Pinboard: bookmarks for adamcrowe tagged 'freedom'

'Shrugging off the burdens of your history...' -- "Our tendency when we're abused is to look at it as though it's personal: *I* was abused. But the fundamental thing about abuse is that it is anti-empathetic. You cannot abuse someone that you are empathizing with. ...abuse is never, ever, personal. It has nothing to do with *us* as individuals. Once we detach the personal from [abuse] there's a certain amount of relief because what we're describing is an unhappy accident. [Personalization] is what children cling to because if it's not personal then we're completely invisible – and children can't psychologically survive that. ...it seems like a universal survival tactic of children is to take it personally; it's the only way to create a bond when you're being [abused]. The defense mechanism that kicks in is: if I can take it personally, I can pretend to have control. We take it personally as a way of avoiding hopelessness, helplessness and catastrophic depression... "

childhood abuse humiliation reactionformation stockholmsyndrome idealization denial control psychology emotionalintelligence wisdom freedom StefanMolyneux from delicious
june 2011 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Voluntary Life -- For A New Liberty by Murray Rothbard

'Stefan Molyneux: "Thinkers who ignore childhood and its effects on the psyche, and then say they want to reform society, are exactly the same as communists or socialists who ignore the workings of the free-market and say they want to optimize economics – it can’t be done and it’s just a kind of scam."'

psychohistory childhood parenting society freedom quotes StefanMolyneux from delicious
april 2011 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- #883 Statism as Self-Manipulation (MP3)

"Everyone who is alive wants to see freedom in their own lifetime. YOU will never be free. This is a multi-generational project. And people don't want to face that." -- 'How statism helps people manage their anxieties.' -- "And this is the sad distorted mirror of statism. People do care about the poor. And the state takes that and inflicts a false and violent mythology of 'solutions' upon the poor. So here's the horrible irony that goes on in people's minds... the very act of imagining that state solutions are helping the poor – which you believe in order to manage your own anxiety about the poor – is itself an exploitation of the poor. Your concern for the poor is manipulated. And your fear that the poor will be exploited is turned into you exploiting the poor. So the question: what to do about the poor – creates anxiety in people. 'The existence of poverty makes me anxious. So what am I going to work to get rid of – poverty? No! My anxiety!'"

statism narcissism poverty hypocrisy denial anxiety freedom StefanMolyneux from delicious
january 2011 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Freedomain Radio: Stefan Molyneux Interviewed by the Police! ;)

On statism: "Don't take candy from strangers." -- On truth: "People have a very strong desire for the truth. Children want to know the truth about everything. Truth = Punishment. We are adverse to truth simply because we are adaptive mammals who have been punished [as children] for asking about the truth." -- On freedom: "If we want people to not hunger after power, if we want people to not aggress against others, if we want people to be able think and reason without the static of prior abuse clogging up their mental tubes, then we need to find ways in which we can promote the peaceful and positive raising of children."

statism anarchism truth freedom parenting StefanMolyneux from delicious
january 2011 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Impromptu Rap News performance at the Free Julian Assange Rally in Melbourne on 10 Dec. 2010

"No-one's free until everyone's free."

wikileaks activism freedom from delicious
december 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Wikipedia -- Cypherpunk

'A cypherpunk is an activist advocating widespread use of strong cryptography as a route to social and political change. As the Cypherpunk Manifesto says "Cypherpunks write code"; the notion that good ideas need to be implemented, not just discussed, is very much part of the culture. John Gilmore, whose site hosted the original cypherpunks mailing list, wrote: "We are literally in a race between our ability to build and deploy technology, and their ability to build and deploy laws and treaties. Neither side is likely to back down or wise up until it has definitively lost the race."'

cryptography cryptoanarchism cypherpunk hackersvsvectoralists internet darknets privacy security freedom from delicious
december 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Last Psychiatrist -- The Walking Dead: Not About Zombies

'All mourning is ambivalence. You're never too far from age 2, when your rage is magically powerful. ...the unconscious never forgets even the briefest of hates. Sometimes the guilt has a convenient narrative: caring for a cancer-ridden, demented parent who exhausted your physical and emotional resources, and then finally(!) dies. -- In most (all?) zombie movies, there is always a scene in which a main character confronts a loved one turned zombie. The rest of the previous zombie attacks are merely prelude to that one, specific, pivotal interaction. Quick, bolt the door, ambivalence is coming. Movies give the loved-one zombie a momentary flash of the old self – is it remembering, is it a trap, or are you seeing what you want to see? ...how the living negotiate that bit of mourning determines if they'll be able to put the dead to rest, or are going to have be tied to them forever.'

psychology childhood parenting narcissism falseself growthanxiety repression individuation ownlife trueself ambivalence zombies acceptance death mourning freedom * from delicious
december 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- What Kind of Gold Standard?

'Dominant Social Theme: Gold provides hope for the world. Let the government get out of the way. The proper function for the authorities is merely to set the standard and then leave it alone. -- Money is being argued about again, which is a good thing. But as usual (it seems to us) the argument is being framed in terms of what "ought" to be done. This is a kind of promotion, a dominant social theme, whether or not one wishes to admit it. Of course in the current day, government is a given—a necessary reality that until recently has been accepted with the same stuporous acquiescence as one tolerates bodily functions. But we will predict that acceptance of this most fundamental of all memes is beginning to shift. As the truth-telling of the Internet continues to have an impact, government mendacity is increasingly exposed and its logical fallacies are revealed, along with its false promotions. No, nothing SHOULD be done. That's the whole point. Money is private! Let the market work.'

* collectivism statism government stockholmsyndrome learnedhelplessness freedom markets money gold from delicious
november 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Freedomain Radio: The Power of the Parasite Class - Stefan Molyneux addresses the Ontario Libertarian Party Annual General Meeting, Nov 6 2010

"You can't get people to make sacrifices based on economic calculations and the argument from effect. But you can get people to make sacrifices for virtue. Human beings are so fundamentally driven by morality that, if you can hook into that power, there's no stopping the movement."

philosophy moraltiy ethics freedom voluntaryism StefanMolyneux from delicious
november 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Police State Is Doomed by Gary North

'To run a really successful tyranny, the leaders must have increasing wealth as well as more reliable data. They need wealth to hire the programmers, the data collectors, and the police. Computer costs keep falling, but they fall much faster in the private sector (microcomputers) than the government sector (mainframes). Yes, governments have access to ever-growing quantities of data. But the public has far greater access to low-cost information that it uses to increase the overall complexity of society. The task of monitoring what is going on becomes ever-more utopian. The government is always falling behind... The greater the complexity of society, the less able the State is to monitor it, assess it, and use the data to control it. The police State is doomed. It cannot possibly keep up with the constant innovation of society. It cannot gain access to enough resources to maintain control. It wastes the resources it commandeers. The free market is winning.'

