Personal Economic Moral Questions

[Kason]

Hello all,

 

I've been working for ABC for the past year now. and have enjoyed shooting and editing at this level.

However, since I've started listening to FDR and by extension, ran through the rational principles involving the NAP and the inherit evil of state power....Shooting videos with politicians now causes me a massive amount of anxiety and fear. I am tempted to just have a discussion with them involving "Do you advocate pointing a gun at me yourself to accomplish the task at hand?" which would result in my termination and a bunch of nasty snarky comments. I also am now aware that 70%+ of our content is state driven (Police officers. border "crises" other government shenanigans) 

 

I have been working more freelance video work and the more I work - the more I realize it is nearly impossible to work for something that isn't tied to state power (Corporations, or organizations directly funded or benefited by the state)

 

How can one live in a state and not have to squelch their conscience due to lots of the economic activity that they participate in directly contributing to the violence of the state? (Purchasing food from a store sends 8%+ to the local government around here!) I can't seem to reconcile living with integrity about the NAP and existing in society as it is. :/

 

Your feedbacks would be most appreciated!

 

All the best,

Kason 

[WasatchMan]

Hey Kason,

 

I have had a similiar ethical delema around my profession.  I am a civil engineer and the vast majority of our client pool are governments.  Someone would have to go pretty far out of my way to only work for non-government clients.

 

Something I read from Any Rand has always resonated with me on this issue.  She said something to the effect of "if what you are doing is not inherhently evil, and would exist in a free society, than if you choose not to do it because the government has taken it over, than you are letting them win two ways instead of just one."  I have tried to look for where I saw this quote since, and have not been able to track it down.

 

That is not to suggest that this is the final answer, there are tons of reasons why avioding doing buiessnes with the state could and would be a benefit to yourself and soceity.  However, I think it is an important consideration.

 

Best of luck!

[cobra2411]

You can't be expected to uphold personal morals while acting under coercion. You can't exist without supporting the state to some degree, so the question really is how can you support them the least. Don't make any more money than you have to and don't buy what you don't need. Do what you can to be healthy so you don't support big pharma and don't go into debt. 

 

I do like Ayn Rand's explanation that by giving up they win twice. 

[Kason]

Right, I've been processing alternatives.

 

Literally, any labor that you preform and get money for will help the state, by them taking a bite out of your earnings through the theft of "taxes" even if I were to start an FDR knockoff and solely live on the donations of an audience, I would still be taxed for their donations.

 

It is just boggling my mind. But I really appreciate both of your feedback. I am, for the moment, feeling less anxiety about working // consuming a product.

 

 

All the best,

Kason

[cobra2411]

While it's noble to starve yourself rather than support the state, it most likely won't accomplish anything of value. In my mind it comes down to degrees of support. Is there any way you can reduce your support of the state? If you can without causing hardship then you do. I for one have decided to move to lower my cost of living. I'm also scaling back in a number of way like fixing my car vs replacing it. Since I'm pretty handy and can do a lot of work myself it doesn't make as much sense to upgrade vs someone who is dependent on a reliable car and can't afford to do routine maintenance of an aging vehicle. There are lots of ways to reduce your cost of living and then you don't have to work as hard. Which gives you more time to enjoy life... Bottom line if lots of people can do just a little it will add up to a huge amount. 

[Ace]

The state is so pervasive that you can connect any means of making a living to it. People like to go to extremes of that - like you could say that driving your car on public roads is immoral because that asphalt is paid for by stolen money etc. etc. You have to not worry so much about all the little details and focus on the important stuff.

 

I found podcast 183 really mind blowing. In it he says that all of the political effect of freedom is secondary to people seizing freedom in their personal lives. We all still have to get by within society as it exists. He says that if you live a life without positive obligations to others, you'll be more free than almost everyone would if we suddenly could magically create a stateless society.

[luxfelix]

Good points already presented, I'll add this:

 

That anxiety is a signal.

 

When we see the light come on to tell us we're low on gas, we can acknowledge it and thankfully have the knowledge to inform our decision to get some gas. It's good to know when you're in tune with yourself, your surroundings, and what you need (or that you currently don't have something you need).

 

If you find yourself in a position where you can positively influence/produce value for people and yourself, your emotions will indicate that. These are questions we ask others but should ultimately ask and trust ourselves with.

 

I presume one of the reasons Stefan strongly recommends therapy is that our emotional guidance system can conflict with what our conscious minds think ought to be as opposed to trusting the navigator. If you can peacefully converse with your conscious and sub-conscious mind, you'll find fair winds and following seas on your sojourn.