Socialism weakens freedom

Socialism weakens freedom

(My Clovis News Journal/Portales News-Tribune column for September 7, 2011.)

Collectivism or socialism, in whatever form, is like a deadly parasite excreting a poison into its host. As long as your society is vibrant and healthy it can support a small amount of this societal poison. The collectivism feeds off of the rest of the society, dragging it down a little, but not enough to be noticed by the majority of the people who are busy with their own lives. A healthy society is resilient.

If the society starts to become less healthy for some reason, or if more socialism is added since "just a little more won't hurt", the effects will start to grow. Little economic problems will take longer to recover from. Each new problem will have a slightly bigger effect. A feedback loop begins.

At some point there will be too much socialism for the society to sustain. At that point there are two ways things can go from there. Either you get rid of the socialism or you watch the society die.

You can't shield your favorite bits of socialism while demanding that someone else get rid of theirs. Entitlement programs are all equal in the effects they have. Just whom "The Entitled" may be is of no consequence.

Regulations and taxation, too. Everything that is a hindrance to private property and a disincentive to be productive has a broad reach- crippling more than just the intended target.

Each bit of collectivism takes a small bite out of liberty and weakens your society just a little more. Add an intrinsically worthless fiat currency to the mix, such as the US dollar, and you have a recipe for disaster.

After a while, if the situation goes on long enough, it isn't only your society in danger, but much of civilization.

Civilization today is no longer strong enough to indulge collectivist myths and delusions. You want socialism? Then you pay for it yourself and leave the rest of us, who choose to opt out, alone. You'll have to let civilization recover for a couple hundred years before it can weather another round of your statist disease. Perhaps by then our descendants will be smart enough to realize that collectivism always fails, every time it is tried, no matter what you call it or how you justify it. It's just a matter of time.

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Epidemics and conspiracies

I wonder why there can't be an epidemic that does something beneficial- such as destroy the ageing process, or make it impossible for cancer or heart disease to damage those infected. What if something like that has happened in the past to solve a problem we don't know once existed?

Yeah, I know that since there are so many more ways to mess things up (due to entropy) than to get something right that making things worse and causing problems is the overwhelmingly more likely result, but still...

In a similar vein: Why can't there be a conspiracy to spread liberty and help people rather than to hurt individuals and hide the guilty parties? Oh, wait. I think I've said too much...

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CIA is now following YOU

So, the CIA admits it is spying on people's Twitter and facebook posts. To get a "feel" for what people think about its criminal bosses' criminal actions. That could be amusing, especially if turned against them.

I wonder what would happen if lots of people, all over the world, started posting, in a one day concerted effort on Twitter and facebook, things like "The US government is on the brink of collapse!" "US government has lost consent of the governed!" "Angry mobs lynching politicians from coast to coast!" "The US regime is falling!" "USA is dead! Liberty lives!"

Would it spread? Would perception influence reality? Would the feds step in to put an end to it all?

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The unstable are among us

I saw a conservative post this on facebook; as a biblical justification of conservatives:

Ecc 10:2- "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."

I just see it as another illustration that the Bible is fallible.

To any rational impartial observer, anything that is inclined- is leaning- is seen to be unstable. Only those who are upright, above the "right vs left" nonsense, are stable. That's the libertarians.

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Yearly Reminder- 5th of November

Remember, remember, this fifth of November,

that government is only a plot.

'Though it's the holiday season,

that is no reason

it should be forgot.

President, Congress, t'was their intent

To violate rights; our money they spent.

Thousands of "laws", each a new crime;

Liberty, it seems, had run out of time.

Elections were held to pacify some,

A new batch of scoundrels to Washington come.

Wake up, wake up, your life is your own!

Wake up, wake up, YOU sit on the throne!

And how shall we live? In true liberty!

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What's wrong with this picture?

Not that there should be a government agency dealing with guns (since the Constitution clearly makes such illegal)- or a government for that matter- but putting anti-gun extremist bureaucrats in charge of such an agency makes as much sense as putting a rapist in charge of a women's shelter.

Fast and Furious/Gunwalker shows that it is time to fire (at the minimum) the rapists... and don't hire more.

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Politics

Politics is the attempt to live among people you don't like by forcing your will on them (through government and "laws", for example).

Politics is what you use when you don’t want to bother with mutual consent to get what you want. 

Politics is the use of coercion in the allocation of resources.

Not every human action is political, only every unethical human interaction.

The mugger uses politics when he mugs someone. The murderer, rapist, kidnapper, police officer, mayor, congressvermin, president, etc. use politics.

