"The basic and crucial political issue of our age is: capitalism versus socialism... " - Ayn Rand
"The basic and crucial political issue of our age is: capitalism versus socialism, or freedom versus statism. For decades, this issue has been silenced, suppressed, evaded, and hidden under the foggy, undefined rubber-terms of 'conservatism' and 'liberalism' which had lost their original meaning and could be stretched to mean all things to all men." - Ayn Rand
The distorted crony capitalism present in our world has an uncomfortable kinship with socialism, in that a powerful elite seek to control the markets to their own exclusive benefit. The constipated flow of wealth is characteristic of the delusion that somehow the "invisible hand" can be made to obey the wishes of power seekers without catastrophic damage to the free market.
Nothing will change for the better until the forces that are inherent to a real free market are unfettered. Whether the oligarchy that seeks to rule calls itself socialist or not, the big state must be brought to an end.
It is important to understand how and why Ayn Rand advocated capitalism as a social system based on an ethics* of rationality and egoism. She was not a conservative. It is not enough to denounce "cronyism".
In the August 1971 issue of _The Objectivist, she included the following three items in the regular feature "From The Special 'Horror File'":
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
"Cursed and condemned is every kind of life lived and sought for selfish profit and good; cursed are all works not done in love. But they are done in love when they are directed wholeheartedly, not toward selfish pleasure, profit, honor, and welfare but toward the profit, honor, and welfare of others." Cf. What Luther Says; An Anthology, ed. E. M. Plass (3 vols., St. Louis, Concordia, 1959), lii, 1282.
Adam Smith (1723-1790)
"The wise and virtuous man is at all times willing that his own private interest should be sacrificed to the public interest of his own particular order or society. He is at all times willing, too, that the interest of this order or society should be sacrificed to the greater interest of the state or sovereignty of which it is only a subordinate part: he should, therefore, be equally willing that all those inferior interests should be sacrificed to the greater interest of the universe, to the interest of that great society of all sensible and intelligent beings of which God himself is the immediate administrator and director." The Theory of Moral Sentiments, in Adam Smith's Moral and Political Philosophy, ed. H. W. Schneider (N.Y., Harper Torchbooks, 1970), p. 249.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
"It is as much a part of our scheme as of M. Comte's, that the direct cultivation of altruism, and the subordination of egoism to it, far beyond the point of absolute moral duty, should be one of the chief aims of education, both individual and collective .... every person who lives by any useful work, should be habituated to regard himself not as an individual working for his private benefit, but as a public functionary; and his wages, of whatever sort, not as the remuneration or purchase-money of his labour, which should be given freely, but as the provision made by society to enable him to carry it on..." Auguste Comte and Positivism (Ann Arbor, U. of Mich. Press, 1961 ), pp. 146-8.
The "Horror File" was "documentation pertain[ing] to a special aspect of modern life: to the philosophical-journalistic level of events—i.e., to events and pronouncements which illustrated the intellectual state of our culture and reflected the influence of philosophy (of the mysticism-altruism-collectivism axis) on the daily political-cultural life of this country....
"Our purpose is to illustrate the tie, ignored by too many people, between the present state of our culture and its philosophical roots—to demonstrate that today's intellectual trends are as bad as we charge (or worse)—to indicate the kind of ideas that have to be fought and to remind you that the battle lies in the field of ideas."
Adam Smith was a shill for usurers (abominations)
http://www.monetary.org/a-brief-histo...
Adam Smith’s 1776 WEALTH OF NATIONS, capitalism’s “bible,” put aside these earlier rationales, and justified usury in economic terms:
“- - - The interest or the use of money…is the compensation which the borrower pays to the lender, for the profit which he has an opportunity of making by the use of the money. Part of that profit naturally belongs to the borrower who runs the risk and takes the trouble of employing it; and part to the lender, who affords him the opportunity of making this profit.”
This is how interest is popularly viewed today. But Smith overlooked that the lender gets his profit even when the enterprise loses [by confiscating collateral]; he ignored the successful business structures used by Venice for centuries, where the lender’s return was based on actual profits. Smith’s endorsement did not remove the stigma against usury; and the debate continued.
Jeremy Bentham’s IN DEFENCE OF USURY (1787) created the present mis-definition of usury as: “The taking of a greater interest than the law allows… (or) the taking of greater interest than is usual.”
He dismissed the harmful effects of usury on the common man: “Simple people will be robbed more in buying goods than in borrowing money.”
...
These two influences among many were instrumental in eradicating public resistance to the abomination of usury.
Usury has been denounced for "only" 3500 years, and all religions (that I checked) condemn it.
