Morality in stopping the motor of the world

Posted by $ jbrenner 8 years, 10 months ago to The Gulch: General
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The above link goes to our discussion from the last couple of days about stopping the motor of the world:

The second relevant past link is from Khalling:
http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/28...

About a year ago I posed the question. In a different wording, I asked whether we should be simply removing ourselves from supporting our looter oppressors or whether going Galt meant that we were expected to actively destroy the motor of the world. Several Gulchers hit on something critically important in this discussion. Is it worth losing the moral high ground? Or does the end (of the looter/moocher era) justify the means?

Perhaps in prior eras, it might have been possible to see the end of the looter/moocher era and retain the moral high ground. I don't think that America's economic foundation is that fragile today, even after being hollowed out as much as it has been. The number of sources to buy things from is high enough that removal of a few key players would have relatively little impact today.

I have always prided myself on my morality. Yet I, when put into the positions of the producers having to be patient to let the world collapse, know that I could not have been so patient. I could have just retired like the owner of the Phoenix-Durango line did, but the temptation for me to pull a stunt like Francisco d'Anconia did on September 2nd, "Brother, you asked for it!" would have been just too great if I were hoping for an era of industrial prosperity without government interference.

Do you have the patience to wait for an an era of industrial prosperity without government interference? It is definitely not something that is in my DNA. Part of what makes people producers is their "take charge" attitude. Being passive or patient is a rare trait among producers.

One of the reasons I ask this is that, if we do build a physical Atlantis, we will need to be isolated. Ragnar-like piracy would be too easily traced nowadays.

Are you 100% consistent all the time with your own moral code, or do you make the occasional slip-up that you rightly should feel guilty about? I do so about once a week.

So, in answer to "Morality - who needs it?", I answer that without a moral compass, I would be aimless.
SOURCE URL: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/2fbe88c1/stopping-the-motor-of-the-world


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