Politics is cheating.

Politics is the use of the "political means" (government, legislation, coercion, threats, theft, etc.), where someone "wins" at the expense of someone else (win/lose), instead of the use of the "economic means" (trade, freedom of association, etc.), where everyone comes out ahead (win/win).



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Government property rights

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Government has zero property rights. Government is not a person nor an individual of any kind and can own nothing. Not only that, but individuals who are a part of government have no property rights over the "government property".

The postmaster has no property rights over the post office. The forest ranger has no property rights over the forests. The traffic cop has no property rights to the roads. The president has no property rights over "Area 51"(nor do any of his military goons) . Nor do any government employees have any authority to administer the property rights of government, because those rights don't exist. Period. Government property is stolen property and does not belong to the thief or his gang, nor their descendants. It is No Man's Land.

That doesn't mean government enforcers won't murder or kidnap you if you violate those imaginary government property rights, or any terms thereof, but when they do, it is an unvarnished murder or kidnapping. It is exactly like if a crook broke into your house, claimed it as his own, and then killed you when you returned home. So be careful of government thugs enforcing their deadly delusions.

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Movie recommendation: The Ledge

I don't normally get into doing movie reviews. Such things are just too subjective, and I don't assume your tastes mesh well with mine. But I'll make an exception now.

If you haven't seen "The Ledge" you are missing something entertaining and thought-provoking. Watch it.

It isn't the type of movie I normally want to watch. I had read about it, thought it sounded interesting, and put it on my Netflix list a month or so ago. I'm glad I did. Unfortunately I don't remember where I first read about it, so I don't know who to thank.

I started to write more about the movie, and the thoughts it brought to my mind, but erased it all to just say see it for yourself. I don't think you'll regret it- unless you'd be offended by Liv Tyler's naked breasts. And if that sort of thing offends you I doubt you'd be reading this blog.

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"When should you shoot a cop?"

"Should". That's a pretty loaded word.

Somehow I ended up on some Tea Party mailing list. The email I got from them most recently mentions a flyer (which has been blamed on Tea Party activists) that asks the question "When should you shoot a cop?"

I can't tell you when you "should" shoot a cop, but I can tell you when you would be ethically justified in shooting one: Whenever that is the best way to stop one from violating your life, liberty, or property, or to prevent the same from being committed against someone you have accepted responsibility for. In other words, exactly the same conditions that justify the shooting of any other individual. The "job" gives no immunity from "natural law" even as it gives some immunity from statutory "law".

The "should" is up to your own assessment of the situation.

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Pop in and say "Boo!"

Feel like using the witching hours to do some haunting, but prefer to do your haunting in cyberspace? Then pop on over here to visit some comments. Witness someone who just hates me, and someone else (I suppose) who hates all gun owners in general (and admits it).

Since the post was about being ruled, and ruling, by fear, Halloween seems an appropriate time to scare the sheep.

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"I'm from the government and I'm here to eat your brains!"

Boo!

Sorry, but I didn't write a new tale of terror to post today. Here's a re-link to my little Halloween story from last year: The Werewolf

Have a happy Halloween and don't let the Statists catch you!

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My philosophy

In honor of Halloween, and to give you a bit of a fright, here is my personal philosophy in a nutshell:

The individual is the atom of humanity.

All rights reside inside, are centered upon, and flow from, the individual, alone. Your rights do not overlap anyone else's rights- your rights end where the other person's rights begin. No one can have rights over another individual's body. A mutually-consensual contract can be valid as long as it does not violate anyone's rights to their own property, self, or rights.

No group can have any right that each individual in the group does not have.

You have a right to do anything that does not initiate force, or take or damage another's property. It isn't always a good thing to do everything you have a right to do. Everything has consequences, even doing the right thing.

You should not do anything that initiates force upon any individual.

You should not do anything that takes or damages any other individual's property.

If you go ahead and do something you have no right to do, you should expect consequences, and to be a good person you must accept and deal with those consequences without using the consequences as an excuse to do something else wrong.

Evil is any action that harms someone (or their property) who is not attacking or stealing from anyone. People aren't evil; actions are. However a person who is engaging in evil acts could be called evil without stretching the truth too far.

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Freedom basis of libertarianism

Freedom basis of libertarianism

(My weekly Clovis News Journal column for September 30, 2011.)

Libertarianism rests upon the answers to a few questions. Which is better: Freedom or slavery? Honest possession or theft? Truth or falsehood?

For any random individual the answer might be "it depends". For one thing, define "better".

