Avoiding the Painful Ambivalence of Questioning (The Need For) The State

" ... being told that 'anarchism' is just bad, bad, bad helps us avoid the anxiety and ambivalence we in fact feel about that which we both fear and love at the same time. Our educational and political leaders 'sell' us relief from ambivalence and uncomfortable exploration – inevitably, at the expense of truth – and so far, we have been relatively eager consumers."

- from Everyday Anarchy by Stefan Molyneux

In A Society ... Adventure, Property, and The State

In a society that has destroyed all adventure, the only adventure left is to destroy that society.

- "The Anti-Media" Facebook photo

I don't agree with that quote, but I believe in the sentiment. There could be multiple ways to reformulate that quote to better reflect an anarchocapitalist/libertarian ethic.

When __________ destroys all __________, the only __________ left is to destroy that __________.

But first, what is questionable about the quote? Well, has society really destroyed adventure? The easiest response is: no, and that the government is really the culprit. But in that interpretation one needs to address the culpability of society in the aggressive usurpation of power by the government. And what is "adventure?" Is it really the act of being alive? Has the society-enabled state deadened the adventure of being alive?

Credit: HighExistence.com

The quote is in your face, shocking, but to  be more accurate and hopefully constructive:

When a state destroys all property,

the only ethically act left is to destroy that state.

Of course, destroying the state does not require violence.  You can destroy a state simple through, for example, nullification, and similar nonviolent means.

The Technocrat Myth

There was a collective myth during the '50s, and late '40s, at least among the Hollywood B-movie power "elite," that scientists should rule - or at least save - the world.

Well, it didn't actually turn out that way. It seems more like the technocrats have taken over. We have the rank-and-file bureaucrats. And all those damn Congress members that appear to be mostly brief-writing and gobbledygook-reading lawyers. They all fall to the feet of the "professional" and banking technocrats, and the occasional real-hard scientist, who are practicing their narrow areas of expertise, that the ignorant faithful see as their guiding light in the messy journey of life.

Technocrats place an artificial screen of "knowledge" over what is truly ruled by natural rights. YOU are the ruler of your life - more so than any technocrat - bound by the tenuous string that holds us here in this existence.

No bureaucrat, technocrat, statute maker, or self-important judge holds the high ground over your principles or morals.

Update (12/13/13)

So is my assertion factual about the deference of judgement to scientists and technocrats? More on that later.

Harry Reid Was So Prophetic

" ... the anarchists have taken over."
- Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, September 2013

Not quite, but we're working on it.

Hell On High Quad Bock (Er!) Belgian-Style Ale

Marginally defeated on BeerAdvocate.com, I've found at least one use for Hell On High Quad Bock Belgian-Style Ale.

Nose: Strong medicinal, strong alcohol-based vanilla extract.

Taste: Alcohol, possible Belgian earthiness (give 'em that , eh?),  low to absent hops, more drinkable than Skullsplitter.

Alcohol (by volume): 14%.

I read on Beer Advocate, that the alcohol was overwhelming, and the remains of one reviewer's sample was two thirds down the drain. But if you have tried whiskey or scotch neat, then Hell On High is a cakewalk - with bubbles to boot.

So that one use I recommend for this beer? I feel that it pairs nicely with a cold.

Pairing: Early-onset common cold.

Rating: 2/5.

Crony Capitalism

Everytime your elected officials say they are working to attract industry and create jobs, they are advancing the cause of crony capitalism. They are acting like fascists. 

Tax breaks and credits, abuse of imminent domain, and "donations" of infrastructure  all cement the marriage of business and state - an accepted definition of fascism, a bastardization of capitalism, and not the responsibility of a true free market.

Tyranny Is A Cancer

Tyranny is a cancer that the              wants you to ignore ... so that it can spread.

A. Republican Party
B. Democratic Party
C. Federal administration
D. Congress
E. Judiciary
F. State legislature
G. State administration
H. Local council
I. Local administration
J. ALL OF THE ABOVE (GOVERNMENT)

Freedom Fundamentalist: Another Descriptor For Libertarian

In generally, I describe myself as a small-"L" libertarian. But as a rule of thumb, it depends on who I am talking to:

When speaking with a ...
... Democrat, I'm a "libertarian."
... Republican, I'm a "libertarian" or "Liberty Caucus" supporter.
... Libertarian, I'm a "small-'L' libertarian."
... small-"L" libertarian, I'm an "anarchist."
... "anarchist," I'm an "anarchist," "agorist," "anarcho-capitalist," "voluntaryist," or whatever is the best label at the moment.

But when I was doing some crowdsource work, and when a question came up to clarify my political bent, I typed "freedom fundamentalist."

As a non-bomb-throwing descriptor - that is not an easily-confused, mouth-full garble like "voluntaryist" or "voluntaryianist"- I'd call myself a "freedom fundamentalist," for now.

Left/Right Politics are Smoke and Mirrors

The left/right paradigm is an illusion. The true political struggle is between authoritarianism and libertarianism, tryanny and liberty, the state and freedom.

President (sic) Barrack Obama warned against the warnings in the U.S. about tyranny. It sickens me to say that he was partially right. Higher taxes and burdensome regulation do not seem too tyrannical, until ... Someone ...kicks ... In ... Your door, shoots your dog, smashes your daughters' face into the wall, bed frame, amd floor, and hauls you off to jail for a felony victimless false crime. Tyranny is a cancer - Obama wants you to ignore it - so that it can spread.

The Free Market Stops Statism

The more big government and megacorporations push their statist ("liberal") agenda, the more the free market will step in and provide what people want and need to live free lives.

Case in point, credit-card processing companies and banks are dropping gun retailers and manufacturers like cheap dates.  Now there is McMillan Market Solutions, an alternative to (short term) loan and credit processing services "that will never turn [gun companies] down for political reasons."

This is a great thing from an anarcho capitalist position, because we believe that giant corporations couldn't exist in a truely free market without government largesse (with strings)  and protection.

This is an epic battle between the megacorps and the freemarketers. The more the likes of Walmart and Kmart depend on the government to subsidized their anticompetitive pricing by using socialized services to pay their employees' healthcare coverage needs (Medicaid), the stronger AND weaker they will be. The more the megabanks carry-out statutory (but naturally illegal) government policies while getting bailed out by big government, the stronger AND weaker they will be. What a paradox.

But again, the free market can fill the gaps that big government and megacorps create - or ignore.