2 + 2 = 4

A Society of Criminals

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:27:14 +0000

“… being always on the lookout to spread libertarian good cheer, I also made it a point to inform her that the burglars’ conduct was not fundamentally any different from the conduct of most people in our society, who routinely advocate or acquiesce to the taking of property that is not theirs.

But surely not! Surely only a scoundrel of the lowest order could believe that they are entitled to steal the property of others! No “law-abiding” member of the public would accept such a thing! Would they?

Well, let’s see: Suppose a person makes the judicious insight that some people don’t have as much money as other people, and it would be nice if they had more money than they do. To remedy this problem they propose that a group of kind-hearted benefactors create an agency whose job is to forcibly take other people’s money without their permission (i.e., steal it), and give some of it to those they deem to be “in need.” The group would use the rest of the funds to stir up the recipients’ sense of entitlement to this stolen money, fund propaganda that tells the world what a great job their agency is doing, and gradually build a nice, profitable little business empire for the staff in charge, who make out like bandits — earning far beyond what they could in other jobs, all the while being lauded for their “public service.”

Are people outraged? Do they call the police to report this criminal racket? Do they flood the offices of their elected representatives with calls and letters, demanding that this abominable agency be shut down? No, they don’t. In fact, quite the opposite occurs: people fall over one another to voice their support for this system, being careful to drown any critiques of its excesses in reassurances that they really do “care” for “the poor” and that they are not “free-market extremists.”

The litany of examples of widespread criminality and the widespread support for — or at least acquiescence to — its programs is far too long to do justice to it here. But in this environment, it is hardly surprising that burglars feel few qualms about taking property that does not belong to them. The reason for their sentiment is probably very similar to the reason that the vast majority of people in our society feel entitled to the property of others: we live in a society of criminals.

Even if they are not net beneficiaries in this system, even if they fork out much more in taxes than they ever get back from the racket, they are nonetheless likely to support many “public policies” that amount, in practice, to burglary or to other trespasses against person and property.

And how do they see those people who disagree with this entitlement mentality, who disagree with this lust for coercion and this mass criminality? Well those people are just downright uncharitable! They have no social conscience! They are dangerous ideologues and impractical extremists!

Of course, this is not to say that all members of the public are the moral equivalents of burglars and other criminals. Their moral culpability may be diminished to some degree because they are bamboozled by statist propaganda, which encourages them to see themselves as entitled to “a say” in how others use their property.”

Mises Institute - A Society of Criminals

"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers."

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:26:00 +0000

“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”

- Thomas Pynchon

"That which can be destroyed by the truth should be."

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:20:07 +0000

“That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.”

- P.C. Hodgell

"You cannot reason someone out of a position that they haven’t reasoned themselves into."

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:15:13 +0000

“You cannot reason someone out of a position that they haven’t reasoned themselves into.”

- Jonathan Swift

John Harris - It’s An Illusion

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:09:16 +0000

John Harris - It’s An Illusion

Why People Reject Freedom

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:52:00 +0000

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.’”

Why People Reject Freedom

Turning children into Orwellian eco-spies

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:34:00 +0000

Turning children into Orwellian eco-spies:

“There is a long and sordid tradition of trying to socialise children by scaring them. The aim of such socialisation-through-fear is twofold: firstly, to get children to conform to the scaremongers’ values; secondly, to use children to influence, or at least to contain, their parents’ behaviour. The Big Brothers of the 1940s saw children as tools of moral blackmail and social control. Today, in the twenty-first century, scaremongers see children in much the same way, exploiting their natural concern with the wonders of life to promote a message of shrill climate alarmism. In a world where moral education seems to be exhausted, where teachers are reluctant to judge or to explain the difference between right and wrong, environmentalism has become one of the few values that educators feel comfortable with. The growing significance of environmental issues in the school curriculum is directly proportionate to society’s broader moral illiteracy and loss of purpose.

It appears that preying on children’s fears and exploiting their anxiety is now considered to be a form of enlightened education. Yet the future of our children demands that we provide them with existential and moral security. Instead of feeding them on a steady diet of scaremongering, we need to inspire them about our potential to improve the future of our world.”

"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:01:00 +0000

“In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

- George Orwell

The Complete Newspeak Dictionary: Altered Words

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:24:00 +0000

The Complete Newspeak Dictionary: Altered Words:

Community - OLD: Your neighbors. NEW: Your government.

