Notice how many people are currently concerned/worried/scared/terrified about the existence of all them dadburn Moooslims!! “Aaaaaah, if we don’t go full fascist, they’re gonna invade and kill us all! Ban them all! Make them register! Build a wall! They’re gonna somehow force Sharia law on 100,000,000 armed Americans! Help us, Emperor Trump!”
Tag: control
The Diabolical Genius That is Modern Government
You’ll recall that this series began by pointing out how worthless most “theories of government” really are. They’re not theories at all. They don’t explain anything. Instead, they are just wishful thinking…flattery…and apologia for the elite who use government for their own ends. The “social contract,” for example, is a fraud. You can’t have a contract unless you have two willing and able parties. They must come together in a meeting of the minds — a real agreement about what they are going to do together.
How to Unschool
1. Give your love generously and criticism sparingly. Be your children’s partner. Support them and respect them. Never belittle them or their interests, no matter how superficial, unimportant, or even misguided their interests may seem to you. Be a guide, not a dictator. Shine a light ahead for them, and lend them a hand, but don’t drag or push them. You will sometimes despair when your vision of what your child ought to be bangs up against the reality that they are their own person. But that same reality can also give you great joy if you learn not to cling to your own preconceived notions and expectations.
The Violence And Justice Monopoly
Almost all of us hold two beliefs which contradict a third near-universal belief. The first is that a state, however else defined, is a geographic monopoly of security and justice. One cannot appeal a ruling beyond the state, and whatever private providers of security and justice may exist, they do so in pronounced subservience to and supervision by the state. The second is that monopolies invariably cause high prices and low quality.
Old Ideas
One of the paths that I am wandering now, from this inspiration, is to consider disposable ideas from the view of a voluntaryist. There follow some ideas for which I would suggest early retirement.
How Children Learn Bravery in an Age of Overprotection
I doubt if there has ever been any human culture, anywhere, at any time, that underestimates children’s abilities more than we North Americans do today. Our underestimation becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, because, by depriving children of freedom, we deprive them of the opportunities they need to learn how to take control of their own behavior and emotions.
True Authority Theory
Interestingly enough the words “authorised” and “authority” have the same root word. With this connection it is almost if one wants to have a command over an individual, the individual does need to agree it in it in the first place. Since no man can assume authority over another man, it makes sense that authority needs to be authorised by the individual.
The Profound Value of Market Values
Even though economists, like others, don’t know the objective value of anything, they do know that as long as people voluntarily enter market arrangements, all parties to each transaction expect that the subjective value they will receive as benefits will exceed the subjective value they bear as costs. Greater subjective values for all is the result. And any coercive intrusion that forcibly moves the quantity exchanged away from what individuals would voluntarily choose destroys joint gains to participants, making the “solutions” offered by economists’ Wilde-eyed critics worse than the supposed problems used to justify them.
The Journey to Enlightenment
There are so many of us running, striving, stretching, searching. Looking for purpose and meaning, looking for enlightenment. Trying to find a way in, or a way out. Trying to fix or improve ourselves. “If only I could get in shape.” “If only I could control my temper.” “If only I could be successful.” “If only I had a little more money.” Listen: We have already arrived.
The Case Against Time-out
For generations, parents have sought a reliable and dependable way to handle childhood misbehavior. The most recent and popular discipline technique is time-out. Although time-out is better than spanking, it is not an appropriate way for parents to cope with the misbehavior of their children. Moreover, the use of time-out can create subsequent childhood behavior problems. These problems can affect the well-being of the child and severely strain the parent-child relationship.