2+2=5 socialism statism government surveillance stasi tyranny information internet cognitivesurplus markets #complexity #ubiquity #socialization voluntaryism freedom 2+2=4 from delicious
november 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

USWGO Alternative News -- Who is liable for THE NAME created by the Birth Certificate?

'Like an affidavit, an un-rebutted Birth Certificate stands in commerce. The presumption is that all agree. He who creates the liability must also provide remedy for its discharge. ...statutes apply to ‘persons’ and not to flesh and blood men and women. (At least without their informed consent.) ...if man comes to a realization of who he really is, man and not THE NAME and informs government of same, then there should be zero resistance from government to the exit of that man from the system of commerce. Everything that exists and is created by man is legally owned by government either directly or indirectly by registration in THE NAME that government holds the rights and liabilities in. -- I do not hold the rights in THE NAME. Therefore, I cannot have the liabilities either. I didn’t create it. I can only control that which I create. Government created THE NAME. Government is liable. Keep your flesh and blood body separate [from] THE NAME at all times and the presumption is rebutted.'

* legalese government persons commerce contracts law sovereignity freedom from delicious
october 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- #1729 Sunday Show August 22 2010 (MP3)

"When we raise children in a non-violent way, then philosophy is something that becomes possible for people because most philosophy now is just ex post facto justifications for child abuse. So when you say to people we should have a free society, they immediately feel that gangs are going to come along and slaughter everyone. They have an emotional association with freedom bringing anxiety and terror and imminent disaster and that's not empirical. Why do people have such an emotional reaction to the idea that if authority is taken away, disaster occurs? Well, because that's what they were taught as children. They were told that they were bad children, that they were aggressive, that they were selfish, and they were constantly bullied and [told] that it is only the presence of authority consistently inflicted that prevents people from attacking each other. That's why people get so tense and emotional – they're not talking about the government, they're talking about their parents."

statism government family parenting childhood abuse philosophy freedom StefanMolyneux from delicious
september 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Freedomain Radio: To See the Farm is to Leave It

"Slaves attack each other for stepping out of line. The State is the willingness of your fellow slaves to attack you for pointing out the truth. If you want to be free, you simply have to stop associating with people who will attack you for pointing out the basic moral, economic and practical realities of our situation, of our lives. The State is your fellow slaves."

2+2=5 statism slavery slavespeak crimestop 2+2=4 thoughtcrime ostracism freedom philosophy StefanMolyneux from delicious
september 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- #1722 The Souls of the Masters - Part 1 (2) (MP3)

Gisted 2/2 -- It is the truth-telling slave who extends the universalization of ethics to the masters – and thus exposing them as morally evil – who is the greatest threat to every other slave because of their past horror and humiliation of having been enslaved to evil through their desire to be good, of having that which is the best of you turned into service of that which is the worst in humanity: lust for power, domination, theft, murder, war, debt. They react with the hair-trigger psychological defenses called slave-extending-morality-to-masters-will-get-us-all-killed! People can't easily process the universalization of morality, so all they can do is get mad at it. They have to create exceptions to universal morality because that's what we've all been programmed to do throughout the violence of history. So how do we change this? We have to reveal the negative consequences for immoral actions. We have to replace statism with voluntaryism. WE have to replace violence with ostracism.

slavery slavespeak crimestop statism violence voluntaryism ostracism morality integrity freedom philosophy StefanMolyneux from delicious
august 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Maxims of Law

#Fraud lies hid in general expressions. #It is a fraud to conceal a fraud. #Once a fraud, always a fraud. #What otherwise is good and just, if it be sought by force and fraud, becomes bad and unjust. #He is not deceived who knows himself to be deceived. #Let him who wishes to be deceived, be deceived. #The propriety of words is the safety of property.

fraud words legalese law truth property contracts voluntaryism freedom estoppel from delicious
august 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Wired -- Hyperfast Star Kicked Out of Milky Way

'New Hubble observations suggest a dramatic origin story for one of the fastest stars ever detected, involving a tragic encounter with a black hole, a lost companion and swift exile from the galaxy.' -- What price freedom?

freedom inspiration universe from delicious
july 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Welcome to Freedomain Radio

"Once you get that self-bullying doesn't work, you know that violence doesn't work, you know that to your very core." -- Stefan Molyneux

government statism violence falseself selfattack psychology emotionalintelligence philosophy anarchism voluntaryism freedom humility happiness StefanMolyneux quotes * masochism from delicious
july 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- What Irritates the Statists by Dr. Tibor Machan

'...this public versus private purpose is a ruse. Virtually every benefit to be obtained by way of forking out our wealth is a private benefit, something that serves the interest of some human individual in a society – maybe many of them, sometimes many of them all at once, but all are private individuals and that includes Marx and Galbraith and all their pals who are so eager to confiscate everyone else's resources for purposes they deem to be important. If they think these are important purposes, they ought to get up a collection and convince their fellows to part with what is needed to obtain them. But it is so much simpler to send out the police to collect these funds rather than to raise them by means of convincing us of the worth of these projects. When this isn't accepted much by the citizenry, the statists are deeply miffed.' -- Now listen, Statie. Mommy and Daddy really don't need to take care of you now that you're all grown up, OK? *wipes the tears from Statie's eyes* :,-(

concepts collectivism statism government paternalism authoritarianism violence delusion choice voluntaryism freedom "capitalism" from delicious
july 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- Nullification - the Freedom Meme

'Shutting the Internet off with a "switch" is no more feasible than destroying printing businesses during the heyday of the Gutenberg press. Elites throughout history have turned what they could to their advantage. But that does not mean that technology itself or its resulting impact were preordained. What drives human society are its tools. And when the toolkit grows more sophisticated it can change society radically. Government pushback, of course, is quite powerful and will continue to be (at the behest of the elite in our opinion). But when it comes to the Internet, we would tend to maintain that the more the power elite struggles, the more it generates results that are contrary to its expectations. This is what happened during the era of the Gutenberg press. The same mechanisms are at work today. [The Elite's] regrouping can take a lot of time – enough time for a little bit of renaissance to occur. It's happened before. We think it has already begun to happen again.'

metanarratives history oligarchy forcedmemes internet themediumisthemessage technology humanaction cognitivesurplus freedom from delicious
july 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- #270: Perfection is the Enemy of Virtue (MP3)

"The problem is that people believe the wrong things. We claim to be moralists but our enemies understand the principle of universality and ethical theories so much better than we do... The enemies of freedom and rationality know that human beings are run by ethics – that's why they take them when they're children and put them in state schools and churches. They take those children and they mold them into slaves based on 'ethical' commandments that they cannot escape. And we who believe in ethics, don't believe that humans are ethical?? Isn't that astounding! We believe in ethics and we doubt the desires of people to be ethical?? Statists and collectivists claim *not* to believe in ethics but control the entire planet by accepting that human beings want to be good – and corrupting that desire to be good which is innate to our natures."

