170 Predicting the Future

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There are a lot of people who are certain they can predict the future. Demagogues are particularly guilty of this personality trait: they make pronouncements about what will happen with no sense of humility nor doubt, constantly claiming some kind of special inborn ability to read people's minds, dissemble hidden motives & project the past into the present, because they want to be the seers & revelators that we all look to for leadership & advice. Politicians, especially, think they can predict the future. They have to because Top-down management only works if you have complete knowledge & know what's going to happen ahead of time, and preemptive war definitely requires being able to predict the future. Since these people think they are the only ones who can do that, it gives them control over the rest of us. The whole Climate-Changer strategy is an example: big emergency that only a special group of people at the top can predict; must implement now; do-as-we-say-because-we-know-best.</p> <p>Socialism rests on the concept of “the common good,” but what is good for one person may not be for another, and those who decide must be able to predict the future. But there is no one who-knows-better-than-you about what you want; there is no one who can make the calculus of “most good to the most people.” What makes liberty great is that we don't depend on others to predict our future. Every person is an expert on themselves and can make the best choice for themselves. Government's job is to facilitate & regulate that process, and keep the dictators off our backs.</p>