Fighting Evil Is a Failed Strategy

Sure, there are rare situations where fighting evil humans is thrust upon us, but such situations are just that, rare. So, feel free to do what you must in that unlikely event, and let’s set the subject aside, as seductively theatric as it may be.

This setting aside is important, because “fighting evil” in any kind of societal application is a demonstrably failed strategy.

Failures Left and Right

Today we’ll pick on the left to begin with, then switch to the right.

The “fighting evil” strategy of the political left is socialism. It has gained a foothold among the young for three primary reasons:

  1. They are too young to remember socialism in practice.

  2. They are so poorly schooled that they don’t see any problem with it.

  3. The people promoting socialism complain very well.

I’m not trying to be trite or insulting with these three points; they’re the actual reasons.

Complaints about the way things are have a great deal of legitimacy, of course. Student loans are one of the more abusive schemes ever thrust upon a generation… deeply manipulative and deeply abusive. (I explain in some depth here.)

On top of that abuse, the truth is that the rich are becoming richer and the poor, poorer((This is not the fault of capitalism (actual capitalism, that is) and it’s not the fault of money per se. It’s the fault of national economic systems that call themselves capitalist and which run the economies of the world.)).

Bear in mind that these problem exist on the heels of a century of “fighting the rich.” Very clearly, the left’s “fighting evil” strategy didn’t work.

And it’s worth adding that while the complaints above are legitimate, invoking socialism to fight them has to be one of the most boneheaded strategies in human history. Not only has it not worked despite a century of massive efforts, but socialism has proven itself to be death incarnate((For what it’s worth, socialism was supposed to be a transition phase from capitalism to communism. A proper communist society would have no state per se. But please bear in mind that avowed communists can argue about these things for days on end.)). The Soviet socialists killed tens of millions. The Chinese socialists killed many tens of millions. Cambodian socialists killed roughly a third of their populace in only a few years.

Socialism is a way for a few to live like kings, while the masses praising them die in huge numbers. Period.

Now, let’s pick on the right.

I got an email recently, in which a friend shared a passage he’d read. It said, roughly, this:

Through the late ’50s and early ’60s the US was essentially a live-and-let-live place, with Christian proclivities. This began to change when the Marxists began infiltrating our universities, reaching critical mass in the ’70s and ’80s. No reformation movement can succeed until we treat cultural Marxism like we treated the war on smallpox.

I responded that while there is some truth in the passage (I’ve addressed it previously), the prescription of treating it as “a war on…” is useless. While most people no longer remember, groups like the John Birch Society have been doing precisely this since the 1950s and even earlier. And despite all their “fighting evil” efforts… and even with its incredible crash and burn of the late 1980s… socialism still seduces.

And so, again, “fighting evil” got us more or less nowhere.

The Answer

If you want progress in the world – if you want people to live happier, freer, more satisfying lives – there is a very simple and effective answer: Start building it yourself.

Not only does this work, but it’s more or less the only thing that works. A lot of people don’t like the idea, because it requires effort and because they’ve been seduced by the big lie of democratic politics, which is this:

If you can complain well enough, the machinery of the state will create what you want.

And so, people who believe that complaining makes it so (a near-relative of wishing makes it so) are hesitant to build. After all, building is harder than complaining, and they might get into trouble.

And so the politician who best pretends to care gets elected, and there’s no reason for anything to change. The politicians promise and the people believe, as the generations come and go. Ho hum.

So, if you want things to improve, roll up your sleeves and get busy. Cryptocurrencies, biohacking, 3D-printed housing, flying cars (scaled-up drones), automated agriculture, and many other improvements stand waiting for your efforts. In fact, we publish a monthly newsletter that teaches you how to get involved.

So, make a choice… and make it a good one.

* * * * *

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* * * * *

Paul Rosenberg
www.freemansperspective.com

Google’s Mendacity: The Selfish Ledger Decyphered

google

Few things repulse me more than someone born with a genius brain who then uses it to befuddle others and turn them into tools.

