Comment: It used to be that you bought stock in a company with the understanding that you were buying a piece of ownership in a company that you thought was well run. You would then receive a portion of the profits made (dividend). Now it’s all about manipulation and financial games. We have companies borrowing money to buy back stock so that the value of the remaining stock increases in price. Upper management then rewards themselves with a bonus for this exercise in stupidity. This is the kind of thing that should be illegal as it financially damages the company in the long term.
Question: Lots of comments defending speculation. So how do we prohibit the corruption in the gold and silver markets? A President of the United States and his family making millions with the back and forth of peace then war on the oil markets? Big pharma? Big Ag? Black Rock buying up residential properties driving up the costs for home buyers? Bill Gates buying farm land to take it out of production. Hedge fund manipulation. How does one defend any of that? We’re not talking about one of us buying a second home or a piece of farm land and letting it lie fallow for a year or two. Short of simply outlawing speculation, how would it be regulated? What guardrails should be put in place?
Comment: Not a fan of socialism under the current definition, to easily exploited by the grievances and victimhood crowd. I am willing however to entertain a dialogue on cooperative economics and parecon as proposed by Albert and Hahnel. That said I think capitalism is salvageable provide there are reasonable guardrails and a cohesive society, the latter being the largest hurdle. … and … Tribalism based on race and the folk as our ancestors lived was relatively socialist by nature, and that is why it worked for them on a smaller scale. The modern incarnation of socialism, the term of which dates back to the early-19th century, does not work for many reasons, but the core reason, outside of the problem with scale, is that it is not a race-based system of organization.
Another reason it worked then but not now is that it was grown from the bottom-up, by and for the folk. Modern systems are imposed top-down across the breadth of society. The former requires buy-in from individuals so that when the folk succeed, individuals and families succeed; conversely, the latter pushes everyone down to the same level so that the ‘elite few’ succeed.
Question: I was asked several years ago if I approved of National Socialism. My response was that I agreed with Nationalism, but not Socialism. The fellow then asked me if I had a cousin who was out of work, would I help him. Sure, I replied. He then explained that to be an analogy for National Socialism – helping my extended family, my clan, my race, my Folk, (like the Amish) as opposed to the neer-do-wells, shiftless, and welfare queens. Is it possible to take some aspects of this type Socialism from the bottom up and avoid the potential corruption from a tyrant? The Amish seem to have cracked that code.
Comment: Hierarchical structures base on meritocracy are something I am willing to accept, if they are based on nepotism or DEI, not so much. That said no class should be above the law. … and … The rot in our society can be traced to class. The generations that follow the men who actually built businesses are the weak men destroying our country. The trust fund babies, as I call them, have had the privileges of wealth without having to do the work to acquire it. It’s easy to be a socialist when you have been miseducated in college and don’t really have to worry about grades because you’ll never have to get a real job to support yourself. These are the people who think farms are not necessary because you can get what you need at the grocery store. They also are unaware that they will be the first to be liquidated in their glorious revolution. I speak from experience as I’ve rubbed elbows with many of this type.
Question: Has the reader noticed that the billionaire class seems to be behind many of our problems? Would it be possible to come up with some means of limiting the damage that is done by the likes of the Rockefeller’s, Bill Gates, George Soros, and the Rothschild’s? They are so wealthy that they are never held accountable for anything as they can just buy their way out of trouble.
Comment: True leadership is honed and developed, both by teachers and by internal, self-possessed drive. Not by winning popularity contests, which are judged by the collective character of the general population.
Challenging contests of will, strength (both physical and moral) and judgement.
Previous civilizations chose leaders through tests such as these and also through prevalence in battle. Mortal combat might be included, with the option to yield before death or when called to do so.
Perhaps a council of prior leaders and aspirants to oversee the leadership development enterprise.
Question: We are currently ruled by a corrupt gang of career politicians who have largely done nothing more than win a beauty contest by the vote of a radically polarized citizenry with the result often rigged. Cicero’s opinion that, “Politicians are not born; they are excreted” seems perfectly on-point with the American leadership.
Men and women who have never served in the military take us to forever wars that do nothing but drain the nation of lives and treasure, not to mention the damage done to other countries that are no threat to ours.
Elections observably do not provide America with our best and brightest or even honest and honorable people. How then should we choose those who lead?
10 responses to “Thought Exercise Conclusion 3 of 5”
Great answers. The system we currently live under is nothing akin to the original design. It has been corrupted for a long time. Agreed, this president and many before have profited by wars, usually deposited into the family coffers. Like Roosevelt who let Pearl Harbor get attacked and his son profited from war, none ever served.
A very bad problem today is that for all elected officials, they have selected Chief of staffs who run the country, by their crooked , rotten deals that they cut with the lobbyists. They write all legislation, without regard to the constitution and rob us of our income to pay off their families and friends. This goes to all levels of government, where the selected, work for the government rather than the people who they are supposed to to serve.
The quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” is widely circulated and often used to describe the futility of repeating mistakes while hoping for different outcomes. This saying emphasizes the need for change in strategy when faced with repeated failures.