* 2+2=5 predation slavery statism evil ethics morality philosophy doublethink analysisparalysis perfectionism criticism 2+2=4 freedom StefanMolyneux from delicious
july 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Nicolette: No Government (Plaid Remix)

"I know who I am and you know who you are."

anarchism voluntaryism freedom from delicious
june 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- How (Not) to Achieve Freedom (PDF)

'If we lose the ability to project our negative traits onto some other person or entity, we actually experience the anxiety, fear and rage within ourselves. The growth of psychological and emotional maturity is the slow and often painful process of withdrawing your projections from the world so that you can see what the world actually is. Most people wander around the world with highly reflective sunglasses on – but pointing the wrong way – so that they are only seeing a distorted reflection of themselves, rather than the world itself. When a man hears that taxation is force, his unconscious hears all of the implications contained in that statement immediately, at light speed, and leaps into action to protect him from being tortured and killed. The hostility that he feels will arise in him as if out of nowhere. You have also provoked a feeling of humiliation in him, by creating fear and anxiety within him that he has to avoid.'

criticism statism intellectualism elitism vanity entitlement libertarianism doublethink goodthink consensusreality conformity hypocrisy delusion projection psychology philosophy freedom StefanMolyneux pdf from delicious
june 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- Practical Anarchy (PDF)

'To gain the beauty and virtue of anarchism, we sacrifice nothing but our illusions. The truth, as Socrates gave his life to show, remains highly threatening to entrenched interests and has a very personal and volatile effect on our immediate relationships. In reality, it is not so much a stateless society that we fear, but rather a family-less and friendless society where we rock gently, hugging our useless truths to our chests; solitary, ostracized, alone, rejected, scorned, derided. The truth is a desert island, we fear, and so as evolutionarily social animals, we join our corrupt circles in mocking and attacking the truth, and resent those who tell the truth, for revealing the corruption that formerly was only visible unconsciously. You may find that as you read this book, you experience a rising frustration and irritation with its contents – and possibly with me as well, if experience is any guide. It is not my fault that you have been lied to your whole life long.'

philosophy anarchism voluntaryism freedom disputeresolution peace StefanMolyneux pdf
june 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- #1635 The War (MP3)

'It's deep, hidden, and essential to see.' -- "Those who do not learn their personal history are doomed to repeat it."

freedom philosophy morality ownlife StefanMolyneux
june 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

zero hedge -- Welcome to the Insane Asylum or: How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Big Lie 4/5 (2)

'Our overall freedom begins within each individual, not in any mass movements, riots or strikes. The only strike we need to call is our own personal strike from self deception and false hope seeking. We’re easily controlled when we self deceive. This desire to self deceive, created in order to deny the pain any real self awareness of our condition would bring us, leaves us wide open to all sorts of other lies and conditioning. We don’t need to break these illusions down from the outside; we simply need to stop supporting them from the inside. But this can only be done if we reject the self deception and lies that are the basis of both the internal and external control system. This is why I always say “we” are the control system. We are the foundation and building blocks of the very walls we wish to bring down. An understanding this simple must be, and always will be, dismissed as crazy, unrealistic, unworkable and fantasy by those who have bought into the illusion.'

freedom philosophy ownlife
june 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- Everyday Anarchy (PDF)

'...what does the word “anarchy” really mean? It simply means a way of interacting with others without threatening them with violence if they do not obey. It simply means “without political violence.” When we think of a society without political violence – without governments – specters of chaos and brutality always arise for us, immediately and, it would seem, irrevocably. However, it only takes a moment of thought to realize that we live the vast majority of our actual lives in complete and total anarchy – and call such anarchy “morally good.” ...love, marriage, family, career, finances – we all make our major decisions in the complete absence of direct political coercion. Thus – if anarchy is such an all-consuming, universal evil, why is it the default – and virtuous – freedom that we demand in order to achieve just liberty in our daily lives? ...we must recognize the basic paradox: We love the anarchy we live. We fear the anarchy we imagine – the anarchy we are taught to fear.'

* "anarchy" anarchism voluntaryism freedom philosophy life StefanMolyneux pdf
june 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- False Meme of Anarchy?

'The dominant social theme is clear to us: "If the current economic system collapses millions and perhaps billions will die." Without the current system in place there will be only ... anarchy! Without (fill in the name) Barack Obama, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, etc. to help support and supervise regulatory democracy there will be ... chaos! If not this, the current Western system, then nothing. A black hole. Despair ... Diaspora ... Desolation ... -- We're inclined to put our trust in "Misesian" human action. We think people are fairly resilient. We believe – absent the chaos and murderous violence of war or authoritarian declarations of martial law – that most of the middle class states of the West would manage to create new and freer societies in either longer or shorter time spans, and potentially without serial, genocidal panics. Many or most would extend a helping hand to neighbors. Many or most would survive and eventually, even thrive.'

forcedmemes "anarchy" voluntaryism humanaction freedom
june 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain Radio -- #185 Empathy Part 2: How to feel for the unfree (MP3)

"You *have* to demonstrate freedom before you can inspire freedom in others. You need to *feel* the same fear that other people feel when you talk about freedom. When you say, we need a radical re-evaluation of our ethics and human relationships: from coercion to voluntaryism, from dictatorship to property rights, from collectivism to individualism, from war to peace, from violence to words, from governments to DROs – people feel as freaked out about that as you would about deciding not to see anyone you feel obligated to ever again. It's terrifying. If you talk to people about getting rid of bad relationships in your life, they're going to feel unease and they're going to need to immediately create a defense and label it: he's an extremist and I'm nice – so they can manage their own feelings through disassociating from you and making you wrong in their own mind. And when you talk about the evil of the State it's even worse for people because what they hear is, your parents are evil."

philosophy empathy voluntaryism integrity relationships freedom StefanMolyneux
june 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Google Video -- ThinkFree: The Magnificent Deception

