Statism

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DCFusor

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Just ran across this over at slashdot. Too bad everyone's anon over there, so I can't give credit to the poster, who says this better (or at least more compactly) than I usually can manage. The topic's been on my mind of late, as telling my neigbors about the provisions of the new NDAA etc law around having a food stash are gettting "interesting" reactions. Here in farm country, of course people have guns, gold, food stashed all the time, often in considerable quantity - it's the norm. Maybe behavior that would be "Weird" or worthy of "profiling" in NYC or DC is the norm elsewhere, and that's why centralizing all power is wrong at the root - a rule you can't swing your arm, because you might hit someone makes sense in a dense city. Here it's only a nuisance.

Posted by "causality" at /. in reponse to a new bill taking back our right to see government funded research results (which never really did give us true access, but was a step in the right direction).
causality said:
"While many bitch that Obama is a socialist/marxist (even though nobody in this country can describe what these are) it seems these people are hell bent on creating a Soviet Russia of sorts."

Rather than trying to comprehensively define subjective and inherently nebulous terms, I prefer to keep it simple. Obama is a statist.

Unlike myself or the Founding Fathers, he does not view government as a necessary evil that's only a little better than having no government, nor does he view it as a deserving object of mistrust. He doesn't want legitimate matters of governance to be handled by the smallest and most local level of government that is able to manage them. He likes centralization for its own sake and accepts the regimentation that comes with it. He subscribes to the belief that people should be commanded and controlled rather than reasoned with, that they should not only tolerate this but also welcome it.

He may claim to be a Christian, a few may believe he is actually a Muslim, but his true religion is Statism. A lust for power is part of this religion, but only part. It's not quite that simple. It also involves a genuinely-held belief that people are unable to manage their own affairs, that they need and should desire for their "betters" to decide what is good for them and what should be important to them, that only the collective matters, that individual life and individual thought and individual liberty are meaningless. It's a form of dehumanization in favor of institutionalization.

If you understand what this really is, then you see why baser things like greed or desire for power are naive oversimplifications. Believe it or not, these people are not stupid. They know their policies cause more problems than they solve. They are not merely ignorant or misguided. People like Obama and most of Congress believe they are working towards some kind of greater good, that the damage they knowingly do to society will somehow be worth it when their utopia (really a dystopia) is finalized. The label "Marxist" is a feeble attempt to describe this quality.

Other than a few rare exceptions, this does not merely describe Obama. It also describes nearly anyone capable of acquiring the funding and the political backing it takes to win a federal election. It's sort of like an elite club and anyone who would seriously change things or otherwise rock the boat isn't invited. During the history of this nation, what we have changed from the statesman to the politician to the career politician to the ruling class with an extremely high incumbency rate. Average Joes don't stand a chance of winning a federal election. Candidates don't emerge; they are groomed.

Like they said on Monty Python's Life of Brian, "blessed are those with a vested interest in the status quo."

Bold added by me. This isn't a partisan issue - the only difference between the parties is wedge issues - like what you can do in your bedroom or the doctors office or who you can marry - they differ on nothing that matters. They are just two faces of the "Crony Capitalism party".
 
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Statism is anathema to civil liberties. I've been harping on this refrain for years to those who will listen.
 
Great find DCFusor. That piece nicely describes what our elected leaders have become: career politicians who think that they can run our lives better than we can.

Centralization is a real menace to our freedoms. Setting aside our wealth, what all of us are doing, is all to the good. The more we can do for ourselves, the better for our country and our families.

At this point, it looks like Romney is going to head up the R Team. I would have much preferred Ron Paul, but like the author of that piece wrote outsiders who could change the system are not invited into the club. I cannot be optimistic that anything will change much even if Romney wins.
 
Thanks for posting that DCF, well written piece.

This really down to the fact that there are only 2 ways for human beings to interact with one another. We can reach terms that both can abide by and live peacefully, or we can force (or try/threaten to force) others to act as we like.

Every interaction between two or more people falls into one or the other catagory.


Free association or force.

Volunteerism or violence.

Armistice or assault.

Treaty or threat.

Cooperation or coercion.

Agreement or agression.






Remember that the government never asks.
 
Agree.

Pols are all about controlling their constituents and increasing their personal wealth and powerbase.

The solution is to not use their means of control -

paper money
big oil
big pharma
big ag
state education


create alternatives that are within your control and do it low key, below the radar, so you look like a daft hilbilly rather than a smartass in a posh fortified homestead.

Easier said than done ( apart from the daft ..... ) but every small step in this direction reduces their fear and control mechanisms.
 
Thanks! (and thanks for the edit PMBug, to fix my lack). When I see writing that much better than my usual, and with which I agree - I figure, why not pass it on?

Far too much hot air has been wasted on blaming this or that party for you-name-it when that's just what they want and desire - keeps them in power if we vote for that "other" party each time. Believing either one is trying to solve what we think are the real problems is a mistake - they have different goals entirely as causality pointed out. And as he said, statism is really elitism. That makes it easier to sell, because everyone thinks they're better than average, and will somehow therefore be part of that elite - all this is for those "other people".

Worthwhile link to the security blog I frequent. How to protect privacy at borders (further links there to EFF and others). Bruce is the man!
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/01/protecting_your_1.html
 
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