Episode 53 - The people's romance with government

Open access router network? The People’s Romance: Why People Love Government (as Much as They Do) by Daniel B. Klein http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?a=536 ; http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_10_1_1_klein.pdf "Why do some people never support a free-market proposal, even when they think it would work better than government intervention? For many, the reason is that collective political action offers the romantic notion that 'we’re all working together,' while market mechanisms seem to them less lofty because they rely on the self-interest of individuals acting privately." (D.K.) TPR (the people's romance) encourages governmental intervention for its own sake Pundits constantly conflate Americans with government, i.e., the people in government who rule over them Fearing, revering, and worshipping power and the process of indoctrinating a public that kowtows to "authority"--main aspects of TPR Encompassing sentiment coordination of the WHOLE group, whether you like it or not, is the nature of TPR In actuality, there are no "citizens" and there is no "State"--both are arbitrary collectivistic and legal abstractions that lead to coercive control of rights-respecting people and distortion and destruction of entire economies Without imposing a communized infrastructure, government would lose all perceived legitimacy The in-group and out-group dynamic is also part of TPR--the out-group must be either shunned or subdued Libertarian aphorism: The are two types of people--those who want to be left alone and those who won't leave them alone Most slaves don't like seeing other slaves trying to break free of their shackles--so they attack them and keep all enslaved TPR lives off coercion The conceptual common denominator between fanciful Objectivist government and actual government is the coercive monopolization of its "services" Feelings are tools of evaluation, not tools of cognition; people can have "joyous" feelings based on a whole host of contradictions--though they betray their true selves, their authentic selves The three types of libertarians: classical liberals; laissez-faire capitalists (or minarchists); anarcho-capitalists, or market anarchists, or voluntarists (or agorists) TPR lies at the heart of communism The differences between working for a communist boss and a capitalist boss are immense, although oftentimes diminished in a mixed economy like today's Statists are afflicted with slavespeak (http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/tl07a.htm) and the Stockholm Syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome) The fatuous superstition of "the consent of the governed" leads to "being greater than kings and less than men" (de Toqueville) Taxation is an extortion racket to no end Lysander Spooner's 1840's attempt at competing with monopoly gang of the USPS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysander_Spooner#Early_years_and_the_postal_monopoly Statists' version of a "civilized society" is one in which rights-respecting people are forced to do things against their wills--oh so civilized, isn't it! Penn & Teller: Bullshit!: Recycling http://www.sho.com/site/schedules/product.do?episodeid=121062&seriesid=134&seasonid=0 or watch here (though may go defunct) http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/92358/detail/ http://www.videosift.com/video/Penn-Teller-Bullshit-Recycling Understanding property rights yields a better environment Property Is An Extension Of Self-Ownership http://completeliberty.com/chapter3.php#68 Psychology of Ownership http://www.logicallearning.net/libpsychologyofo.html Regulatory "policies bind people together, like a bundle of sticks" (D.K.) Failing to strike the root of the welfare state...Dr. No's statist insanity: Immigration Reform in 2006? by Ron Paul http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul343.html Free trade brings respectful relations with former strangers Advocates of TPR abhor people withdrawing their participation by pursuing private interests The "war on terrorism" is the "new giant in the parade of war frauds" (D.K.) What Michael Phelps Should Have Said: Smoking pot shouldn't be a crime. Or the public's business by Radley Balko http://www.reason.com/news/show/131438.html Contrast mj with alchohol toxicity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahydrocannabinol#Toxicity The four proposed origins of TPR: 1) Socio-biological and cultural evolution [though there are no innate ideas] The Early Human Condition: http://www.logicallearning.net/libearlyhumancon.html 2) Society as family, government as parent Radical unschooling is the most enlightened and respectful method of parenting, thus enabling a future society of complete liberty; Dayna Martin: What is Radical Unschooling? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiHyzS26N0Y 3) Society as being, government as head We need better integration and understanding of the facets of self; The Art of Self-Discovery http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=38 4) Society as organization, government as director The ills of identifying with the coercive gang and seeing their orders as legitimate Pursuing one's rational self-interest entails respecting the rights of other people Common decency entails respect for persons, property, and agreements Libertarian principles cannot engender TPR Wealth and technology enable people to withdraw and resist statism (http://freestateproject.org as a product of info tech) The process and goals of civil disobedience--coupled with education in libertarian principles Very commendable site: http://cdevolution.org/ Liberty lovers must raise "law enforcers'" awareness of the moral issues and make it unbearable for them (and statists in general) to pretend that their activities are legitimate, noble, and just Police and courts depend on individual rights-violators to rationalize their own rights-violating gang--thus perpetuating their immoral scheme of unjust laws Reaching out to the silent majority of Americans who share the libertarian credo of common decency is key to good activism :) bumper music "Spanish Romance" by Liona Boyd - First Lady of Guitar (Album: The Best of Liona Boyd) http://www.classicalguitar.com/ to comment, please go to http://completeliberty.com/magazine/category/91697