On legalese: "All of these statutes are legislated rules of a particular 'society' which have been given the force of law -- but that 'society' is the Law Society. All of these rules are *for* the Law Society... Societies can claim that no-one else can understand their rules because they can create their own language and they can do this by taking an existing language eg. English, and change the definition of just a few words and not tell anyone else how those words have been changed and so they've created an entirely new language that appears to be English but it's not and only they know it. And this is the magnificency of the deception: when this whole thing unfolds, they think they're going to lock us up in their cage?? No. All they're doing is creating a set of rules that is only going to be applicable to them. And if they ever try to step out of the cage they have made for themselves, they're going to step out into our courts and they will face charges for fraud."

realityprogramming society language legalese commerce law rights freedom
april 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Google Video -- ThinkFree: Bursting Bubbles of Government Deception

'Robert-Arthur: Menard gives a seminar on The Illusion of the Person, what Words in Law mean, Consent, Acceptance, Honor & Dishonour, Bills of Exchange, and more.' -- "You are not a person, you have a person. They will get you to believe you have an obligation when you do not. Deception needs ignorance. Consent is not assent. Ask questions of any one or any thing claiming authority over you. You don't have to make a positive affirmation in order for them to achieve consent. Your silence and inaction will raise the appearance of consent. -- These three words are how the government has gained power over us: #Application: Means to 'beg, plead, petition, implore, entreat, or request'. Look at the assumptions these words create. #Submit: To agree to another's will or to leave to another's discretion. Form of surrender. Always voluntary. Implies lawful right to fight. #Registration: To sign over for safe keeping. Always voluntary. Abandons complete ownership for partial."

law commerce legalese rights freedom
april 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- TheAntiTerrorist: Playing to Win 2/2

'The road to empowerment does not mean controlling others, but rather choosing the thoughts that best affect how your own life unfolds. It's that simple. From my own observations, the biggest fear most people ever have might be the realisation that we are alone. To forestall embracing this state of aloneness, we join a church, or a political party, or an online forum, continually checking in on other people's opinions of us and measuring our power according to who wins the online flame war. We form wars against drugs or porn or Republicans or the Tory Party. We lobby, we petition, we march... we do ten thousand things with ten thousand others, but rarely pause to give a moment's credit to the power of the individual. Why is that? Why do we feel so powerless alone? Why do we let this fear hold us down when history has repeatedly shown us that it is individual, the lone voice in the wilderness, who lets a pebble fall from his hand and starts the avalanche of change.'

philosophy ownlife freedom TheAntiTerrorist
april 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- TheAntiTerrorist: Playing to Win 1/2

'In defining our game experience by deferring to rules that others have set, and by following those rules to the letter because it seems safer to do so, we risk being bound and hampered by those very rules. The key is flexibility, and trusting, your own ability to fly by the seat of your pants. This is a skill that can only be mastered when you realise that you, the player, have the ability to level the playing field just by holding and exercising your own power instead of automatically deferring to that of others. Your job is to take the most empowering perspective on any event. As long as you remember we're playing a game, you are empowered to affect the game as an equal. The moment you forget, you can become victim to the other player's tactics. A fundamental part of enjoying any game is knowing what the rules are and what they are not. I strive to accurately assess my opponent's agenda, and will adapt it to work for me, whilst never compromising the integrity of the game.'

philosophy ownlife freedom TheAntiTerrorist
april 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Mises Institute -- Medieval Iceland and the Absence of Government by Thomas Whiston

'In a stateless society, the only person who is "King" is the consumer. -- Medieval Iceland illustrates a well-documented historical example of how a stateless legal order can work and it provides insights as to how we might create a more just and efficient society today. Because of Iceland's geographical location there was no threat of foreign invasion, so the demand for a national military force was absent. Icelandic settlers held similar philosophical ideas toward the state and the law as where held by the founding fathers of the United States, including distrust of a strong central government. Instead of a judicial branch of government there were private courts that were the responsibility of the godar. There was no public property during the era of the Vikings in Iceland, all property was privately owned. The lack of competition and the monopolistic qualities that eventually came about when five families cornered the chieftaincy market was one reason [for Iceland's collapse].'

economics history iceland sociology anarchism voluntaryism freedom
april 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- America is a Republic, Not a Democracy!

'...by giving men the right to vote themselves special privileges and redistributed wealth from the pockets of their neighbors—by making democracy "an end in itself" [it] leads to what Alexis de Tocqueville warned it would [become]—the tyranny of the majority—in which the power of government "covers the whole of social life with a network of petty, complicated rules that are both minute and uniform, through which even men of the greatest originality and the most vigorous temperament cannot force their heads above the crowd. It does not break men's will, but softens, bends, and guides it; it seldom enjoins, but often inhibits, action; it does not destroy anything, but prevents much being born; it is not at all tyrannical, but it hinders, restrains, enervates, stifles, and stultifies so much that in the end each nation is no more than a flock of timid and hardworking animals with the government as its shepherd." -- This is not what America's republican form of democracy was meant to be.'

america governance democracy coercion statism despotism republic liberty freedom quotes
march 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- America is a Republic, Not a Democracy!

'An individual's rights are not to be abrogated by the mass. Here then is the evil of a democracy with the "majority will" ruling absolutely. It allows dictatorial control and confiscation to be utilized against the individual simply because the masses desire such control and confiscation to be utilized. The concept of individual sovereignty is thus destroyed, a dangerous cloud of confusion develops in the area of social ethics, and the might of numbers becomes our only guide as to what is right and wrong. -- The democratic thievery is just so indirect that responsibility for the act is largely diffused, and thus not so noticeable to the perpetrators. But is it somehow right because fifty-one percent of the voters are advocating it? The philosophical democrat, awash in egalitarian adoration, answers yes; but that is because he allows his emotions to dictate his policies. He is capable of only thinking short range and then invariably blanks out on the evil incongruities that result.'

america governance democracy coercion statism despotism republic liberty freedom
march 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- America is a Republic, Not a Democracy!

'It is the view of most Americans today, that as long as all legislation in a country is democratically established by a majority vote of the people, then that country is politically free, and justice reigns. This modern view of course would be considered grievously naive by the Founding Fathers, who in their perusal of history had acquired a thorough grasp of the follies of ancient Greek democracies. In their minds, it would be ludicrous to consider freedom and justice to be determined merely by "democratic approval" of government laws. This is an enormously important point for Americans to understand, for the fact that it is not being taught in our schools and clarified in the voters' minds is one of the main reasons why statism is spreading throughout the world. -- America does have a dictator. It is the people themselves. It is the majority will. It allows dictatorial control and confiscation to be utilized against the individual simply because the masses desire such control...'

america governance democracy coercion statism despotism republic liberty freedom
march 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- America is a Republic, Not a Democracy!

