Daniel Unplugged

I dont like the term 'slave labor'. Slaves are owned, may not leave and do not get paid. These people are not owned, can leave, and do get paid, but I know this is not the point you are making. The way to solve this problem is to allow free markets to flourish in the regions concerned. Take china as an example of this effect. China liberalised its economy in the eighties. Nike was one of the first to move in and open 'sweatshops'. This was a great benefit to the locals. How do I know that? Tens of thousands applied for jobs in nike's factories. They did that because nike offered them a higher wage than they were getting, otherwise they would not have applied. Nike improved their lives. Other companies moved in, improving the lives of millions more, and all the while, forcing up the market price of labor in china. Wages in china have grown really, really fast, bringing hundreds of millions out of poverty. The same has happened in many countries. Economics principle 1. People act in their on best interest Nike increased their profits, and the people increased their wage, free actors in a free market. When people are free to make their lives better, they do just that. The poorest people are the greatest beneficiaries of free trade because it allows them to sell their labor onto the world market, which forces the price of their labor upto the world market price. Viva la capitalism.

No, not intervening is not violence, but that doesn't mean it's (doing nothing) the right thing to do.

While it could be theoretically argued that the bear owns it's habitat, and the couple violated property rights, and the bear was only defending its property, its think it strays from the point. Running away is not violence, there is no force.

Yes, for most, reason it hard work, but so is running for 5 km if you are not in shape. What a mean to say is reason is hard work because people are not taught how to do it, and people are out of practice. Yes, look at them for not what to do, propagandize/indoctrinate. I didnt mean that we should do the same. What I meant was; the minds of children are a blank slate and are easily influenced by either good or evil. The state and the religious institutions know this all too well. They know that to push their aganda, they must indoctrinate the young before they learn to think, before they have the ability to resist, before they have learnt the truth. What they do is evil. When I say look to them, I mean that we should realise that they have figured out how to influence people, do it while they are young. They are clearly experts at what they do. Teaching children reason, evidence and morality is not evil. Teaching them lies and propaganda is. I believe children naturally hunger to learn. You say spoon feed, if you say force feed, such as in public schools, then I agree with you point. Violence-for children, spanking and the like by parents. Violence-for adults, being assaulted, kidnapped, and locked in a cage by police. Most parents use violence and the threat of violence to ensure obedience from their children. All states use violence and the threat of violence to ensure obedience from their citizens. Both are immoral. Thanks for your reply

Empathy is an emotion so, I'm not sure it can be learned as such. I think empathy refers to one's suffering because of the knowledge that someone else is suffering. In a sense you share their emotion. Many people struggle with empathy because, from a young age we are taught to resist it. The best way to say what I mean is to give examples. Daddy, what is a jail? Well son, that is where bad people are put, to make sure they suffer for the bad things they did. Don't feel bad for them, they deserve it. A school kid sees another kid being relentlessly bullied at school. No one seems to care. No one stops it. The kid knows that he can't stop it, and he knows that if he speaks up, he will be bullied too. The easiest way to deal with this is for the kid to stop empathizing with the victim. I believe all people are born with empathy, and it is our society that takes it from us when we are young and vulnerable. Best of luck finding yours. I'm glad something remained in you. One more thing, and this is important. People are also taught from a young age not to empathize with themself. Children are made to routinely made to suffer by those with power over them: their parents spank, the bullies harrass, and the school teachers instill fear and punish. And of course, the children are always told that they deserve it, that it is fair and right. I think a good first step is to learn to empathize with your own suffering, and then learn to empathize with others.

Sounds like a good plan. Ultimately the market will decide the best way to manage roads in a free society. Who could possibly know how it will work best? Where there is demand, there will be supply. Whomever can satisfy the demand for roads at the lowest price will ultimately produce the roads. Hopefully one day the government will get out of the way, and you can try out your idea. Of course, the competition will be fierce.

I would argue no. The same principle applies to equality of rights as to equality of wealth. Of course, when someone argues for equality of rights they do not, as far as I have observed, advocate the reduction in the rights of those said to have more rights. That is, they don't actually want equality per se, they only want to increase the rights of those who dont have them, which is virtuous. When they say they want equality, they are being imprecise.

I'm so sorry about what happened to you. You in no way deserved, or are responsible for any of the horrible things you experienced. You show great courage by telling us your story in this forum, and are clearly trying to confront, and deal with what happened in your life. Great early steps, many more to go. I'm so glad you found your amazing man and FDR. Having support structures like that in your life help make the process easier. You are on the right track to achieve what you want...so happy for you. Absolute best wishes Daniel

By slave labor do you mean people who are paid low wages when compared to the equivalent job in a rich country?

