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Wednesday
March 10, 2010

Peddling the Corruption of Liberty by Tibor R. Machan

Post 0

Thursday, March 11 - 4:09pm

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Good article.

You wrote, "This is such a sweet notion to those who are lazy, who feel left out, or who believe that they are entitled..." And, "..the power-hungry have a good marketing ploy here. Envy, maybe, or the bogus political ideologies promoted by those who just must step in to govern the world as they see fit—as I say, I am not sure what kind of mental acrobatics manages to allow people to live with themselves in peace who perpetrate such fraud."

From a psychology stand point, there are many irrational behavior patterns that can be reduced to a kind of generalized, developmental explanation. Many people don't fully mature psychologically. They choose at some point to engage in mental manipulations that are either child-like or emulating a child's view of a controlling parent.

The person that is operating out of a child-self might be avoiding facing the reality that effort, knowledge and commitment are required to some degree to survive - and they 'decide' that entitlement/laziness is easier. It would be unfair to expect a little child to support themselves, and that is where the outraged attitude comes from. Like a child who demands that his parents provide him with the toys he sees on TV. Those who call for entitlements have forgotten that they are adults.

It is often out of a background fear or sense of insecurity - a general feeling of being at risk and not knowing how to feel secure in their existence that gives us people who morph into control freaks, and people that resent those who seem to know how to do things. They convert their insecurity into a rigid defense - they will make everybody do what they are supposed to - like a parent does - and then no one will get in trouble. Parents know what is best and how to keep us safe, so they will be a parent. But they don't act like a parent as seen from an adult perspective (which would be bad enough). They are acting like a parent as a child sees conceives a parent - telling the children what they can and can't do, and possessing superior knowledge to the 'children' they are controlling.

This is a position that can vary from the most innocent of desires to help (but from a child's perspective of what a good parent does) all the way to what an evil monster does out of a twisted hatred for ability or worth.

An awful large amount of politics, and then history, and are really the unfortunate actions arising out of low self-esteem.

Post 1

Thursday, March 11 - 4:35pm

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When a human being is free in the most important, political sense, he or she is sovereign. This means that one governs one’s own life—others must refrain from intruding on this life, plain and simple. That life may be fortunate or not, rich or not, beautiful or not, and many other things or not, but what matters is that that life is no one else’s to mess with. One gets to run it, no one else does.

Couldn't agree more. That is the essence of my life governing axiom, "One skin, one driver."

Neither my skin uber alles(crime), nor most skins uber alles(statism).

Free associations, not forced association.

The disease you speak of, I call 'paternalistic megalomania.' Americans should be holding telethons for that, not elections.

Democracy is a perfectly reasonable scheme for electing honorable state plumbers, tasked with keeping the plumbing of state clean and free flowing.

Democracy -- or any system -- is a perfectly horrible scheme for electing an American Emperor to 'run the Economy' and our lives.

When we finally get that every single page of every phone book in America is filled with suitable candidates for 'Plumber in Chief,' American politics will right itself.

When we finally realize that there is no suitable American candidate anywhere for 'American Emperor Maximus', American politics will right itself.

And when American schools once again educate an electorate that knows the difference between freedom and totalitarianism isn't a 'progressive choice', like chocolate or vanilla, American politics will right itself.

Progress away from freedom is not progress.

regards,
Fred

Post 2

Saturday, March 13 - 11:07am

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Better to say - progress away from freedom is progress towards slavery...
(Edited by robert malcom on 3/13, 11:08am)

Post 3

Tuesday, March 16 - 3:47pm

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That is better said, and awful progress.

regards,
Fred