'"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship." — Alexander Fraser Tytler / "The democrat, leaping into the air to flap his wings and praise God, is for ever coming down with a thump. The seeds of his disaster ... lie in his own stupidity: he can never get rid of the naive delusion ... that happiness is something to be got by taking it away from the other fellow." — H.L. Mencken / "[The man usually chosen as leader in a democracy is] someone bold and unscrupulous...who curries favor with the people by giving them other men's property." — Cicero / "[An] elective despotism was not the government we fought for." — Thomas Jefferson

america governance democracy coercion statism despotism republic liberty freedom quotes
march 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- Democracy and Liberty

'The point deserves to be made over and over: majorities have no just authority to trump individual rights! Individual rights apply to all, including, especially, to those in the minority. In a bona fide free country one is free to be and do what one chooses provided this doesn't impose on others something they do not deserve coming to them. So when someone doesn't want to carry health insurance, that is something he or she has a perfect right to do. (One's body and health doesn't belong to the government!) The American Founders identified every human being as equal in respect of having certain unalienable rights, among them to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This pretty much amounts to the best guide as to what may not be done to the citizens of a country - their lives, liberty and their choice of what is important to them may not be voted on. It is for them to decide and no one else.'

healthcare rights fallacy liberty freedom ownlife
march 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- Is Quality Health Care a Fundamental Right?

No. 'When the American founders spoke of government's task to secure the rights of the citizens, they had in mind the negative rights, rights not to be interfered with... However valuable it is for those who need it to receive health care or insurance, it is impermissible to treat those who can provide such care and insurance to be coerced into doing so. The protection of positive rights, so called, amounts to nothing less than a policy of forced labor – not different from slavery, actually – something that is completely wrong, entirely impermissible, regardless of how much others may benefit from it, how urgent their need is for it. And it also misunderstands human nature since it denies that the poor can escape poverty on their own initiative. That is plainly false.'

healthcare rights positiveliberty coercion negativeliberty freedom
march 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- The Reality of Scott Brown

'We write about the Gutenberg press' impact with some frequency since few others seem to. And with the victory of Scott Brown, it would seem to us that our Gutenberg/Internet paradigm is once more affirmed. People have used the Internet to research the reality of their lives, to organize, to discuss evolving views about the world and their places in it - and finally to effect change. This has all happened before. Five-hundred years ago, as Europeans began to read the Gutenberg Bible, they found out that the Roman Catholic Church's dogma was not representative of the Bible itself. They'd been lied to. This sense of injury led to the Reformation and to Protestantism as well. And Protestantism is just what it sounds like. A protest. -- ...people increasingly DON'T BELIEVE in statist solutions. Even if they can't verbalize it, more and more they don't believe in them. Why should they? The Internet is steadily revealing a whole new paradigm, one that was lost for more than a century.'

statism gutenberg internet cognitivesurplus freedom
january 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- Old GOP Doesn't 'Get' Tea Parties

'...the Tea Party movement as we see it, is inevitably a virtually schizophrenic entity. ...we cannot comprehend how a US$1trillion four-front war overseas - a war in large part apparently started under false pretenses - can in any sense be integrated with a Jeffersonian, libertarian, small government perspective.' -- Comment: Bill Ross: '...how do you convince a herd of steeple to follow you when you have no direction and nothing to promise except freedom (and its corollary, personal responsibility) which most have been media / educationally subverted to consider unfair and terrifying?'

america politics neoconservatism conservatism statism libertarianism freedom
january 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Freedomain Radio: Fractional Banking, Private Currencies and Humble Freedom

Nobody knows.

criticism statism economics humility money currency markets libertarianism freedom philosophy StefanMolyneux
january 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Freedomain Radio: Politics versus Personal Liberty

Against me. Do you support the use of violence against me?

hypocrisy violence statism politics philosophy ethics morality praxis freedom liberty civility integrity StefanMolyneux
january 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

LiberaLaw -- Can a Libertarian Also Be a [Marketeer]?

'The marketeer will often resist interference with the current distribution of property rights in a given society, whatever its origin; but the libertarian will be much more likely to favor potentially radical measures designed to rectify past injustices. In addition, the libertarian has no particular reason to endorse the marketeer’s moralizing about market conditions; and the libertarian who [holds] the libertarian ideal ... will surely want to emphasize that some economic conditions [authority/hierarchy/tradition/culture/conformity/etc] that do not involve the misuse of force are nonetheless objectionable because they minimize freedom and reduce people’s effective capacities for responsible action. The libertarian will sometimes find the marketeer a useful ally; but the libertarian should not, I think, want to be a marketeer except when being a marketeer does not involve accepting naïve beliefs about the origin or dynamics of actually existing markets.'

* markets marketing advertising rhetoric persuasion propaganda conformity coercion violence ethics morality freedom libertarianism
january 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Spiked -- The right to privacy in the Age of Facebook

'Seligman argues that there is a fundamental difference between *trust in people* (interpersonal relationships) and *confidence in institutions*. (The same would apply to technological systems, though this is not Seligman’s focus.) -- This goes to the heart of what trust actually is: a relationship that is not based upon reciprocal calculation, but is open-ended. Trust is therefore a very rare thing indeed. And because it is based on free will, trust cannot be demanded, only offered and accepted. -- Our relationships with state institutions are based upon confidence rather than trust: roles are ascribed while outcomes are intended and expected. There is neither unconditionality nor active engagement, but a passive relationship based on prescribed roles that are not subject to change or control. -- The defence of privacy as a political right needs to be re-established... Individuated conformity is not the basis upon which a robust defence of privacy can be mounted.'

sociology socialnetworking panopticon conformity privacy trust freedom
january 2010 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

BBC5.TV -- John Harris: It's An Illusion

'John Harris gives us his perspective on what's going on. He describes how we are economic slaves to a debt dependant system, notably achieved through the deception of the birth certificate and the creation of a legal fiction known as your 'PERSON'. It is this PERSON that the government then wields it's control upon. John points out that this arrangement only works when we consent. Unfortunately inaction is taken as consent, hence we have unwittingly surrendered our inalienable rights through identifying with the PERSON. Remember you are a human being with god given rights, all you have to do is claim them.' -- http://www.tpuc.org

legalese fraud government oligarchy serfdom debt slavery law commonlaw rights liberty freedom JohnHarris TPUC documentaries
december 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Freedomain -- The Logic of Personal and Political Freedom: Why People Reject Freedom

'It is my strong belief, based on considerable experience with children, that we are born strong, secure, confident and empathetic. It takes a fierce effort to destroy the natural strength of children. [P]arents teach their children [...] nonsense. -- The moment you lie to someone, you become both their slave and their master. You are their slave, because you are terrified of being discovered—and you are their master, because you must control their perceptions. You must destroy their curiosity. You must respond to any approach to your falsehoods with irritation, condemnation and withdrawal. The energizing question ‘why’ becomes your implacable enemy. You must undermine their capacity to reason, to think for themselves. You must overcomplicate the world. And most of all—most of all—you must become the sworn enemy of all principles, even the most innocuous. The only ‘rules’ you can allow are base commandments, such as ‘respect your elders’, ‘love your country’ and so on.'