(Ezekiel 18:13 lists it as a capital offense)
It is mathematically unsustainable in a finite money token system, and invariably causes a portion of debtors to default and lose collateral. Governments that protect and enforce contracts for usury are accessories to that crime.
A Brief History of Interest | AMI (American Monetary Institute)
http://www.monetary.org/a-brief-histo...
In 1836 John Whipple, an American lawyer, showed the impossibility of sustaining long term metallic usury in this fashion:
" If 5 English pennies... had been invested ... at 5 per cent compound interest from the beginning of the Christian era until the present time, it would amount in gold of standard fineness to 32,366,648,157 spheres of gold each eight thousand miles in diameter, or as large as the earth."
To pay usury over the long term, would require THIRTY TWO BILLION EARTH SIZED SPHERES OF GOLD. (Is that impossible enough for you?)
The exponential equation used for compound interest requires an infinite money supply to operate. Since this is obviously impossible, only fools contract with usurers.
Any one who can do "Future Worth" calculations and not recognize the inherent insanity of usury is worthy of slamming.
Usury is mathematically unsustainable in a finite money token system.
http://www.monetary.org/a-brief-histo...
In 1836 John Whipple, an American lawyer, showed the impossibility of sustaining long term metallic usury in this fashion:
" If 5 English pennies... had been invested ... at 5 per cent compound interest from the beginning of the Christian era until the present time, it would amount in gold of standard fineness to 32,366,648,157 spheres of gold each eight thousand miles in diameter, or as large as the earth."
To pay usury over the long term, would require THIRTY TWO BILLION EARTH SIZED SPHERES OF GOLD. (Is that impossible enough for you?)
....
To further illustrate unsustainability of usury:
Future Worth (FV), based on Present Value (PV)
FV = PV x (1+ interest)^time
Let N = total sum of money tokens
Let PV = 0.1N = 10% of N, the amount invested at 6% per annum, compounded daily
How long does it take for the investment to match whole sum of money tokens?
(N/0.1N) = (1 + .06/365)^ time units
Solving for time units
time units = log (N/0.1N) / log (1 + .06/365)
time units = log (1/0.1)/ log (1 + .06/365)
14008.54 days
38.37 years
After this point, the outstanding obligation will exceed the whole set of money tokens, making repayment IMPOSSIBLE.
In other words, if all the people invested 10% of their money at 6% APR, they’d go bust in 38.37 years, owing (or being owed) all the money that exists. Any further investment past that period cannot be repaid. That is the scam of usury.
In the short term, a portion of debtors will default simply because enough money never existed for them to repay. They will lose their pledged collateral, blaming themselves or their bad luck not realizing that usury was the reason.
That is also why “privatizing” Socialist InSecurity would not be viable. Any widespread “investment” at usury could not be sustained, since the money token supply is finite.
The whole “free World” economic system is based upon a mathematically unsustainable system of investment.
Big Badda Boom !
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Property rights
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The world’s view of private property :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_...
“....Private property is a legal designation of the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity; and collective property, which is owned by a group of non-governmental entities.”
A non-government legal entity can own “private property,” as distinguished from government ownership of “public property.”
America’s view of private property:
"PRIVATE PROPERTY - As protected from being taken for public uses, is such property as belongs absolutely to an individual, and of which he has the exclusive right of disposition. Property of a specific, fixed and tangible nature, capable of being in possession and transmitted to another, such as houses, lands, and chattels."
- - - Black's Law dictionary, sixth ed., p.1217.
"OWNERSHIP - ... Ownership of property is either absolute or qualified. The ownership of property is absolute when a single person has the absolute dominion over it... The ownership is qualified when it is shared with one or more persons, when the time of enjoyment is deferred or limited, or when the use is restricted. "
- - -Black's Law dictionary, sixth ed., p. 1106
LAND. ... The land is one thing, and the ESTATE in land is another thing, for an ESTATE in land is a time in land or land for a time.
- - -Black's Law dictionary, sixth ed., p.877
. . .
Land held with qualified ownership is estate (aka "real estate").
Land absolutely owned by an individual is private property.
NOTE: Only in American law is private property absolutely owned.
In other nations, "private property" only refers to property not owned by government.
Restating: Qualified ownership aka "estate" is not constitutionally protected, as is private property.
Since 1933, private property has not existed for most Americans due to the STATE OF EMERGENCY and confiscation of all lawful money by St. Roosevelt and his glorious socialist minions.
It's government over people.
Capitalism is a financial system not a social or political system. It is very successful when used properly and monitored by the population and the populations employees - government.