Arrest - Kidnap/Abduct Spanking - Torturing children Public servant - Public parasite Public school - Government indoctrination centre Citizen - Slave Government - Slave masters Police squad - Abduction squad/Gang of armed thugs Democracy - Dictatorship of the majority Opinion - Blah Blah Blah Jibberish I don't know how to think Bull$%&* Just kill me now My brain don't work right lol Public education is a right - If you don't attend school you will be punished You have the right to vote - If you don't vote you will be punished (Australia) A cop signals you to pull over - A cop threatened to follow you home, kick in your door, assault and abduct you, and lock you in a cage, if you don't pull over Politics - Poly ticks/Many blood sucking parasites A cop asks for your name and address - A cop wants you to know that if he ever wants to kidnap you, he knows where you live Licence - Permission from your slave master High school graduate - Well indoctrinated person Law - Threat to kidnap God did it - I don't know what did it Statist - Person who wants me to rot in a cage if I don't give the government my money Capitalist - A necessary actor in a strong economy Socialist - A person who wants to make you their slave Mainstream economist - A person who knows little about economics Mainstream media - Government information censors Alternative media - The great hope of humankind The US bill of rights - A step in the right direction Average person - Zombie Austerity - A small decrease in the rate of increase of government spending that never happened Fiat money - Expensive toilet paper War - Mass murder Expert on television - Person brought in to push a known agenda Advertising - Attempt to get you to buy things you otherwise wouldn't Country - Slave compound Welfare - Stolen money Voluntarist/Ancap - Wonderful freedom and peace loving person

Equality is an idea that seems to be universally spoken about as if it is desirable, and that desiring equality is a good thing. I am starting to think that it is not, and that desiring equality is actually an evil (for lack of a better word) desire. I will argue this by focusing on wealth equality, although the principles apply to all forms of equality. If someone desires wealth equality, then they desire poor people to be richer and, importantly, they desire rich people to be poorer. Both desires are necessary since both desires will achieve a greater level of wealth equality. If a person wants poor people to be richer but does not want rich people to be poorer, then it is inaccurate to say that they desire equality, even though making poor people richer will result in a greater level of equality (equality is not the desire, it is an unintended consequence of achieving the desire, the desire is to make poor people richer). I think we all accept that being richer is better, and a richer person will have a better life than a poor one. 4 things result from this belief: 1. Desiring a poor person to be richer is good 2. Desiring a poor person to be poorer is evil 3. Desiring a rich person to be richer is good 4. Desiring a rich person to be poorer is evil Since a person who desires equality wants rich people to have a life that is less good than it currently is, it must be true that a desire for equality is an evil desire. A person who only desires good, desires both rich and poor people to be richer, and does not desire equality. Your thoughts?

I entirely agree that the use of reason and evidence to persuade people is at best, marginally effective, and that using emotional 'manipulation' is far more effective. Your point leads us to the more important problem of why. Why are people so resistant to reason? How can we fix this underlying problem? Again we must look to the propagandists, the government and the major religions. It all seems to start with the mass indoctrination of the youth. We need to get in first, that is, show children reason, evidence and virtue, before their minds can be warped by propaganda and manipulation. What about libertarian schools? Is this a way to create masses of free thinking individuals who will be resistant to propaganda and control? We can also actively influence our own ychildren by using peaceful parenting and negotiation. We must alter the fundamental mindset of the population away from the use of force and violence as a means to achieve goals. Once this can be achieved, reasoning with people will be easier and the state will gradually fall away. Its a long haul I know, but I think this is our best bet. I just hope that I am still here to see it.

To your first question: we should rail against policies that help the poor for the same reason we rail against policies that help the rich, redistribution of wealth (theft) is immoral. Whether it be stealing from the poor (inflation) or stealing from the rich (taxation), stealing remains immoral. We can have something that the average statist cannot, consistency in our argument. To your second question: I argue that policies that are supposed to help the poor, welfare, medicare etc; are in the long term at least, are destructive to the poor. They encourage dependence instead of self reliance. As a result, many poor become trapped in poverty and perpetual unemployment. If the poor didn't know that government provides a safety net, they would be far less likely to ever need one. They would make sure they remained valuable to employers, which would not only keep them out of poverty, but give them a feeling of being valued by society, something an unemployed person is unlikely to experience. Women would be less likely to choose deadbeats to father their children since the consequences of it would not be numbed by state handouts. So no, I dont think we do more harm than good by discrediting assistance to the less fortunate. I think the best thing we can do is to remove that which enables their lives of dependence.