* psychology family status vanity parenting children abuse lies hypocrisy authority conformity mindcontrol corruption violence passivity passiveaggression emotionalintelligence morality liberty freedom philosophy StefanMolyneux childhood irrationality
december 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Google Video -- Anarchism in America (1983)

'A colorful and provocative survey of anarchism in America, the film attempts to dispel popular misconceptions and trace the historical development of the movement. The film explores the movement both as a native American philosophy stemming from 19th century American traditions of individualism, and as a foreign ideology brought to America by immigrants.' -- #What is Anarchism? A rational philosophy explaining how both individuals and society can progress and prosper without resorting to the use of violence (i.e., the use of a State or any other irrational form of authority). In short, Anarchism is a generalised freedom from force. #What isn't Anarchism? "Chaos"/"Disorder" (As opposed to an 'order' held together only by violence??) Violence (Force), Criminality (Force), Socialism (Force), Collectivism (by Force), Communism (by Force), Primitivism (Insufferable), Egoism (Insufferable), or Punk (Insufferable). #Who should fear Anarchism? The irrational, the immoral, and the corrupt.

history philosophy libertarianism liberty negativeliberty freedom anarchism emergentism sociology hierarchy authority authoritarianism government statism documentaries
december 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Complete Newspeak Dictionary from George Orwell's 1984 -- Altered Words

'#Community: (Old) Your neighbors (New) Your government. #Equality (Old) Equal treatment under the law. The belief that no person should be treated differently from another. (New) If any inequities are discovered in society, create laws which MAKE people equal. #Liberty: (Old) Freedom FROM government oppression. (New) No meaning. Most modern political movements are unable to acknowledge the true meaning of this word, since it would interfere with their obsession of using government programs to re-organize the thoughts and behaviors of society. #Rights: (Old) The inalienable rights of man. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (New) Entitlements. The right to "Law & Order, financial security, and the pursuit of lawsuits". Citizens expect to be protected by expanding the power of the federal government.'

newspeak entitlement statism welfare government liberty freedom rights 1984
december 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Lord Monckton Talks About Climategate on Alex Jones TV 4/5

Calls for a worldwide 'FREEDOM PARTY' to fight in every national election.

politics democracy freedom liberty
november 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

All You Zombies by Jim Quinn

'A bitter generational war is now a certainty. -- Your reputation will be crucial during the Crisis. -- #Prepare values: Forge the consensus and uplift the culture, but don’t expect near-term results. #Prepare institutions: Clear the debris and find out what works, but don’t try building anything big. #Prepare politics: Define challenges bluntly and stress duties over rights, but don’t attempt reforms that can’t now be accomplished. #Prepare society: Require community teamwork to solve local problems, but don’t try this on a national scale. #Prepare youth: Treat children as the nation’s highest priority, but don’t do their work for them. #Prepare elders: Tell future elders they will need to be more self-sufficient, but don’t attempt deep cuts in benefits to current elders. #Prepare the economy: Correct fundamentals, but don’t try to fine tune current performance. #Prepare the defense: Expect the worst and prepare to mobilize, but don’t pre-commit to any one response.'

* america economics sociology collapse countermeasures survival tactics localism politics communities leadership freedom advice
november 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Daily Bell -- America's Broken Politics

'Today, America resembles the EU more than it does the nation it once was. Its president is almost avowedly socialist, its middle class is riven by ruinous federal, state and local taxes, its money is inflated by the Federal Reserve, its nearly unaffordable military power is projected abroad by over 1,000 bases and its federal government is generally increasingly untethered and uncontrollable. -- ...the Internet has provided millions (not only in America) with a powerful learning tool. Those interested in culture and polity - and how societies function properly - have relearned the lessons of minimalist government and the value of honest money (gold and silver) in the past two decades. These great lessons may in fact provide a launching pad for the reinvigoration of America and the West if one is to come. Perhaps, then, the Guardian has it backwards. The problems that America faces are not going to be solved by government but by an expansion of freedom.'

america liberty freedom internet commonsense
november 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Despotism (1946) Encyclopedia Brittanica Films

#Governance: FREEDOM <------> TYRANNY

sociology tax governance despotism tyranny freedom
november 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Spiked -- We must stop being tolerant of repression

'...the right has virtually copyrighted the word freedom – while showing relatively little regard for the concept. Trumpeting freedom hasn’t stopped many right-wingers from supporting the expansive national security state or an ongoing censorious culture war. On the left you rarely hear people utter the word freedom, although they sometimes talk about civil liberties; they tend to focus on equality and not just economic but existential equality, which includes some sort of imagined right to psychological wellbeing. And this, I think, is really quite dangerous. The left undermines freedom the most by trying to restrict intolerance or discrimination in the private sphere. The right ... tends to undermine freedom by trying to restrict sin in the private sphere. But put right and left together and you’d still lack any coherent analysis of rights and liberties and the public and private realms.'

rights freedom liberty repression authoritarianism
november 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Mises Institute -- The Triumph of Socialism

'...people have largely forgotten experience and have developed a love for the ancient fairy tale that all things can be fixed through collectivism and central planning. In the history of the world, freedom is the exception, not the rule. It must be fought for anew in every generation. Its enemies are everywhere, but the leading enemy is ignorance. For this reason, the main weapon we have at our disposal is education.'

liberty freedom "capitalism"
november 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Continental Congress 2009: The Next Step For A Free People

'What Is Continental Congress 2009?: Tradition, Necessity & Legal Process Merge. For two weeks in November, delegates representing The People of the fifty states will join together in the tradition of the Founding Fathers and their Continental Congress of 1774. Continental Congress 2009 will convene as a national assembly of We The People and attest to the increasing abuses of our Governing Documents. Together, we will decide what peaceful, legal steps can be taken to bring about compliance with our Freedom documents.' -- BUMP

america constitution freedom liberty
november 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

bella gerens -- That’s right, whip the libertarian

"... ‘freedom from’ is the only state of being consistent with the dignity and majesty of humankind. People on the left think libertarians are advocating exploitation, pollution, callousness, and the primacy of making (and keeping) money above all else—because they read ‘freedom’ to mean ‘freedom to do whatever you please.' People on the right think libertarians are advocating freedom to burgle, rob, rape, murder—because they read ‘freedom’ to mean ‘freedom to do whatever you please.’ For the libertarian, there is no ‘freedom to.’ Freedom represents an absence, the absence of force and fraud. It does not represent a licence to do anything, or a right or entitlement, except the absolute human right not to be forced or defrauded. And for holding this principle [we] who are concerned only with the heights of dignity and achievement all humans could reach if only they were freed from coercion, interference, and oppression, are called ’selfish’ and ‘misanthropic.’ So be it."

