Blogs > Liberty and Power > Jo Van Fleet Shrugs (Anti-Government Speech in Wild River)

Jun 22, 2009

Jo Van Fleet Shrugs (Anti-Government Speech in Wild River)




Rand or Rothbard couldn't have done a better job. This speech has it all for libertarians. It comes from a character in Elia Kazan's film Wild River (1960), who is fighting a land grab by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Delivered beautifully by actress Jo Van Fleet, the speech blasts FDR's New Deal, governmental relief, and power-hungry politicians. Most of all, it eloquently defends property rights.

Van Fleet is so effective in the role that she largely undermines the pro-New Deal message in the rest of the film.



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Tim Sydney - 6/26/2009

Great video clip.


Aeon J. Skoble - 6/23/2009

That is terrific! I liked her analogy with the dog. Great stuff.


Jeffrey Rogers Hummel - 6/22/2009

I remember well seeing this movie on T.V. when I was still in High School. I still mention it in any of my classes that end up discussing dams as public goods or the T.V.A.