This is a follow-up to my Libertarian Nuremberg Trial post. I was going to write a simple comment but I wrote this. It seems that these days, browsing around, I find a lot of comments filled with hate. The kind of things by free market supporters that makes me think they had more inspiration from social darwinism than Rand, Hayek, or Friedman.
Consider the scale of “post libertarian revolution” justice you choose you support, because it is going to be the deciding factor in your revolution. It will decide whether the new society is to have big government (holding mass proceedings, locking up hundreds of thousands of people). What is also to dictate the fate of any new order that might follow, is the culture behind it.
Judging from what I can see among most conservatives, some libertarians, and few Objectivists the cultural landscape points in a clear direction, but an unfortunate direction. Every time I see this claim, that people should be punished for wrongdoings under an enormous Statist regime, their claims what of what would constitute what would classify as the crime (or crimes) are so vague it belittles me that these people would see themselves on the same side of the fence as I.
The vagueness makes me think of the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, or Revolutionary France. Every nation that was born to the gulag, the concentration camp, the simple guillotine became and has remained a legacy of brutality, collectivism, and torture. Even if there were the best intentions, when the accused stand in their millions it makes no difference. The trials would denigrate, the prisons would be abhorrently inhumane, and worse, the people would have to pay for it all.
If you thought it was amazing how 9/11 could turn so many hearts, and the Gitmo and the patriot act could turn so many the other way – you would be amazed at what proceedings of this magnitude would do to a society. The last thing we need is a new culture founded on paranoia and mistrust. To think a massive collective could hold such a proceeding objectively is foolish.
It might seem unfortunate, the road might seem horrible, but the best thing to do will be to let Atlas Shrug. Internet filters will slow traffic, lead to blackouts, and censor what is right. People will be frustrated, and demand what is right. Rent controls destroy neighborhoods. People will demand their rights restored. It all seems far fetched.
One thing I have learned over the past few years is that most people, regardless of reading her fiction, completely misunderstand Ayn Rand. They simply believe it is as simple as the bridges falling with nobody to fix them. It requires more. Ayn Rand calls for a cultural revolution. A rejection of the mysticism, and statist trends for the sake of the individual. A Second Enlightenment is required.
Angry tirades by lonely school-kids that everyone is stupid and must starve to be enlightened are not just a mockery of Objectivism, but a benchmark toward how much more cultural development is required before progress will be made. Because it is clear, there are people of all manner of beliefs: libertarians, right wingers, left wingers, that are completely fucking insane.
These lunatics and their schoolboy fantasies are not helping. People read Atlas Shrugged and misunderstand Ayn Rand’s brilliant novel. People starving under the reign of statism is not what helps, statism failing and the ideal of individual becoming apparent through Galt’s speech is what actually helped.
When you approach the practicalities of politics and voting in the modern world my best advise is that you do absolutely nothing. Let the morons win. Let Obama “fix” the economy. Are you scared he will actually succeed? Fuck voting.
We don’t have John Galt’s magic radio jammer (sorry, Rand wasn’t an engineer, also sorry for doubting the prophecy) – what we do have is a decentralized Internet that through proxies and VPNs can physically never actually be filtered. When Obama, and future world leaders fail miserably, when China peer-reviewing the US economy fails, when all this bullshit produces the final result the “monkeys” as the moron who commented to inspire this so eloquently put it see what all their voting, councils, and leaders summits produced… then libertarianism will get a chance.
Obama is a socialist? Fucking awesome. Let him do his worst! I’ll do as little as I can help him or you. I will exist only to maintain my own existence. Besides, I still have thousands of great novels to read in the mean time.
I think a lot of the hate filled masses have been brainwashed by the following bullshit.
(Note: if you are on this list and comment it will be deleted)
- Alex Jones documentaries
- Zeitgeist
- Any New World Order documentaries
Thanks, also 9/11 was an outside job, swine flu EVOLVED, women should have abortions if they want, Ron Paul is a religious fundie and even if he had office nobody would listen, I don’t care about your God – while were on that… where is he NOW?, Anarchy is simply gang warfare and miniaturized mob rule and collectivism, anarcho-capitalism is the same with currency, socialism fucking sucks, you’re right communism has never been realized because its an impossible fucking pipe dream, geolibertarianism has nothing to disarm the state from enormous land-rent revenue, FRACTIONAL RESERVE BANKING IS NOT CENTRAL BANKING, and fractional reserves rock.