Both Albert Jay Nock and Frank Chodorov, in my view, had the idea that mass conversion of society to voluntaryism was impossible, since the state always rigs the game so that the majority of the people are being fooled. It is “the vote” itself which snookers them.
Author: Kilgore Forelle
Rusty Mechanics
Will we lose faith in all institutions of government? As a voluntaryist, that happened with me long ago. I say let ‘er rip. I’m getting tired of hearing that we get the government that we deserve — a “wet sidewalk” fallacy if ever I’ve heard one.
Lordstown
The now impoverished home county of my paternal ancestors experienced a moderate oil boom in the early decades of the 20th Century. Then the oil became uneconomical to extract — end of oil boom.
But-cept II
A few days ago, I wrote a blog criticising, by the way, the so-called founding fathers. When I shared that post elsewhere, a treasured colleague took exception to my generalization, and he informed me that I need to read more Thomas Jefferson.
Jeptha’s Knob
The Jeptha’s Knob Meteor was just one among myriad causes which went on to generate multitudes of effects. The complexity dwarfs our imaginations. The inexorable advance of change is astounding.
But-cept
It must be a fiction that the colonial man in the streets had any cohesive thought on the matter. The American Revolutionary War was promulgated by the landed gentry to protect their already-claimed advantages. They got the peasantry to fight and die, to freeze to death, to starve for the pretty abstraction of freedom. This war, like all others, was fought for the status quo. But-cept, how do I know?
Abstract Fear
Souls are stolen by fostering fear. For instance, what was so great about the “Great Depression?” Politicians use words, abstractions which are intended to cast us into the abyss. What, really, makes up the “War on Terror?”
Country Lane
As voluntaryists, we need to tune out incidental clutter, while not losing the essence. Mine is a beautiful country lane on a creek’s banks. From time to time, high water may bring detritus, but it gets cleaned up — mostly by those of us who live there.
What Could Be Worse?
What could be worse than the loss of freedom? The loss of individuality could be worse, for it is in the unique makeup of each individual that freedom has a value.
The State is a Blight … But Worse
Human beings are the most benighted of the blighted. Like a bird that beats its own brains out against a window that reflects the sky, we know we are going wrong but we cannot stop.