Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Want to make something irresistible?‏

Forbid it.

It's just basic psychology. The attraction of the "forbidden fruit".

Two kinds of people do that. The sincere idiots who wish to prevent harm, and those enforcer types who want to find an excuse to punish those who break their rule.

The second type doesn't care about the harm- they'll cause it themselves if it doesn't happen on its own. As Ayn Rand wrote: 

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

Sometimes I think the sincere idiots unconsciously do this too. Give ultimatums so they can feel superior when their target "sins".

Prohibition is supported by both types- and both are control freaks of one sort or another.

Control freaks irritate me.

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1 comment:

  1. It amazes me daily (amazes me in a literal sense) that people who wave the Constitution and Bill of Rights around can agree to make consensual adult behavior that does not violate the rights of others into a secular crime. These people have no true understanding of the concept of an inalienable right. (Big sigh!) As Friedrich Nietzsche said: "Mistrust those in whom the urge to punish is strong." That would be us... as in the U.S.

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