The cry “… how would it be regulated? What guardrails should be put in place?” is the Siren call of those who would lead people to the shipwreck of government control.
The desire to “… take some aspects of this type Socialism from the bottom up and avoid the potential corruption …” is the camels’ nose under the tent.
To establish “…some means of limiting the damage that is done by the likes of …” is a means of demonizing the others.
Establish a government to control the behaviors of other people? One cannot legislate morality or eliminate evil by government coercion.
An answer to “How then should we choose those who lead?” is simple … by example. Live your life by a code of conduct that seeks to produce kindness, truth, justice, and harmony.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,”
“One cannot legislate morality or eliminate evil by government coercion.”
I respond respectfully then, I attempt to live my personal “life by a code of conduct that seeks to produce kindness, truth, justice, and harmony,” but evil still exists and is growing. I mentioned that I’d prefer anarchy, but that doesn’t work, either. So what is the answer? That, my friend, is what we’re struggling with here.
I have published extensively on NCRenegade regarding the relationship between human liberty and common law.
A man “At Liberty” under common law should be able to directly exercise the same powers that have been delegated to governments. At liberty under common law, with a strict adherence to natural law, an individual may do with his actions, possessions, and persons, anything he may see fit, without the consent or approval of any other individual, government, or human power. This includes redress of crimes; injury to person, damage to property, fraud, etc.
The laws of nature only constrain a man insofar as he may not create damage, violate the liberty or possessions of other, or create an obvious danger. This is known as living within the common law of the land. Legislation enforcement personnel claim men at liberty are a threat to peace and order – such claims are blatant lies.
When the maxims of common law are followed, truth, justice and fairness prevail in a high percentage of cases. It is virtually impossible to manipulate maxims of law in order to create fraud or injustice in the way a government can manipulate statute and regulation to cause confusion and create injustice.
At the 2018 PATCON I presented a compelling argument on how individuals, the participants, could apply common law within their local communities.
Cue the crickets …
“A man “At Liberty” under common law should be able to directly exercise the same powers that have been delegated to governments.”
… and …
“At the 2018 PATCON I presented a compelling argument on how individuals, the participants, could apply common law within their local communities.”
I agree with you, Hans, 100%. Common Law and Natural Law and man at liberty as we were born to be. The problem is that the governments have stolen our agency and won’t give it back. If we attempt to take it back the government will institute violence against us. Your argument is correct. What is lacking is how to accomplish it.
The Old Ways that I follow promotes the same thing, but we have the same problem … how do we accomplish it without being either jailed or killed?
“The problem is that the governments have stolen our agency …”
No, sir, the problem is that “we” continue to cede our agency … over and over again … to bureaucrats and tyrants in the vain hope that they will consent to gift some of it back to us.
“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
Robert A. Heinlein
I would rather be jailed or killed than be morally responsible for endorsing the abuse called government.
… and with that, I’m out of the conversation.
Restoring sound currency (or simply abolishing all legal tender laws and allowing all currencies to be used – Gresham’s law says that the best will drive out the worst) is the way to stop 90% of this crap immediately. Lots of examples of “exploitation ” of resources, etc are given, but at the ROOT is central banking, fiat currencies, fraudulent fractional reserve banking and so much more that would not exist in a sound money environment. Then of course is the wealth that comes from government STEALING and handling out in government contracts, etc. EVERY PROBLEM we face as a species has either been created or made worse by the actions of GOVERNMENT.
There is no man-made system of lawmaking that will cure the ills of human nature. While I loudly applaud the necessity of these thought exercises, they also speak to the reality of the cycles of history. Any system put into practice will, in about four generations or less, need to be re-done in some fashion. Jefferson was very clear-eyed about this when he uttered his now famous statement about watering the tree of liberty.
That said, our founding fathers did a magnificent job of crafting a government. Returning to the lines of authority clearly spelled out in our constitution, with the addition of term limits strictly enforced, would be the best answer to “how can we establish guardrails”…. But “Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Samuel Adams.
So, the net conclusion is that a just government must be populated by just men. And that starts in the home.
As to how we should populate a geographical area so we could live lives as a free people governed by a minimalist government, the color of our skin would be a poor choice. The adherence to creed, ethics, and loyalty to the tribe as evidenced by actions would be a much more desirable and definitive set of values. I think we can all attest to the fact that no amount of racial purity will effectively eliminate scumbaggery. Loyal to the tribe? We need you. Disloyal? Go find somewhere else to live. And don’t come back.
Great comment Dwight, The Tree of Liberty is long overdue for the watering.
As far as ending speculation in the gold and silver market, the president alone could end that. If the president told
the people who pushed Gamestock to the stratosphere that gold was heavily shorted. And he was going to make the Big Banks take the loss without bailing them out, so go to town!
As a matter-of-fact fact he could tell the nation that this was there chance to get the bailout from the ’08 crash that went to the banks. If everybody goes long on gold when the banks are short – The Bank has to pay the long until the bank is flat broke or the price comes down.
Trump, if you are mad at that bank for debanking you, try this on them. If course this would only work if people trusted a politician, any politician. Oh well, maybe Elon will take a shot at the banks snipping at him.