How Badly Does Modern Collectivism Hurt You?
Posted by CircuitGuy 11 years, 5 months ago to Culture
How bad is collectivism today? Clearly the US is not Galt's Gulch or Stalin's USSR. We're somewhere in between.
I'm writing down some negative ways collectivism could affect individuals, from most innocuous to worst.
A) Collectivism is an annoyance at present. I usually find good ways to work around it.
B) If it weren't for poor gov't policies and collectivism, we might have fantastical things like a cure for cancer, affordable space travel, robots than can do most human tasks.
C) Collectivism keeps me from my dreams. (e.g. “A union or affirmative action is keeping me for being promoted out of turn, and there are no other options for me to do the work I love.” “A personal passion of mine is illegal.” “I can't get funding for my organization because of a sweetheart network around gov't, financial institutions, and my industry.”)
D) One or more Gail Wynands, Ellsworth Tooheys, or Wesley Mouchs are out to sabotage my life and are having some impact on me. We all agree these types exist. This item says your name personally is on their “list” of enemies or people to sabotage.
E) My business or career is failing because of collectivism and poor gov't policy (e.g. regulation, taxes, monetary policy).
F) We are on the cusp of totalitarianism and/or severe economic collapse similar to in Atlas Shrugged.
This is not an exclusive list, just the first six things that came to mind.
I'm curious which of these things are happening to Gulch members. Is it we're at A and B and just mindful of preventing the more severe items? Or we over halfway through a real-life Atlas Shrugged?
Note: I expect it varies depending on location, industry, interests, experiences, etc. Also, it could be a mix, say A and F but not B-E; they don't necessarily happen in order.
I'm writing down some negative ways collectivism could affect individuals, from most innocuous to worst.
A) Collectivism is an annoyance at present. I usually find good ways to work around it.
B) If it weren't for poor gov't policies and collectivism, we might have fantastical things like a cure for cancer, affordable space travel, robots than can do most human tasks.
C) Collectivism keeps me from my dreams. (e.g. “A union or affirmative action is keeping me for being promoted out of turn, and there are no other options for me to do the work I love.” “A personal passion of mine is illegal.” “I can't get funding for my organization because of a sweetheart network around gov't, financial institutions, and my industry.”)
D) One or more Gail Wynands, Ellsworth Tooheys, or Wesley Mouchs are out to sabotage my life and are having some impact on me. We all agree these types exist. This item says your name personally is on their “list” of enemies or people to sabotage.
E) My business or career is failing because of collectivism and poor gov't policy (e.g. regulation, taxes, monetary policy).
F) We are on the cusp of totalitarianism and/or severe economic collapse similar to in Atlas Shrugged.
This is not an exclusive list, just the first six things that came to mind.
I'm curious which of these things are happening to Gulch members. Is it we're at A and B and just mindful of preventing the more severe items? Or we over halfway through a real-life Atlas Shrugged?
Note: I expect it varies depending on location, industry, interests, experiences, etc. Also, it could be a mix, say A and F but not B-E; they don't necessarily happen in order.
Previous comments... You are currently on page 4.
“ It is easy to destroy a country’s currency. It is very difficult to detroy their sovereignty.” -- George Soros
“Destroying America will be the culmination of my life’s work.” -- George Soros
Koch Brothers want less government interfering with Americans and the Anti - Americans (those who would subvert the structure preserving the individual citizen's right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" want a master or to be a part of the Collective which they envision running the New Plantation.
If you are not here mixing the Kool Aide, I challenge you to the test for which one of us is an IDIOT = In Denial Intensely Obscuring TRUTH from oneself. I don't dance at the end of the Puppet String Media's strings - Entiende JouroList for starters?
I think in general you believe in some liberty, but not all and not for everyone.
BTW, once an apolitical article I wrote got picked up by a mainstread outlet and accounted for a third of a website's traffic. They said, "Give us more of that! Give us more stories with 25,000 readers!" If writing about left/right stuff got me 25,000 readers and I could do it without compromising the truth, I'd probably do it.
Isn't this a really bad sign? A third of the country thinks Obama is the devil and a third thinks Bush was. But they solidly agree on things we consider "abuses". That means if your problem is with one party, you can fix it by choosing the other. It means complaining about President Obama is nearly pointless. That's depressing. I hope the time is ripe for either new ideas or a new party.
There are even books written about it: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Lies-Right-Win...
You didn't watch the videos, did you?
Really? Why do most of the rank better than we do by any measure?
And all of them think their socialized medicine sucks. Especially the ones dying in the hallways of their hospitals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdARfegZD...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jijuj1y...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRPhltjPS...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=octFZaD_E...
Tell the "big lie" often enough and folks will buy into it if they agree with it.
You're the one arguing that the law induces responsibility, and reduces cheating.
"Buy a toilet with a tank capacity of my choice"
What difference how much it takes to flush. The job gets done. Ohhhhhh, I get it you wanna complain about the paperwork on that too? "
It doesn't matter. *I* get to choose. Not the government.
""Spend a couple of hours at the range for a reasonable amount of money."
Take that up with the capitalist who owns it. If you are willing to pay what he wants why should he lower his price? "
He could lower his prices if it weren't for taxes and regulation.
""Buy health insurance with benefits and deductibles of my choosing."
When the Obamacare gets up and running it will be far better. You will still buy your insurance from a private company but it won't be junk. It's rolling out just fine in California. MA, thanks to Romney, has something very similar for years now. "
My choice for health insurance is "none". Where in the exchange do I get to buy that?
""Fly without being treated like a terrorist."
TSA came in under Bush. Doesn't matter where the idea came from, Bush and Chaney set things up for the abuses. Yes, Obama is continuing it and because of a recent incident they will probably get guns. Sad, very sad but I've never been able to carry a loaded gun on an American flight. "
Yes, Bush is also a progressive. Too many of us "get" that now. And not being allowed to carry a loaded gun on an American flight is a 2nd Amendment violation.
""Buy a new car without the government mandated tracking module."
Gotta show me the law on that one. Ain't no such thing I'm aware of unless someone has put one on your car. Yes, manufacturers are collecting data on g-forces, speeds, etc. but that's not available for use in anything except the manufacturer's or insurance crash data."
Just like my health data isn't available to anyone from the Obamacare website. Just like my cell phone logs aren't available to anyone via AT&T.
""Have my conversations between me and my doctor be between me and my doctor"
Every time you bought insurance. they were looking over your doctor's shoulder. "
Til now, I never bought insurance.
""Have the IRS not pick on me for my political beliefs."
Yes, liberal organizations were targeted too. But, when organizations are talking about overthrow of the government don't you think they should be investigated? When churches are making political recommendations... "
By the FBI, not the IRS.
"They ain't "freedoms." Nobody has guaranteed you any particular type of light bulb or toilet will be available. Show it to me in the Constitution that anyone can have the crapper they want. "
You completely misunderstand the Constitution. The Constitution does not grant rights; it protects them. The Constitution delegates limited and enumerated powers to the government. Powers, not rights. If it's not delegated, the gov't has no say in it.
See the 9th Amendment.
having liability for others' actions is a socialist anti-free will concept. This is all covered in the book...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32cxf_...
He describes The American Puppet Class (1985 interview) that I hear now. "You will be able to show them that black is black and white is white and they will not believe you." Are you mixing or drinking the Kool Aide?
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." - John Adams
“Be not intimidated... nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice.” - John Adams
"There Are Two Ways To Enslave A Country…. One Is By The Sword. The Other Is By Debt." — John Adams
That is why the Left is the danger, not just Obama as an observant foreigner wrote,
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president."
"The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.
The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool.
It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.”
Load more comments...