9/11: The Day Liberty Died and Leviathan Got a Promotion

EDITOR'S NOTES

The original article by William L. Anderson over at Mises Wire nailed a crucial point: 9/11 wasn’t just a tragedy—it was a catalytic con. A moment of pain weaponized by the state to justify a surveillance dragnet, perpetual war, and economic sabotage. Anderson got it right—the government failed, and instead of accountability, we handed them more power. What follows is my extended take on the rot that 9/11 exposed, how the establishment twisted it to grow the Leviathan, and what we’ve lost since.

Derek Wolfe Sep 12, 25

When those towers fell, so did the last fragile illusion that the American government was a protector of its people. Instead of honest reflection or restraint, what we got was a fever dream of flags, fear, and federal overreach. The deep state didn't just fumble the ball on 9/11—they let it bounce into the hands of empire.

The Real Failure Wasn’t 9/11—It Was the Response

Let’s start with the basics: The U.S. government had all the intel it needed. FBI field agents flagged suspicious flight students. Flight schools raised alarms. But those warnings died in the black hole of bureaucratic cowardice and careerism. And what was the punishment for this gross incompetence? Promotions, pensions, and the Patriot Act.

That piece of legislative cancer passed without being read—literally. It transformed every American into a suspect. Wiretaps, warrantless searches, NSA data hoovering, and the birth of a domestic surveillance apparatus that would make East Germany blush.

And yet, the regime didn’t stop at spying. No, the War on Terror kicked open the door to a global policing project—Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen. Millions dead. Trillions spent. Nothing won. And who profited? The war pigs—Lockheed, Raytheon, and the Pentagon’s revolving door of “consultants.”

Bush’s War Wasn’t Against Terror—It Was Against Limits

Bush and his cronies took a manageable recession and turned it into a Keynesian fever dream. Flush with post-9/11 fervor, they pumped fiat currency into the economy, inflated the housing market, and claimed it was all good because “Americans were buying homes.” It was all smoke and mirrors—debt-fueled consumerism sold as prosperity.

Paul Krugman practically drooled over the idea that destruction would create economic growth—proof that Keynesians see burning cities as an investment opportunity. But anyone who’s read Bastiat knows better. You don’t stimulate a burned-down house. You rebuild it at a loss.

Housing Bubble: The False Recovery That Set the Stage for Collapse

That 1% Fed rate in 2003 wasn’t just monetary policy—it was the equivalent of giving a drunk the keys to a liquor store. Credit flowed like cheap beer at a frat party, and every regulatory body looked the other way. Why? Because the illusion of recovery had to be maintained.

It wasn’t just a housing bubble. It was a trust bubble. A belief that government could defy gravity, consequences, and math. And when it all came crashing down in 2008, the same criminals who built the tower of debt were bailed out by taxpayers.

A War Economy in a Straitjacket of Lies

The War on Terror didn’t end terrorism. It ended due process, civil liberties, and fiscal sanity. It codified indefinite detention. It normalized preemptive war. And worst of all—it trained the American psyche to accept fear as a reason to surrender freedom.

What we have now is not a republic. It’s an empire with domestic borders. Surveillance state at home, war machine abroad. And every crisis—from COVID to climate—has become a new excuse to consolidate power.

The Lesson We Didn’t Learn: Government Is Not Your Savior

Both neocons and neolibs played their part. The GOP waved the flag. The Democrats signed the checks. Media corporations acted as stenographers for state propaganda. And through it all, Americans were told that more government meant more safety.

Here’s the bitter truth: 9/11 wasn’t just a tragedy—it was a gift to the central planners. It gave them the pretext for a new age of digital control, foreign adventurism, and economic centralization.

We didn’t just lose lives on 9/11. We lost the plot. We let the very institution that failed us grow more powerful. And we’ll be paying for that mistake until the dollar dies and the surveillance state eats itself.

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