Society prospers as individuals prosper. It is not right to make different rules for different people. This isn't to say "one size fits all", but that if something is true, it is true for all people for all times. If it is wrong for me to do something to you, then it is also wrong for you to do the same to me. It is universal.

One individual might be harmed by freedom. Either his own or someone else's. Should he be able to infringe on the freedoms of other people to prevent himself being harmed? Yes, but only if those others wish to express their freedom by attacking or stealing. Should other people be able to infringe on his freedom to prevent him from hurting himself? No. That individual has the choice to exercise his freedom, or not, even if his choice would harm himself. It's the same choice we all have.

If you claim slavery is better than freedom, that means you believe everyone should be a slave to someone else. Even the slave owners. That's socialism. Yet, there are always individuals, those who make the rules they are willing to enforce with violence, who aren't forced to follow those rules. Those who are most insistent on imposing this system on everyone else exempt themselves, either openly or in practice. Slavery is not best, even in the eyes of the would-be slave master.

A random individual might claim theft is better as long as he is the one receiving the stolen goods. If this were actually true, then as soon as the tables were turned, and everyone began taking advantage of the new morality and stealing his stuff, he would probably change his mind. Once again you can reverse roles to see through the propaganda.

Some people obviously prefer lies over truth. "Do these jeans make me look fat?" or "Do you think my sister is cuter than me?" Those are questions that are not always safe to answer truthfully. Not quite a "verbal grenade", but very close. But are lies "better"? No. All things, even the truth, come with consequences.

So, for most individuals, freedom, property rights, and truth- the foundations of libertarianism- are preferable to the alternatives. Libertarianism is still the most ethical way ever discovered for dealing with others.

The meaning of "The Pledge"

What "they" are really saying when they recite "the Pledge of Allegiance":

I give my promise of loyalty to the banner made of cloth that is a symbol of the criminal government that now rules the country of America,

And to the empire for which it now stands.

One nation, under (some nebulous interpretation of) God (that we only think we can force you to agree on), til death do us part (because if you try to leave, I will kill you),

With blah-blah-blah* and something-something* for all.

*Words that the reciters haven't got the faintest clue what they mean.

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In "praise" of the donut munchers

As long as you are force to "pay" for a government employee's existence, you'd be better off to have one who does nothing.

A conscientious government employee is violating you twice. Not only are they robbing you, but they are also raping your rights with everything they accomplish. And someday they may actually kill you.

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Listen to FREEDOM FEENS!

This is always an interesting podcast, and I highly recommend it.

FREEDOM FEENS Podcast - Michael W. Dean and Neema Vedadi’s fun 'n' feisty weekly chat about Constitutional, libertarian and voluntaryist issues, abuse of authority by police, the War on Drugs, self-defense, States' Rights, Natural Rights, Austrian Economics, DIY art, low-budget filmmaking, digital recording, activism, punk rock, hip-hop and more.

Great content, great production values, high-quality audio, and radio safe.

Now with streaming audio for mobile

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Americanism is a real problem

Americanism. I guess that's what I'd call the mental problem infecting a large percentage of those around me.

You know the type:

Stuck in a fictional myth of the 1950s as The Golden Era. Borderism. Religionism. Militarism. Guns "from my cold, dead hands"... but only as long as we can keep them away from the "wrong people". Infected with just a tinge of "White supremacism". A deep fear of "brown people" or change of just about any sort. A love of punishment and revenge. An abiding belief that Democracy, along with The Constitution, is the Alpha and the Omega of freedom. Clinging to the demonstrably false belief that cops are the good guys. Symbols of the USA are worshiped, and no fault can ever be found in the global actions of the US government.

It is nostalgia elevated to religion. Kind of like the Amish.

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The lazy man's way: authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is the lazy way out.

When I am tired or distracted it would be so much easier to just "lay down the law" with my daughter than to think things through, that it becomes a great temptation.

It is more time-consuming and requires more thought to pursue libertarian parenting. It is a lot of work to be logical, consistent, reasonable, and listen to (or consider) counter-arguments. It's easier to just say "because I said so", even in cases where you are operating from a flawed perspective or with insufficient data. Because I have seen the harm that comes from that style of "parenting" I try to avoid that trap.

But, like I say, it can be a lot of work. Most worthwhile things are.

On the other hand, a little effort now saves a lot of trouble in the future.

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Politicians and their "values"

I see a lot of puppeticians who claim to have "values". And a lot of their sheeplike followers believe them.

"Dedicated to the values of idiocy" is not a virtue. Yet, it seems those who are dedicated to such are venerated and put upon a pedestal by their equally deluded followers. Sad.

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