No Treason

A friend of mine argues, “We should stop immigration, it’s already too much of a burden on the health and welfare systems!”. He continues, “If you are in a hole, stop digging!”

This made me think.

Isn’t being in a hole the inevitable outcome of digging?

I mean, if people didn’t want to be in a hole, why would they dig one?

Is the problem digging the hole, or digging it and being stuck in it?

Next time someone says, “When you’re in a hole, stop digging!”, you can tell them, “Maybe we should tell everyone with a shovel!”

I think a lot of people want a state. I’ve come to this conclusion by discussing with and observing my fellow man.

Even if one can make the point and get consensus that the state taxes too much, kills too much, limits freedom, most people shrug their shoulders and say, “what do we do”?

The answer is obvious. Secede from the state. Work towards a situation where you can remove the state’s hold on you, where you can be free.

They know this. By asking “what do we do?”, they’re saying, “awwww gee, that sure seems like a lot of work.”

And so, what can one do with people who view freedom as too expensive, too much effort? Not very much. They value freedom less than convenience, and any attempts of a market anarchist to convince himself otherwise (“if I could only explain it better, if they could only understand the urgency to be free”) are fantasy.

Many people are happy being in a system provided it does not confront them directly. Unfortunately, cattle can be herded because the mindset of independence and critical analysis has been subverted for generations. Trust in government. Trust in democracy. Keep your eyes down. Don’t question law, don’t question any edict or fiat. Do what you are told. Go where you are told. Don’t think, trust.

I think free minded people have to stop thinking in terms of setting everyone free (which is liberation philosophy not free market anarchism) and concentrate on setting themselves free. The desire to prove the nobility and benefits of anarchism risks becoming the fanatical embrace of a crusade if not carefully watched. Enthusiasm can be healthy until it starts to become an end, rather than a means.

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I have not been as active with the blog as I hoped to be. Between being lazy and working, there hasn’t been much time for productive leisure.

I’ve already post-dated some posts for auto-publishing and will do some more, so that at least the feed looks fresh. I have a lot to say, but always want to say it when I am not at the computer. I might get a voice recorder. Dementia of talking into a box constantly aside, it could have it’s productive benefits.

I am rearranging the side column and bringing my link roll up. I am also going to share my stats. Normally, this isn’t something I would do, but I thought it was worthwhile to make note of what is happening with a blog that is underutilized.

Nearly 1600 uniques since I started the blog. Except some backlinks which have got me a quick Google Pagerank of 3, I mostly get traffic from my Mises community profile. I was getting a lot more traffic when I could use my link in my signature at Mises, but that has been cleaned up by a proper reading of the forum rules. I haven’t used any advanced seo tactics to push the blog. I want to use it to test the size of the anarchist/libertarian blogosphere through organic growth.

Traffic isn’t everything. But it matters if the idea is to spread the discussion.

My most popular post is the review of two of Ayn Rand’s books. On that topic, why do people promote their most read posts? In e-commerce, we know that a bestsellers list can be used to show “worst sellers” and help move stale inventory. You would think bloggers would want people to read the less read, instead of building a best read list that is self-reinforcing. That seems counter-productive in the long run.

I have added an “Education” page. I intend this to be a best arguments and discussions reference for popular/common topics. Like sharing my bookmarks of content covered elsewhere, and content well covered in my opinion. I’m not soliciting contributions at this time but I may later. It’s still in an embryonic phase.

I also wanted to post thank you’s to MJG and David Z. David Z for being a classy guy with an excellent blog loaded with fantastic arguments. And MJG for turning me on to Manu Chao, and the notion that voluntary citizenship is slavery, both of which are quite literally, life changing.

Peace.

The first Great Depression, and what is currently happening both in the USA and globally, clearly indicates that the purpose of the G20, besides being narcissistic and utterly futile, is off track.

The world does not need an economic New World Order. It does not need more global organizations to standardize and to organize. What is needed, is decentralization and deregulation. A resilient market is more flexible, not increasingly rigid.

One can’t help but see the misdirected energies of the political elite as sowing the seeds for the next crisis, just as the seeds for the current crisis were sown at least as far back as the creation of the Bank of England.

Of course the power elite would be utterly powerless in a system of economic freedom, enforcement of contract and property rights. Which is why they will continue to sow their seeds of destruction, and the everyday man, libertarian-aware or not, will continue to reap that whirlwind.

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