* freedom liberty philosophy libertarianism commonsense
october 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- True News 57: Stop Defending Freedom!

'How to shift the burden of proof to those who defend the state.'

statism philosophy freedom StefanMolyneux argumentation
october 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

NYTimes.com -- Does Curiosity Kill More Than the Cat?

#AGAINST -- Thomas Aquinas: "[In going beyond the boundaries of God] they are doing something great, if with surpassing curiosity and keenness they explore the whole mass of this body which we call the world; so great a pride is thus begotten, that one would think they dwelt in the very heavens about which they argue.” -- Lorenzo Scupoli: “They make an idol of their own understanding.” -- Paul Griffiths: “In a world where curiosity rules, unmasking curiosity as a destructive and offensive device ... amounts to nothing less than a ... radical critique of superficiality and constant distraction.” -- John Henry Newman: “In such persons reason acts almost as feebly and as impotently as in the madman: once fairly started on a subject, they have no power of self-control.” #FOR -- Pascal: “Curiosity is only vanity.” -- Jonathan Robinson: “What we are talking about is the desire to satisfy our curiosity on any and every conceivable subject that takes our fancy.” -- Amen to that.

philosophy originalsin sin religion hegemony thoughtcrime censorship curiousity transparency freedom
september 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

The Onion -- America: Is It Worth The Effort?

YES!!! Now get out your pitchforks and TAKE BACK YOUR COUNTRY.

america liberty freedom
september 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- REVOLUTION BREWING - August 28 Sacramento Tea Party Express 2009

Look at all these racists. LOL. Come on, America!

america activism freedom liberty
august 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Wired -- Crypto Rebels (1993)

'The people in this room hope for a world where an individual's informational footprints -- everything from an opinion on abortion to the medical record of an actual abortion -- can be traced only if the individual involved chooses to reveal them; a world where coherent messages shoot around the globe by network and microwave, but intruders and feds trying to pluck them out of the vapor find only gibberish; a world where the tools of prying are transformed into the instruments of privacy. There is only one way this vision will materialize, and that is by widespread use of cryptography. Is this technologically possible? Definitely. "Arise," urges one of their numbers, "You have nothing to lose but your barbed-wire fences."'

privacy cryptography encryption pgp cypherpunk hackersvsvectoralists freedom
august 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Salon -- Letters: Fix the economy? Curb corporate America

mattwa33186: "To those who say we need a true democracy - you just don't get it. We are a nation founded on the principle that the rights of the minority must be protected from the will of the majority. Democracy, even more than totalitarianism, is the opposite of what we are intended to be. Democracy is surrender, not victory. -- Corporate America (and I include nearly all of our federally elected officials in that group) has made an end run around the representative republic and the First and Second Amendments. This email exchange has done and excellent job of illustrating how our power to shape the destiny of the nation has been stolen from us. The First Amendment has been lost to corporate control of the media. And control of our education system by a corrupt government has left us with a citizenry that doesn't have the will to fight or the ability to know what to fight for, rendering the right to bear arms moot."

america constitution republic democracy freedom liberty libertarianism
august 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Adam Curtis: It Felt Like A Kiss - Ending message *SPOILER ALERT*

Please don't watch this before going to the live experience. Otherwise...

documentaries theatre individualism freedom AdamCurtis
july 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Taking Liberties: The Movie

'TAKING LIBERTIES is a shocking but hilarious polemic documentary that charts the destruction of all your Basic Liberties under 10 Years of New Labour. Released to coincide with Tony Blair's departure, the film and the book follow the stories of normal people whose lives have been turned upside down by injustice - from being arrested for holding a placard outside parliament to being tortured in Guantanamo Bay.' -- First they came for the protestors...

documentaries liberty negativeliberty freedom rights government totalitarianism 1984 uk fear
july 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Google Video -- Adam Curtis: The Trap 3/3: We Will Force U 2 Be Free

'On the concepts of positive and negative liberty introduced in the 1950s by Isaiah Berlin. Negative liberty could be defined as freedom from coercion and positive liberty as the opportunity to strive to fulfill one's potential.'

freedom liberty negativeliberty positiveliberty coercion documentaries AdamCurtis
july 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Max Keiser -- The revolution will not be golden

"So, the entirety of Twitter has been hypnotised by green while Goldman Sachs transfers trillions in toxic waste to the balance sheet of those very same green iconed twitterers calling for others to be free! And yet they themselves are being imprisoned by intergenerational debt! While Goldman walks away with the biggest bonuses in their 140 year history!! This is just too awesome to be true. I am still uncertain whether to laugh or cry. Well, first let me try to appeal to the Iranian people to turn their twitter icons gold in support of those of us oppressed by the dictatorial Fed which has consolidated its power in the past week. If I can’t get them to go gold in support of financial freedom fighters, then my suggestion is go long oligarchy and short the peasants! Tomorrow!"

economics freedom feudalism denial
june 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

YouTube -- Part 2: 06/17/09 Freedom Watch

Peter Schiff: Fear (of loss) regulates greed (of gain). -- Parts 2, 3 & 4. Explained.

economics america federalreserve moralhazard regulation greed freedom commonsense PeterSchiff
june 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Marginal Utility -- Working for free

"When we are cogs in a large machine, we need to be paid to feel recognized, because our individual contribution is lost in the elaborate division of labor and our autonomy is similarly circumscribed. But having control over how the work is done and knowing one is responsible for the final product in its entirety makes work palpably meaningful, which is its own reward, fulfilling a basic aspect of what it means to be human. ...money functions as a consolation for social isolation, which it then reinforces by supplying the illusion of strength and efficacy ...when we work for free online, our main goal may be to express our freedom from capital, for at least a little while, and experience the restorative essence of performing socially useful work for its own sake. It could be that it’s inherently delightful in the midst of late capitalism to discover a social need that can be fulfilled without capital’s intervention."

economics work money incentives rewards status ideas capital socialcapital gifteconomy avocation meaning hackersvsvectoralists freedom free
june 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Marginal Utility -- Sundry music-related matters

'Hoffer regards the rise of mass movements as the almost inevitable consequence of widespread mediocrity coupled with the unreasonable expectations that democracy generates for the common person. “Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden. We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of one ardent young Nazi, ‘to be free from freedom.’ “ Democratic ideology leaves the impression that all men are equal, whereas it has the effect of making one’s place in the irrepressible hierarchies in society seem entirely the individual’s fault. Thus the frustrated people in a capitalist democracy “want to eliminate free competition and the ruthless testing to which the individual is continually subjected in a free society.” ... consumerism can reduce freedom to a burden of perpetual self-redefinition... But the symbol shouldn’t be mistaken for the person behind that facade, who is most likely feeling the same way.'