One of it's basic premises is honesty and a way of putting it is must have a social conscience which does not mean socialism.
An example is re-stating the old leftist slogan ' means of production' to include ALL workers. CEO to Janitor. Second to treat each as a necessary part of the system.
You see some of that in the Scandanavian countries, NZ and Switzerland.
Short version is Citizens Over Government.
As Ayn Rand stated the others are terms of propagandists...
Treating the Constitution as the center of political discourse instead of crowning the center of the left as the center and then actually using it instead of ignoring was the way to go...
instead we get the Patriot Act. A Marxist document with a thin patina of red, white and blue.
For Shame....
I wonder how far Sanders would get if he openly said that his socialism requires taking all the money from people who earn it and giving it to the ones who dont earn it. I wonder if Romney was right in that 47% of the voters in america would be OK with that statement now.
Politics
¶
The answers given by ethics determine how man should treat other men, and this determines the fourth branch of philosophy: politics, which defines the principles of a proper social system. As an example of philosophy’s function, political philosophy will not tell you how much rationed gas you should be given and on which day of the week—it will tell you whether the government has the right to impose any rationing on anything.
Philosophy: Who Needs It
“Philosophy: Who Needs It,”
Philosophy: Who Needs It, 4
¶
The basic and crucial political issue of our age is: capitalism versus socialism, or freedom versus statism. For decades, this issue has been silenced, suppressed, evaded, and hidden under the foggy, undefined rubber-terms of “conservatism” and “liberalism” which had lost their original meaning and could be stretched to mean all things to all men.
by putting the basic sentence into google it sends you a page in :Lexicon marked Politics
the rest follows
For You Republicans it's how to get Cruz elected and if you are bright enough - and I doubt that or you wouldn't be still stuck on this little issue and that but focused on the job - it would be how to use the opportunity to best advantage...Most of you haven't a clue and are still in the route step follow the RINOs category. You'll find the center of their political universe way out to the left.
Some of you do have a clue and that is take over the party and re-instate it as a separate entity instead of the puppy chow posse roll of right wing OF the left. Your main job is re-establish credibility as a party, decide to support Cruz or looz and get a viable VP for carry on purposes and to gain maximum votes. But as Republicans you are by your own actions in the past still not trusted.
For the rest of us figure out how to glue the bits pieces, shards, and shreds of a severely divided yet very large disenfranchised into some sort of working coalition and cease the bickering which serves no one's purpose except the left. Retreating into a cave of fruitless philosophical discussion and endlessly dissecting the same points gets you where?
Wasting a lot of time on endlessly dissecting the same points. Useful in training the new people or upgrading the rest of us. but then what? To what purpose?
A case in point is the idiotic three times now go round over whose eligible and it will happen again when the next misinformed true believer delivers a righteous but futile and now laughable sermon or worse another go round of scoring debate points to no further purpose.
Take your pick to quote Rand There are three answers Right, Wrong and Compromise which makes two wrong and one right answer.
Forming a coalition of key points of agreement is not compromise and not only points of agreement but what to do what action to take.
Until then I'm going to keep building that 46% disenfranchised into higher numbers instead of assisting the 29% Socialist and 24% what should I call them ah yes the right wing of the left.) puppy chow posse of RINOS who constantly cave on command. Arf Arf.
At all levels and in all precincts.
Source: http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/pol...
roneida, god did not bring AR into this world, however, when AR was here she was not appreciated and as a matter she was hated by the people who run the country. If she were still here nothing would have changed. If you or others were to read the essays in the other books that she published one would find that she covered everything that has been unhealthy for the country years ago and that has not changed. Actually it has things have gotten worse. And based upon those wanting to lead (I say that in jest, since none is capable) the speed at which thing will get worse(er) will increase. welcome to the new america!
I await proof. Also, how can the unknown be known and by whom?
Since 1933, the collectivists have allied with the usurers to rule America.
. . .
The REAL issue is :
[] Absolute ownership by sovereign people
versus
[] Qualified ownership by subject citizens.
. . .
And to implement qualified ownership, those who have a superior claim (creditors, governments) utilize fraud, constructive fraud, withholding of material facts, and intimidation to insure “voluntary compliance” with self-enslavement, compulsory charity, and expropriation of property for the benefit of another.
. . .
To further augment their power, they rely on money madness, the belief that money has value, while disregarding the reality of the marketplace of property, goods and services. Thus people are distracted by the illusion of money, and ignore the continuous skim they endure.
Go check your own state constitution and note that while private property is protected, estate (real and personal property ownership) is subject to ad valorem taxation and regulation.