http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/08/if-paul-ryan-were-an-atlas-shrugged-character-hed-be-a-villain/261036/
On Sunday, August 5, 2012, Randist Bo7b aka Bob Wynman WWP Email Member wrote: > Randist Bo7b aka Bob Wynman WWP Email Member > <[email protected]<javascript:;>> > Robert Ringer, John Stossel, Andrew Galambos & Ayn Rand are RIGHT! > > I'd go even farther, regarding the pervasive myth that :government can do > things better than we as individuals": > > THINK: "Governments" can do NOTHING. NONE of the things that people seem > to believe that "governments do, like build roads, defend the country, > educate the kids, deliver the mail, put satellites into orbit, pay for > medicine, housing, food, catch criminals, etc., etc., etc. INDIVIDUAL > PEOPLE do all those things. "Government" is just a "middle man" ... with a > gun, FORCING people to do things ... and stealing the wealth and property > of other people to pay the people doing the things. > > It's a completely immoral and irrational system based on FORCE, COERCION & > THEFT. > > We MUST build the durable, stable free civilization, WITHOUT the State > (aka "government"). > > An interesting start in this regard can be obtained, mostly FREE: > > 1--Fred Marks is making the work of Andrew Galambos available ... FREE > www.CapitalismTheLiberalRevolution.com. > > 2--Dave Woodward & Nancy Rhyme Snelson: Jay's V-50 seminars > www.suscivinst.com/store. > > 3--Stefan Molyneux: thousands of hours of information FREE > www.FreeDomainRadio.com. > > 4--Dennis Riness: Civilization Engineering DVD & syllabus > www.CivilizationEngineering.com. > > 5--Bonnie Lange: V-76, "The Declaration,Thomas Paine & Your Freedom" FREE > www.Galambos.com. > > > --bob & lou > www.wynman.com > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Richard B. Boddie > Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 10:33 PM > Subject: 3/14/06 hi set Ringer On Stossel's :Intuitive" > > > John Stossel on Intuitively Trusting > the Government > > By Robert Ringer > > May 21, 2012 > > In his new book, No, They Can’t: Why Government Fails — But > Individuals Succeed, John Stossel has zeroed in on an interesting > theory about what causes people to believe they need government > to be involved in so many areas of their lives. He believes that the > notion that government can do things better than individuals is > “intuitive.” > > But what, exactly, is intuition? One dictionary defines it as “Direct > perception of truth … independent of any reasoning process.” That > definition, however, invites another question: What is “truth?” > > A person’s perception of truth can be correct or incorrect. > > By correct or incorrect, I’m equating truth to reality. If a person’s > perception of truth is not reality, his intuition is defective. On the > other hand, if a person’s perception of truth is reality, his intuition > is sound. > > Thus, the kind of intuition John Stossel is talking about is defective > intuition — i.e., people who perceive untrue things to be true, without > applying reason to their thinking. Such people are said to be “out of > touch with reality.” > > There’s little doubt that defective intuition is an epidemic in today’s > Orwellian world. But it does raise yet another question: What causes > people to have faulty intuition? > > Hint: The late and legendary Andrew Galambos, whom Harry Browne > once dubbed the “unknown libertarian,” is purported to have taught > in his private lectures that almost everything everybody believes is > wrong. > > Many of Galambos’s ideas were, and still are, controversial, but my > firsthand experience has convinced me that he was spot on with this > particular insight. I never cease to be mystified by how so many people > so readily embrace myths — particularly government myths — even > when such myths clearly contradict common sense. > > Worse, myths tend to grow and become more entrenched over time. To parody > the words of Thomas Jefferson, the natural progress of things is > for truth to yield and myths to gain ground. > > The reason government myths are so prevalent is that, through gradualism, > generations of citizens have become used to government dominating their > lives. > > This acceptance of government intrusiveness as the norm causes people > to intuitively believe all kinds of myths about government, politics, > ideology, and economics, all of which are interconnected. > > For example: > > · Why do so many people intuitively believe that political action > is the answer to so many of our problems, when the empirical evidence is > that > it almost always makes problems worse? > > · Why do so many people intuitively believe that electing someone > new > will change things for the better, when almost all newly elected > politicians end up protecting the status quo? > > · Why do so many people intuitively equate wealth with evil when, in > fact, the two are in no way connected? > > · Conversely, why do so many people intuitively equate poverty with > moral superiority, when, in fact, the two are in no way connected? > > · Why do so many people believe that government should “do > something about the economy,” when it has proven, time and again, > that its actions almost always make the economy worse? > > · Why do so many people believe that government should make life > more fair, when it has