A leaked video from Google showed up on my screen this morning. At first I was thrilled that we’d have evidence from the inside, showing what’s really happening at the home of “Don’t Be Evil.” But as I watched the video, my emotions changed dramatically.

This video, which was made for Google employees((I do not believe Google’s response that this was merely a tool for generating discussion. That ranks with “the dog ate my homework” for lame excuses after getting caught. I’m flatly ignoring it.)), was designed to confuse them into supporting their employer’s plans and to feel like they were smart for doing so. That pissed me off.

So, I’m going to decipher this video. Please read this brief explanation and then watch the video yourself. They’re admitting to precisely what Jonathan Logan and I wrote in The New Age of Intelligence, but the admission is wrapped in bullshit that makes people feel smart.

So, here’s what was said, all the quotes below are precisely from the video:

  1. The video begins with a lesson on biology. Then (1:20) they jump from epigenetic theory (interesting stuff, though not precisely understood) to data produced by a girl on a smart phone… data that Google sucks from her, mainly without her realizing it.

  2. They rightly say that the data taken from this girl (or anyone using such phones) “describes our actions, decisions, preferences, movement, and relationships,” then compares this data to a “ledger,” being “a constantly evolving representation of who we are.”

  3. Next, the video goes into more biology, saying that “the driving force behind evolution was not the individual but the gene.” It goes on (2:52) to say that “the individual organism is a transient carrier, a survival machine for the gene.”

  4. Now comes a big jump: While showing us the ledger book (and remember, that’s essentially you) they talk about making it “richer… by introducing more sources of information.” (3:12) Then they ask, “What if we thought of ourselves not as owners of our information… but as transient carriers?” So, you are a “transient carrier” of data, like a hard drive, and the ledger is, for lack of a better work, a precise copy of your soul (or psyche or whatever).

  5. They further say that this digitized soul should be given “more inputs.” (3:15) That means that they want to add things to your life and mind. They’re not explaining what or how yet, but they’ve got their foot in the door.

  6. Now (3:40) comes another leap: “Google would be responsible for offering suitable targets for a user’s ledger… topics would likely focus on health or environmental impact, to reflect Google’s values as an organization.” As the discourse continues, it says (4:01), “… if one of these options allows the ledger to move closer to the user’s goal, it is offered up to the user. Over time… the user’s behavior may be modified.”

  7. Then (4:40) the video jumps to what might happen when “the notion of a goal-driven ledger becomes more palatable….” Here they’re admitting that people would be repulsed to know what’s being done to them. And so, it will take time before this becomes “palatable.” This is an echo of a comment from Eric Schmidt (a top-level Google boss), who said he wanted to get Google’s policy “as close as possible to the creepy line.” Here, however, they expect us to get used to creepy, after which they can get what they really want.

  8. The video then describes what happens if you’re not sucking up the right information for Google’s goal. In that case (4:50), they’ll custom design a device for you, according to your “taste and aesthetic sensibility.” This results in “a custom object to trigger the user’s interest.”

  9. At 8:39 the video moves forward into “behavior sequencing,” a reference to sequencing DNA. What they’re talking about is identifying every single thing, internal or external, that drives your behavior. This sequencing ends (7:50) with a system, “which not only tracks our behavior but offers direction toward the desired result.”

  10. The video concludes with a Do it for the children narrative but with college-level vocabulary and sympathetic images.

So, let’s recap:

  • Google sees you as a “transient carrier.” (#3 above.) That is, the data you produce is the essential being, and you’re a mere “container.”

You, robot.

  • You shouldn’t really own your ledger (your most essential self), and they should insert information into your life. (#4, #6)

We’ll tell you what to think.

  • Google will choose what you should want and will modify your behavior accordingly (#5). How? By offering you new options or even designing custom devices that you won’t be able to resist (#8). They will make sure “your behavior” is “modified.”

Look at this shiny gadget you really need… and it’s free if you take a short quiz!

