Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I only bring up the point as to say not all states are equal in their violation of liberty, so it is possible to discern which ones are better and which ones are worse.
But in general states are machine of violence and are not and should not be part of the natural human order.
What I used to say is, you are only as free as your freedom either benefits the government, or doesn't get in the way of the government.
If the world is all about power, then whatever system produces the most power, will defeat or dominate all the rest.
Basically, if slavery produced more power than freedom, slavery would exist everywhere in the world.
And slavery didn't actually end because it was the right thing to do. It ended because it was incompatible with the rise of industry. Which is why the abolition of slavery happened in England and France, long before America(as well as serfdom most everywhere else). And further, slavery only existed in America in those places untouched by industry(or at least, died alongside the rise of industry).
Basically, governments cannot exist without the support of the masses. Either the people must support the government voluntarily, or be forced to support it. Either the military will be staffed with volunteers, or the military will institute a draft.
Most of the time, the government has more than enough money from tax revenues to bribe young men to fight and die in the military, by offering relatively-high wages to people from poor areas of the country, after indoctrinating them for more than a decade in their government-school system into believing that fighting for the country is morally-virtuous.
But, if the government was in a position where there weren't enough poor and desperate young men to staff the Army, there would be a draft. Because the US military must have soldiers, and the US government must do whatever is in our "national interests".
Moreover, the government needs money, or at least, it needs resources. It needs people to build its guns, and bombs, and tanks, and develop its technology, and to power the markets and the financial industry which allows it borrow and print trillions of dollars at almost no cost. Luckily the capitalist system provides quite a carrot-on-a-stick which encourages/rewards people for engaging in those industries. And so the government has more than enough money, labor, and resources available to continue to dominate the world, politically, economically, and militarily.
But, if the vast-majority of the people suddenly refused to work, or refused to spend money. The government will not simply let itself die. For its own protection, it would force people to work in those industries, and do those things that it deems necessary for its survival.
So yes, as long as the vast-majority of the people keep working and paying their taxes, and obeying the laws. The government will leave them alone. Especially if those people, through bribery, or through social-stigmas, can encourage others to do the same.
Basically, it is better for a child to do his chores, eat all his dinner, and do his homework, merely from his own free-will. But if he refuses to do them by his own free will, his parents will at first try to talk to him, and to get others to put pressure on the kid. But if push comes to shove, the parents will be forced to ground the kid, or spank the kid, and he will still have to do those things.
It is obviously far better for both parties for the child to believe he is doing X, Y, or Z, from his own free-will, because he wants to do it, or because he believes it will benefit him, or because he believes it is right. But for the most part, this is all an illusion.
"People go around complaining about waste in government... Well I say, 'Thank God for government waste.' If government is doing bad things, it's only the waste that prevents the harm from being greater... If government was spending the money efficiently, which is 40% of total national income.. We'd be slaves now." - Milton Friedman
"No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion applied and accepted by all the classes. Should our republic ere forget this fundamental precept of governance, men are certain to shed their responsibilities for licentiousness and this great experiment will then surely be doomed." - John Jay
What I used to say is, you are only as free as your freedom either benefits the government, or doesn't get in the way of the government.
If the world is all about power, then whatever system produces the most power, will defeat or dominate all the rest.
Basically, if slavery produced more power than freedom, slavery would exist everywhere in the world.
And slavery didn't actually end because it was the right thing to do. It ended because it was incompatible with the rise of industry. Which is why the abolition of slavery happened in England and France, long before America(as well as serfdom most everywhere else). And further, slavery only existed in America in those places untouched by industry(or at least, died alongside the rise of industry).
Basically, governments cannot exist without the support of the masses. Either the people must support the government voluntarily, or be forced to support it. Either the military will be staffed with volunteers, or the military will institute a draft.
Most of the time, the government has more than enough money from tax revenues to bribe young men to fight and die in the military, by offering relatively-high wages to people from poor areas of the country, after indoctrinating them for more than a decade in their government-school system into believing that fighting for the country is morally-virtuous.
But, if the government was in a position where there weren't enough poor and desperate young men to staff the Army, there would be a draft. Because the US military must have soldiers, and the US government must do whatever is in our "national interests".
Moreover, the government needs money, or at least, it needs resources. It needs people to build its guns, and bombs, and tanks, and develop its technology, and to power the markets and the financial industry which allows it borrow and print trillions of dollars at almost no cost. Luckily the capitalist system provides quite a carrot-on-a-stick which encourages/rewards people for engaging in those industries. And so the government has more than enough money, labor, and resources available to continue to dominate the world, politically, economically, and militarily.
But, if the vast-majority of the people suddenly refused to work, or refused to spend money. The government will not simply let itself die. For its own protection, it would force people to work in those industries, and do those things that it deems necessary for its survival.
So yes, as long as the vast-majority of the people keep working and paying their taxes, and obeying the laws. The government will leave them alone. Especially if those people, through bribery, or through social-stigmas, can encourage others to do the same.
Basically, it is better for a child to do his chores, eat all his dinner, and do his homework, merely from his own free-will. But if he refuses to do them by his own free will, his parents will at first try to talk to him, and to get others to put pressure on the kid. But if push comes to shove, the parents will be forced to ground the kid, or spank the kid, and he will still have to do those things.
It is obviously far better for both parties for the child to believe he is doing X, Y, or Z, from his own free-will, because he wants to do it, or because he believes it will benefit him, or because he believes it is right. But for the most part, this is all an illusion.
"People go around complaining about waste in government... Well I say, 'Thank God for government waste.' If government is doing bad things, it's only the waste that prevents the harm from being greater... If government was spending the money efficiently, which is 40% of total national income.. We'd be slaves now." - Milton Friedman
"No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion applied and accepted by all the classes. Should our republic ere forget this fundamental precept of governance, men are certain to shed their responsibilities for licentiousness and this great experiment will then surely be doomed." - John Jay
Milton Friedman believed labor should be based on wages and that income and currency was a measure of personal control (don't spend other people's money).
Government involvement or no, the nature of this relationship is the same as state authority.
Milton Friedman believed labor should be based on wages and that income and currency was a measure of personal control (don't spend other people's money).
Government involvement or no, the nature of this relationship is the same as state authority.
No, not even close. States are a monopoly under capitalism you are Free to Choose.
Go live there. They'd take you in as you'd be great for propaganda. You could start your own internet blog (one of those things originally created in the evil capitalist countries) praising Cuba and deriding the evils of America. It's time to stop talking the talk and start living the dream, Winterfall!!!
Go live there. They'd take you in as you'd be great for propaganda. You could start your own internet blog (one of those things originally created in the evil capitalist countries) praising Cuba and deriding the evils of America. It's time to stop talking the talk and start living the dream, Winterfall!!!
The internet was created by a public source, the government.
The internet was created by a public source, the government.
The internet can trace its root to ARPANET, which was funded by the DOD. Don’t confuse the internet with the World Wide Web.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