no constitutional authority to become involved > in an abstraction such as fairness? > > I happen to believe in Stossel’s premise that individuals can do most > everything better than the government. In fact, I would classify it as > an axiom. > > Do I believe individuals can operate private fire-fighting companies > that are superior to government-owned and operated fire departments? Yes! > > Do I believe individuals, acting in their own self-interest, can protect > the environment better than the government? Yes! > > Do I believe that individuals, voting with their dollars, can discourage > monopolies more effectively than the government? Yes! > > Do I believe individuals can build and operate streets and roads better > than the government? Yes! > > Based on the ideology, arrogance, and incompetence of the criminal > class that now controls the levers of power in Washington, I’m not even > certain that government can do a better job than individuals when it > comes to carrying out its traditional duties of defending our national > security, protecting our lives and property, and providing a court system > for settling contractual disputes and punishing those who commit > aggression against others. > > Finally, the biggest driver of the defective, intuitive belief that > government > is all-knowing is our entitlement-centered culture. It’s not just a figure > of speech when we repeatedly hear that people are addicted to entitlements. > > This addiction to unearned benefits can cause people to panic when > government runs out of other people’s money — as we’ve seen in Greece, > Portugal, Spain, California, Wisconsin, New Jersey, et al. In this regard, > the words of Buddha are as relevant today as they were more than 2,500 > years ago: “All unhappiness is caused by attachment.” Have you seen a happy > Greek lately? > > Buddha said something even more profound when it comes to combating > myth-based intuition: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or > who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own > reason and your own common sense.” > > Barack Obama, on the other hand, says, “Believe everything I say, no > matter what you read or hear to the contrary, or who said or wrote it, > no matter if God said it, regardless of whether it agrees with your own > reason and your own common sense.” > > Unfortunately, because Buddha isn’t on television every day, about half > the people in America seem to be taking advice from the guy who is — > Chairman Obama. > > If you ever find yourself saying things like, “There ought to be a law” > or “The government needs to reform this or that” or “Congress has to > stop the bickering and get something done,” it’s a sure sign that you > need to work on your intuition. Start with the writings of the Founding > Fathers, then move on to Lysander Spooner, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich > Hayek, and Ayn Rand … and keep going. > > When you reach the point where you think you understand why > government fails and individuals succeed, and a mustachioed chap > with a familiar face invites you inside, you will undoubtedly have > arrived on John Stossel’s doorstep. > > And don’t be surprised if he asks you, “What took you so long?” > > You have permission to reprint this article so long as you place the > following wording at the end of the article: > > Copyright © 2012 Robert Ringer > ROBERT RINGER is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the > highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview > Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social > leaders. He has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, > The Tonight Show, Today, The Dennis Miller Show, Good Morning America, The > Lars Larson Show, ABC Nightline, and The > Charlie Rose Show, and has been the subject of feature articles in such > major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street > Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times. > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > "We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then > go with the drove. We have two opinions: one private, which we are > afraid to express; and another one - the one we use - which we force > ourselves to wear to please Mrs. Grundy, until habit makes us > comfortable in it, and the custom of defending it presently makes us > love it, adore it, and forget how pitifully we came by it. Look at it in > politics." > > --Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835-1910) > > --bob & lou > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > This email group is to share information, opinions, and experiences that > relate to politics. Please be polite, open-minded, and tolerant. > World-wide_Politics is not responsible for the comments, copyrights, or > topics of messages received on this email group. Messages are the complete > responsibility of the sender. World-wide_Politics reserves the right to > modify messages or delete posts considered not appropriate for this email > group, revoke posting privileges, and/or revoke the membership of any group > member. Posts about religion should relate to politics. > Ideal Post Format > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/World-wide_Politics/files/Ideal%20Post%20Format > Yahoo! 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