Yes I understand the idyllic nature of controlled experiments. Unfortunately we don’t live in a sterile controlled laboratory and so cannot realistically perform such experiments in many fields that affect human behavior. As I see it, the best we, as rationally discerning human beings, can expect is to study history in its raw uncensored form, identify trends/patterns, and apply logic as best we can. I’m not saying this process of deduction is infallible; simply that it is only recourse we have to make informed decisions. In the absence of controlled experiments it is the best we’ve got.
History is a set of lies agreed upon.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
Amidst all of my research I always try to maintain my humility. That being said I will not reject the possibility of new information as well as the opportunity to help those around me if I deem that information may be of some service to them. Humility has its place in situations of propriety; however in others when the well being of close friends may be imperiled it becomes a genuine hindrance.
The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know.”
Harry S. Truman, 33rd US President
The “complicated events” you speak of are, in my humble opinion, not complicated at all. They are simply events that have not been presented in such a lucid manner as to render it easily comprehensible to a child. There is no such thing as something too “complicated” for one to understand. This is a wretched admittance of one’s own inadequacy that should not be conveyed to others. I have explained, to the best of my ability, the Mandrake Mechanism, Quantitative Easing, The Federal Reserve, Central Banking, Price/Stealth/Absolute Inflation, Fractional Reserve Lending, the role of Precious Metals in a society, the reason for their banishment etc to many patients, including young teenagers, who I would not consider geniuses or people with high IQs. All of them seemed quite surprised and quite grateful to discover that this is neither elusive nor secretive information privy to only a select few. Rather financial education is something that is palpably lacking in our government education. I do not believe this to be a coincidence.
If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein
Yes I do emphatically believe with all my heart that unfettered free enterprise is best. I have read the link provided and it immediately transports me back to my history class in my middle/high government school. I understood this clearly as I absorbed the pro-government propaganda laid out by my teachers unquestionably. What hope does a tender impressionable young mind have against legions of authoritative teachers with their coercive curriculums? This is teaching by violent force. This is not the way my children will learn. You can be sure of that.
History is a matter of perspective. While I cannot assert that the history I learned outside of school to be completely objective, I can say there is enormous value in learning history from many differing frames of reference in order to gain a more balanced approach. One must take care where the source originates and who benefits from the telling of history in a particular way. Would we not procure contrasting viewpoints of history told by the slaves or the masters? Conqueror or the conquered? Husbands or the wives? Doctors or the patients? Rulers or the subjects? Parents or the children? Schoolmaster or the pupils? Debtors or creditors?
The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it.”
John Kenneth Galbraith, US economist, public official, and diplomat
This link points to the over-simplified Disney explanation of the history of our country as it is taught ad nauseum in our government schools. To the best of my knowledge it expounds, please correct me if I am wrong, that government (good) is the white knight that comes to rescue the disenfranchised and under-privileged citizenry from big corporation (bad) who exploits the people for every ounce of their labor for a dreadful pittance. That without our valiant government we all would be working since childhood for 2 dollars an hour for 16 hours a day without bathroom breaks, vacations, or holidays for the rest of our lives until our miserable deaths. Oh and also without the wonderful free government healthcare we would all be incessantly sick and walking over dead bodies on the way to our slave labor at the hands of big fat men with bags of money. This is the drivel I have been force fed since my induction into government education and I refuse to accept any more of it. From now on I am seeking alternative vantage points for my intellectual stimulation. Just as Teddy Roosevelt in this over-simplified article proclaims “No man, no matter how powerful, was above the law.” From which celestial power does this flesh and blood mortal get the authority to determine which business should succeed and which should fail? I assert none, just like the rest of us. Only the free market, open exchange, and the immutable laws of supply and demand have the power to determine the success or failure of any business. No government or despot possesses this wisdom no matter how well intentioned.
A law is an opinion with a gun.”
Stefan Molyneux
Is it any surprise that when one attends US government schools the common narrative spewed is pro- US government history? I don’t think so. Our federal government, self-proclaimed to be the destroyer of monopolistic trusts, is itself the largest monopoly of force and coercion in the land. There is nothing benevolent or gentle about the federal government in its nature or method of action. It does not produce any valuable good or service from which is voluntarily purchased by the people. Voluntary is the key word. If something is forced and not offered voluntarily, this is the fundamental reason why the very essence of government is inhumane, immoral, and wicked. All edicts and decrees issued forth are forced upon the people from the barrel of a gun or by threat of imprisonment or fine. This is not the definition of a civilized society. With slight variations this is the definition of Fascism, Communism, Totalitarianism, Oligarchy, Monarchy, Aristocracy, Kleptocracy etc. Virtually any form of government one can conceive of is the antithesis of Agorism, Voluntaryism, Anarcho-Capitalism, Free Market etc. The name is irrelevant. The principle is what counts and that principle is the Non-Aggression principle. This asserts that anything is possible except those actions which transgress on the freedom and sovereign rights of another.
The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.”
Thomas Paine
A practitioner of Eastern Healing arts with degrees in Acupuncture and Chinese medicinal herbs, I have always questioned the status quo, a path which led me to peaceful anarchism. Through my journey, I have worn many hats, that of a classical pianist, avid chess player, philosopher, comedian, and now father of two little anarchists. My wife brands me as a Cultural Critic, but I am simply following my thirst for knowledge and passion for writing.
