Another week has passed, which must mean it's time for your opportunity to engage TDV's staff on any topic you like, from what's in our virtual pages to what is not.
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On to the feedback…
KANADA WITH A K?
Hello,
I may have missed this somewhere along the line but why does Jeff spell Kanada with a K? (It's certainly not the Wikipedia definition.)
Cheers,
Phil
Jeff's Response:
Hi Phil,
The short answer is the same reason I often call the US, the "USSA" or Amerika. It is to make the point that these countries are becoming more and more like the USSR all the time. In Kanada's case, it has always been that way – a very socialist place… but in the last few decades the US has caught up and, in many ways, surpassed Canada… especially if/when Obamacare goes through.
The world has changed so much in the last few decades that now the President of what was the former Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying the following a few years ago:
Vladamir Putin has said the US should take a lesson from the pages of Russian history and not exercise “excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence”. “In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute,” Putin said during a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.”
Who would have thought, twenty years ago, that the President of Russia would be warning the US against totalitarian communism!
Nearly two years ago I think I coined the best way to describe the US, however. Worse than just being socialist/communist, it is also fascist and, on top of all that, a police state. It's a fasco-communist police state. And getting worse in each area. Especially in the police state department.
Check out this surreal video of a recent "live terrorist drill" in Los Angeles. It even comes with a 1984 style Master of Ceremonies!
The police state is ramping up at an incredible pace. After all, once you destroy a country through fascism and socialism/communism the only way for the government to retain any control over their tax slaves is by brutal force. That's why I am so absolute in my advice that it's time to get out…and why I've made it my business to make the path to freedom available to as many people as possible.
When will I have a positive outlook on a libertarian community? When there's actually such a thing. Once libertarians on agregate can outcompete leftists, religious folks, Jews, bio-colectivists, etc in their affiliation, loyalty, mutual personal investment, etc. Fear, survival and profit are not a good basis for coordinated action. Principle is. Stefan Molyneux and Ayn Rand have done much harm by glorifying personal consequentialism and entrepreneurs outside the context of A) the division of labor and B)society or multiple individual associations if you're a nitpicking objectivist regarding the semantics of the term society. People seem to forget libertarianism is an intellectual, social, philosophical movement, not an economic strategy and where entrepreneurship becomes a strategy beyond individual welfare it is necessarily ideological in its basis. I venture to say where such commitment is not so ordered nothing but failure will result. Christians were not ideological collectivists because they were so inclined but because they ultimately wanted Christianity to win over civilization if necessary.
-J.S. Ortiz
Gary's Response:
This post was addressed to people heavily involved in expat liberty-focused places. In the case of Jeff (and me) it's Galt's Gulch, Chile and in the case of Doug Casey it's his La Estancia de Cafayate development in Argentina's Salta region.
You make excellent points, J.S. But I think Stefan Molyneux makes very sound arguments and I admit to being a regular consumer of his content.
Libertarians should indeed have world conquest as a goal…at least in terms of ideology. The fate of our species depends on it. Statism is far too dangerous to be allowed to continue to exist. The technology availabe today multiplies the state's destructive powers to a degree unimaginable for the first few thousand years of its existence.
And I'm not just talking about the destruction of thee biosphere which various governments around the globe could destroy several times over with their nuclear weapons. I'm talking about snuffing out even a hint of freedom for humanity. Forever. I strongly suspect that there is some point of no return beyond which humanity's destiny is to evermore dwell under collectivism and fascim and the state's technology-ennhanced power will be so complete that there will simply be no chance to reverse course.
I hope I've made it clear how great I think the stakes are here. Having done that, I have to say that I think the arguments for peaceful parenting as the answer make the most sense. Ideological collectivism for libertarians seems to me likely to result in libertarians becoming just another insular group within the greater statist society…even if such an insular group grows extremely powerful and wealthy. Our goal again is nothing short of world conquest for the sake of the species.
Having said that, I think it's a great idea to gather someplace both freer and safer, especially for those currently in the USSA. I'm very excited about Galt's Gulch, Chile where liberty-minded people will be investing and living together. Galt's Gulch offers community while lowering risk, a great strategy while we let the sheer superiority of our ideas — and the inevitable effects of raising children in a way that shows the superiority of negotiation over initiating violence — save the world.
It's not a quick process by any means. It will likely take a lot longer than anyone reading this has to live. So please consider making Galt's Gulch your refuge as things inevitably get worse in the Western world.