* hipsters consumering culture authenticity identity freedom precuperation theadvertisedlife cults
may 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Lessig Blog -- Et tu, KK? (aka, No, Kevin, this is not "socialism")

'Words have meaning. -- Kelly's argument is like so many today that has implicitly embraced the view that free market, libertarian sorts believe that the only thing in the world is competition, or people working to non-common goals. It is the idea that we are free only if we are antagonistic, and that free market theorists have been working to create a world where individuals struggle against, not with. A world that aspires to dog-eat-dog as its central value. But that conception of capitalism/free-market/libertarianism has no basis in fact. -- Smith was fascinated by emergent public goods (nonrival and nonexcludable) created by the mutual and voluntary actions of individuals. The thing that Smith was pointing to, is not "socialism." Coercive government action is—IMHO—a necessary condition of something being "socialism." On this account, none of the things that Kelly (and I) celebrate about the Internet are "socialist." No one forces Wikipedia editors to build a free encyclopedia.'

* economics criticism socialism collectivisim sharing libertarianism liberty civility freedom LawrenceLessig collectivism "capitalism"
may 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Global Research -- The Financial New World Order: Towards a Global Currency and World Government

Conclusion: 'Ultimately, what this implies is that the future of the global political economy is one of increasing moves toward a global system of governance, or a world government, with a world central bank and global currency; and that, concurrently, these developments are likely to materialize in the face of and as a result of a decline in democracy around the world, and thus, a rise in authoritarianism. What we are witnessing is the creation of a New World Order, composed of a totalitarian global government structure. It is imperative that the world’s people throw their weight against these “solutions” and usher in a new era of world order, one of the People’s World Order; with the solution lying in local governance and local economies, so that the people have greater roles in determining the future and structure of their own political-economy, and thus, their own society.'

economics oligarchy power freedom liberty
may 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Wired -- Time to Cash Out: Why Paper Money Hurts the Economy

"Physical currency is a bulky, germ-smeared, carbon-intensive, expensive medium of exchange. Let's dump it." -- *sigh* -- "Killing currency wouldn't be a trauma; it'd be euthanasia. We have the technology to move to a more efficient, convenient, freely flowing medium of exchange. Emoney is no longer just a matter of geeks playing games." -- Backed by... ? FFS, Wired, get a fukken clue.

economics money currency coin virtualmoney wtf ignorance surveillance privacy liberty freedom
may 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Marginal Utility -- Costs of free

'We may be placated by free goods while our behavior is circumscribed and our liberty curtailed. And “free” is a way of disguising the real method of payment, whatever that may be. It obfuscates the exchange relation; some may even be duping into thinking it’s a gift relation. If goods masquerade as free, then only those with access to what they truly cost will have access to the vital economic information—the [economy] as a whole will grow thereby more inefficient or will come to be dominated by fewer and fewer players. Only social relations can spawn gift exchanges. But the intensification of the degree to which society is mediated by technology is eradicating those social relations, replacing them with exchanges that conform to the market model. (I’m thinking of Facebook’s culture of reciprocity.) At that point the idea of “gifts” itself is threatened, in danger of being masked by loss-leader pseudogifts.'

economics free freedom prices gifts gifteconomy commodification precuperation circumscription
may 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Mises Institute -- Standing Keynesianism on Its Head by George Reisman

'Because of Keynesianism, the immense majority of economists have been able to avoid having to confront Marxism. They have been able to hide behind the Keynesian doctrine that even if a free market in labor existed, it would not be able to eliminate mass unemployment. And thus they have been able to believe that there is simply no point in fighting for a free market in labor. -- Keynesianism has spared them from having to do battle with practically the entire rest of the intellectual world, which has accepted Marxism as constituting a full and accurate description of what happens under laissez-faire capitalism. Keynesianism has been a refuge for masses of economists badly deficient in understanding of economics and equally lacking in essential aspects of moral character, namely, in abhorrence of the use of physical force for any purpose but that of self-defense, and in an equal abhorrence of blatant irrationalism...' -- Strawmanism

economics keynesianism marxism strawman freedom "capitalism"
april 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Wikipedia -- Equiveillance

'Equiveillance is a state of equilibrium, or a desire to attain a state of equilibrium, between surveillance and sousveillance. It is sometimes confused with transparency. This balance (equilibrium) allows the individual to construct their own case from evidence they gather themselves, rather than merely having access to surveillance data that could possibly incriminate them. Sousveillance, in addition to transparency, can be used to preserve the contextual integrity of surveillance data. For example, a lifelong capture of personal experience could provide "best evidence" over external surveillance data, to prevent the surveillance-only data from being taken out of context.'

surveillance sousveillance equiveillance disequiveillance anonequiveillance data context plausibledeniability privacy anonymity liberty freedom everyware panopticon power MichelFoucault
march 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

Harpers -- Faustian economics: Hell hath no limits by Wendell Berry

"... once greed has been made an honorable motive, then you have an economy without limits. It has no place for temperance or thrift or the ecological law of return. It will do anything. It is monstrous by definition ... the commonly accepted basis of our economy is the supposed possibility of limitless growth, limitless wants, limitless wealth, limitless natural resources, limitless energy, and limitless debt. The idea of a limitless economy implies and requires a doctrine of general human limitlessness: all are entitled to pursue without limit whatever they conceive as desirable... this credo of limitlessness clearly implies a principled wish not only for limitless possessions but also for limitless knowledge, limitless science, limitless technology, and limitless progress. And, necessarily, it must lead to limitless violence, waste, war, and destruction. That it should finally produce a crowning cult of political limitlessness is only a matter of mad logic." -- Supersize We

* economics debt ponzi criticism consumption consumerism delusion denial insanity virtuality reality freedom friendship ethics trust loyalty empathy communities civility ecology sustainability austerity humanity philosophy religion art life
march 2009 by adamcrowe

copy to mine

« earlier

Copy this bookmark: