hard to know where to start with what I find troublesome and downright scary with that vision, but it’s easy to see the appeal it could have for a lot of people.

I agree it’s useful to counter ideological zeal with a Burkean temperament, but I don’t see how that mindset could become a movement that inspires people anywhere on the political spectrum.

]]>