  • If this seems creepy to you, don’t worry; you’ll warm up to it over time. (#7)

It’s okay; you’ll come to love Big Brother.

  • Google will guide you to what’s best for you (#9). You can trust them; they love us and know what’s best for us all.

Look little girl; I have candy in the car.

This is how Google sees you, and whether you want to believe me or not, this has already begun. And please understand that Facebook does the same… and that the NSA sucks it all in.

But, hey, the accounts are free! Right?

* * * * *

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Paul Rosenberg
www.freemansperspective.com

Evil Is Weak

EvilIsWeak

For clarity, let’s define “evil” as “the willful abuse of other humans.”

By this definition, any person or persons who purposely manipulate other humans to their own ends – anything from tricking them into a bad business deal to extorting money from them to murdering them – are engaging in evil.

Evil Almighty?

From television, politicians, and endless “authorities,” we learn that evil is pre-eminent. God may be supremely powerful, but he’s powerful somewhere far away; Satan is powerful here. We can slide into evil with ease, but being good is difficult. Western man is convinced that darkness is stronger than light, whether he defines it in religious terms or secular terms.

The fear-sellers, we must admit, have won the day.

This primacy of fear and darkness is necessary to authority of course; without it, how would we be driven into their arms?

So, when someone comes along and calls evil a weakling, we think they’re a bit crazy, and maybe we worry that the devil might notice and chop them down.

Fundamental Weakness

Carrying such fears around every day, people seldom realize that evil is weak. And not weak temporarily or in a certain situation, but fundamentally weak. Here’s why: Evil does not produce.

Armed robbery is a good example of evil, and it is clearly contrary to production; we could almost define it as “anti-production.”

Evil is massively wasteful: it burns crops, it breaks down bridges, it steals important, useful assets, and it kills people. Evil, therefore, must take advantage of healthy and effective life if it is to prosper.

Genghis Kahn had to get his arrows, horses, and shields from somewhere, and he didn’t produce them himself. Likewise for Mao and Stalin and Tamerlane and the rest. One way or another, they required basically decent people to produce for them. Regardless of whether these producers were tricked or intimidated, it was they who armed evil; evil didn’t arm itself.

And this brings us to one of the great, simple truths of our times:

If goodness ever stops allowing evil to take advantage of it, evil is simply finished.

The good don’t need the evil, but the evil are fully dependent on the good.

It is the good (or at least the basically productive) who permit evil to continue. These decent people are laboring under fears and flawed ideas of course, but without their acquiescence, evil could accomplish very little. And this is massively good news: Evil is vulnerable… deeply vulnerable.

Changing the Game

Right now, evil has tricked millions of productive people into doing its will. At this point, most think acquiescence is the right thing to do, or they simply don’t realize any option exists. And being in that position, they accommodate themselves to it. This can be seen in the moral confusion that is currently endemic. How else could people believe that what is immoral for one person is somehow moral for another?

So, the very first step toward the defeat of evil is to clarify morality. And here we can get a quick start, because morality is simple. It boils down to this:

What is hateful to you, do not do to any man.

From there, we can move on to things like, “Do not encroach upon anyone or their property,” or, “Keep your agreements,” but those are just extensions of the first statement… and that’s all we really need.

Yes, a professional philosopher can come up with strange exceptions, but those aren’t serious concerns. Send the one-in-a-million scenario to a specialist and get on with the other 999,999.

Act with integrity and you’re guaranteed to do the right thing 99.999% of the time. Do you think any of the complicated, academic systems of ethics will touch that percentage?

Furthermore, integrity is a simple concept that can be understood by any functional adult. This means that moral clarity is not only possible, but universally accessible.

Then What?

Once we’re clear on morality, we simply start calling things by their true names… and we don’t stop.

After that, evil openly displays its weakness every time it objects: It shows that it cannot abide – cannot survive – the persistence of simple truths.

* * * * *

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Paul Rosenberg
www.freemansperspective.com