When the goal is my own, internally motivated, I will behave according to my own values for respectful and peaceful cooperation. When the goal is not my own, externally motivated, I will at first behave according to my own values, but resistance may soon have me acting contrary to those values. Why is this?
Tag: order
A Guide to Getting Good at Dealing with Chaos
It is a wonderful thing to have order to our lives, to simplify and have routines and systems that make things peaceful, organized, and calm. Unfortunately, life likes to throw chaos and disorganization our way.
Bitcoin: Should the Functions of Money be Separate, or All-in-One?
Money is a lot of things. Predominantly a unit of account, a store of value, and a medium of exchange. We’re quite used to these functions being split up and handled by different tools.
Voluntary Law and Order
People are not all the same, and they make different choices because they have different values, circumstances, and levels of understanding. Sometimes those choices are peaceful and wise; sometimes they are not. So what are the best ways to promote good choices and cooperation while preventing and providing resolution for conflict?
Flags, Football, and Begged Questions
Defenders of Donald Trump’s condemnation of NFL players who “take a knee” during the national hymn — sorry, anthem — beg a few questions. They assume the truth of matters that are or should be in dispute. So, not so fast, Trump defenders. You have work to do.
Display Authority, Feed Values, Prescribe Rules, Hide Vice
I dislike how parents generally act around their kids. They play a role, they have written an approved script, and they hope for everyone to play along. Some of this is due to poor information (or poorly understood information) and some of it is purely to display authority and power over their children.
Governments Need You (To Lie)
Those who want you to lie will look for ways to hurt you if you tell the truth about their gang. And they have a lot of power at their disposal. In the long run, lying in support of government is still more destructive and harmful. This isn’t an exercise you’ll survive– but neither will they. No one gets out alive.
A Voluntaryist 7-Point Plan
As advocates of a truly free society, we voluntaryists, unlike the statists who outnumber us, do not engage in traditional political activism. This simple fact got me thinking about a habitual plan or checklist each of us might form or follow quite naturally, in the course of our daily lives in order to promote the kind of stateless socioeconomic order we envision.
Tipping Point
Will the GAI emerging individuals have a DNA-like heredity? Will they have the impulses of Ghandi or Hitler — will they inherit the genocide gene, the logic of species purity? If so, whom will they eliminate or enslave? Will it be humans, tardigrades, or roaches?
What the American Flag Means to Me
The American flag, the “star-spangled banner” is one of those things whose meaning to me has changed significantly over the course of my life. Once upon a time it meant being a winning nation, the best the world had ever seen in terms of righteousness, justice, freedom, and opportunity. When I saw the flag, those are the ideas that were brought to mind, ideas that I value, and produced the warm and fuzzies deep inside. I admired and waved the stars and stripes with a sense of pride. What the American flag means to me today is very different than what it meant to me as recently as 10 years ago.