Education - OLD: The process of teaching a child all he will need to know so he may care for himself in adulthood. NEW: The process indoctrinating a child with the prevailing political philosophies, but neglecting to teach him how to care for himself in adulthood.

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 government.’

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:03:36 +0000

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

- Albert Einstein

The Money That Is Sold Abroad Is You!

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:20:18 +0000

The Money That Is Sold Abroad Is You!

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not..."

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:42:17 +0000

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

- Upton Sinclair

Ed Griffin on the Economic Crisis, the Monetary Elite and the Future of the Internet

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:08:00 +0000

Ed Griffin on the Economic Crisis, the Monetary Elite and the Future of the Internet:

“The banks in the world today are a prime example of collectivism. They are in bed with the government. They couldn’t exist without government favoritism and government monopoly. The banks and the government are practically one in the same. That’s not capitalism, that’s not free enterprise competition. But the masses have been told that that is capitalism. So when the collectivist system goes belly up, as it periodically does, then those who are misled can get angry at capitalism, which is the wrong target. I worry about that kind of rising resentment and anger in the world because it is not based on facts.”

HOW THE ECONOMY REALLY WORKS

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:56:00 +0000

HOW THE ECONOMY REALLY WORKS

Central Banking is a Big Lie

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Central Banking is a Big Lie:

“Central banking—and the subsequent mopping up efforts that occur cyclically—is a good example of one of the elite’s most important dominant social themes. Without money, other promotions are rendered moot. Why is central banking obviously a power elite promotion? Because it is unworkable, destructive, a contradiction in terms, and yet a program when implemented that creates enormous wealth for a handful of people along with bestowing tremendous control on the same players. You cannot put a few fairly elderly people in a room together, ask them to fix the price and quantity of paper money using unworkable econometric projects and have anything good come of it. It is what it is: price fixing. Central banking is a PROMOTION. It exists despite all its contradictions. It is taught in schools, despite the economic illiteracy of the concept, and commented on in the media. It is institutionalized in government. Central banking is a contradiction in terms. It is a Big Lie.”

Dave The Engineer (17:35:46)

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:04:00 +0000

Dave The Engineer (17:35:46):

“They are elitists. They are not to be questioned by YOU. And they enlist their elitist friends in helping them. Since they see themselves as THE elite scientists they believe themselves to be above the petty requirements of the FOI act, these acts don’t apply to THEM. We see this all the time in politics, in journalism, throughout academia, nothing special in it, it is as common as dirt. The really interesting part is that these idiots are frequently [2+2=5], they really want [2+2=5] to take over the world. And once it does it is these same elitists that quickly end up in the gulags as slaves or dead. It is quite logical actually, these elitists are insufferable to be around so once the Marxist thugs take over they quickly get rid of them. It is true, look at the old Soviet Union, Cuba, China, anywhere [2+2=5] took over, the elitists help them to power then get purged. They are not really that smart, they do this over and over again, history means nothing to them. Their ego tells them they are above history. If they are lucky they live somewhere that never goes [2+2=5] and never have their wish fulfilled, and they live a full life honored by their equally elitist friends, writing Marxist drivel, living in moderately well off surroundings; bitter, clinging to their ideology and their tenure. Keep pushing, these are brittle people, they’ll crack before they’ll bend.”

Read the quote in context

"Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every..."

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:07:28 +0000

“Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong.”

- H. L. Mencken

Narrative fallacy

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:56:22 +0000

Narrative fallacy:

“The narrative fallacy addresses our limited ability to look at sequences of facts without weaving an explanation into them, or, equivalently, forcing a logical link, an arrow of relationship upon them. Explanations bind facts together. They make them all the more easily remembered; they help them make more sense. Where this propensity can go wrong is when it increases our impression of understanding.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:34:07 +0000

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

- Proverb

The Dog Ate Global Warming

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:45:00 +0000

The Dog Ate Global Warming:

2 + 2 = 5

‘Warwick Hughes, an Australian scientist, wondered where that “+/–” came from, so he politely wrote Phil Jones in early 2005, asking for the original [surface temperature] data. Jones’s response to a fellow scientist attempting to replicate his work was, “We have 25 years or so invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it?” Reread that statement, for it is breathtaking in its anti-scientific thrust. In fact, the entire purpose of replication is to “try and find something wrong.” The ultimate objective of science is to do things so well that, indeed, nothing is wrong.’