Anti-Capitalist Newspeak

On the Mises forum, it’s normal to see a mutualist or left-libertarian protest the use of the word capitalism. The argument goes that instead we should be using “free market” or “market anarchy”.

Why? The reasoning is that too many people misunderstand the word capitalism and think it is the American economic system. It’s not even an argument that the word capitalism means something different than the Austrian or right-libertarian (anyone who is not a left-libertarian apparently) usage, but rather that since a lot of people misuse and misunderstand the word, they now own it. The word is now defined by it’s misuse.

This has already happened with terms like liberal, anarchist, anarchy, laissez-faire, liberalism and libertarianism to name a few.

I refuse to let the lowest common denominator define the language I will use. These are the same people who do not understand, and lack the curiosity to discover why inflation occurs. The same people who vote for the lesser of two evils. The same people who cheer for war when it starts, then cry about it later. The same people who want to bailout Main Street by placing a tax burden on their children, and their children’s children. The same people who worship Reagan and the Clintons. Who think that natural disasters are good for the economy and that America can spread freedom and democracy abroad with the barrel of a gun.

Why would I care what ignorant and loathsome people think?  Why would I allow them to frame the debate through their stunted and twisted perception of language?

The answer is, I don’t care, and I won’t allow someone to place limitations upon the debate.

Capitalism.  It’s a great thing.

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Friday Ramblings

I think I am finally beating my addiction to forums. Slowly. The leechblock plugin for Firefox helps.

Google releases their new browser, named Chrome. Someone mentioned that it was difficult to find Chrome related domain names. Not too difficult for me. I scored 4 in 10 minutes.

Also, the release of Chrome is somewhat surprising. I’m not a tech gawker, and admit I had no idea it was coming even though it coincided with Google shutting down it’s CPA referral program (perhaps due to someone I know who had found a way to push massive conversions through it) where it promoted Firefox heavily. After doing so much work to move people to a browser that is now a competitor…

Maybe it was to give Microsoft a kick in the jiggly bits.

What’s fascinating to me is that the internet is evolving so rapidly that browsers are becoming more diverse and more disparate. Chrome is not like other browsers, although only the more technically minded folks will realize how different it really is. There truly is a lot of differentiation in the freest market mankind has ever seen.

FSK lost his job. That sucks. Although I think the drama of his workplace was starting to crush his soul, so maybe it is a good thing that he is now searching for a new mission. I’ve been there. I’ve always been better for the resets in my life, whether I pushed the button or someone else did.

I have 10 drafts, or unpublished, half-written, half-baked posts. With each passing day, I feel less connection to them, and the reasons I started them in the first place. While this holds true of what I thought might be a legendary post about the LRC Podcast, with the lack of podcasts for what feels like a couple weeks now, perhaps it is best that I didn’t get that one done or sink hours into transcribing audio quotes.

I totally abuse commas. So sue me.

I don’t like blogging. Bloggers have always seemed like soapbox self-promoters to me. There are so few who have something worthwhile to say, and many who just want acknowledgment for saying anything. But I have to admit that it is cathartic. And can be reflective.

On the Mises forum, someone asked, “How does an industry benefit from being taxed?”. What proceeded were explanations of the method by which companies benefit from taxation, and the conclusion that taxation functioned similarly to regulation as a barrier to entry.

I was going to add to the discussion and point out that lobbyists and corporations now write legislation, because whether it is tax or regulation, the government is the most efficient way for big business to control and limit competition. There doesn’t seem to be enough disgust with statism and the status quo for me in those discussions. At times, the environment seems very laissez-faire and in direct contradiction to Mises admonition, “tu ne cede malis”. I’m all for laissez-faire, but not when it comes to my oppression.

There are so many charades going on around us. The campaign charades, the legislative charade, the patriotic charades. Yesterday I listened to a few friends talk about Obama and Palin. They both acknowledge the system is a scam, that politicians are parasites and so forth, but are completely enthralled with the cult of personality that surrounds speech making and grandstanding.

“You should watch Bill Maher!” they tell me. Well, no I shouldn’t. I gave up Maher early in my transformation. He’s a cynical bigot whose primary contribution is attacking everything and everyone. The problem is, he does it indiscriminately. Literally, the loose cannon of left-intellectualism.

This guy, Francois Tremblay, does a Market Anarchist Carnival. I thought about signing up for it, but I don’t have a lot of content yet. I don’t know that he would let me run one.

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Steve Benen you are outed

As seen on the LRC blog, this guy Steve Benen, posts the following;

Advocating secession is, practically by definition, un-American.

Questions for Steve Benen

What definition is that? What would you call the American Revolution? Were the colonies not seeking to secede from Great Britain?

Considering that the Revolution was a founding event in the history of America, your statement

Advocating secession is, practically by definition, un-American.

is stunningly ridiculous.

Steve, the world is already overflowing with people who post mindless jingoism. Please find a new shtick and stop trying to damage humanity.

And shame on AlterNet for reprinting you. Don’t they have anyone with any editorial integrity?

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