[EC]

By noreply@blogger.com (EC) from Atlantis,cross-posted by MetaBlog

Many have written recently about the looming financial "crisis". While I have wanted to comment on this subject, what is there to say without echoing the chorus of our intellectuals that it is the government to blame for this mess and that any further intervention will only make the situation worse--much, much worse? This is, of course, true; but just because something happens to be true doesn't mean that it should be repeated ad infinitum.

So what new insights do I have to add on this subject? This is the question I have been asking myself. The answer in this case is none. The ARI and especially Yaron Brooks and Alex Epstein have this subject covered as well as can be done, in my opinion. This however does not mean that we--the advocates of Objectivism, Capitalism, individual rights, and rational egoism should keep our mouths shut.

We do live in a unique time in these early days of the 21st Century, my writing this post and your reading it is proof of that assertion. What I mean is, literally at all of our fingertips we have the power via our writing and the vastness of the internet's reach to convey our ideas and values nearly instantly to virtually anyone on earth.

So while, we have the luxury of relying on our movement's intellectual leaders to get ideas our ideas "out there" and they are doing an exellent job at ARI we also have the power to do it ourselves.

I am not going to repeat the mantra of the government creating this "crisis" via it's immoral intervention into the economy by way of regulations, the FED, Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, etc. because all that is obvious to "the choir". I am not going to mention that any "bailout" legislation that finally gets passed will probably lead us to the 21st Century version of The Great Depression and a huge jump to full-blown socialism because all that goes without saying if one accepts and understands the concepts of Capitalism and it's philosophical underpinnings--rational egoism and Objectivism.

What I want to suggest is that we all learn to use this amazing technology at our fingertips, known as the internet, to pass on our understanding of these truths to the general public. It is time for us to complete the American Revolution that was primarily a revolution of man's mind. It is time for us to learn to use all the available technologies available to us to spread our ideas of freedom.

First each of us needs to live our lives as best as we can, selfishly persuing our own goals, to serve as points of light that other rational men will want to emulate. Second, you must learn that it is in your rational self-interest to use the internet to share your ideals with the world, whether it's via blogs such as this, letters to your local newspapers expressing your views, or even just normal conversations with your friends and co-workers along a similar vein.

We have a great opportunity to show why are ideas are right--why the are the good. We now have the technology--the means--to do this on a scale previously unimagined. All we need is enough people willing to fight for the future--to fight, intellectually using today's advanced technologies--for freedom in their lifetimes.

We all seem to acknowledge the fact that to win at all this and to stop this march towards tyranny that seems to be accelerating almost by the day we must first win the war of ideas. We are involved in a philosophical war in which the American people are not completely at odds with us. For example, notice how the "bailout" plan failed a few days ago because of the vast numbers of people writing to their respective Congress members in disgust. We have the audience, we have the means, all that is left is the will--or more precisely, the productive effort of us ordinary men and women of the mind--to win this war of philosophical ideas. How many of us are ready to step up and use this oportunity to finally change the tide of this war in our favor? It won't be easy. Nothing worth doing usually is. But it is the right thing to do, and now is the time to do it.

Are you in? I am, because I value freedom and want to see the world as it could be and ought to be--in my lifetime. How about you?http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ObjectivismOnline/~4/410148551

View the full article

[funandlearning]

Yes
Though it need not be said vocally, it's implied by most of the members of this forum. Each, in his/her own way is already doing it.

[Grames]

I wonder if you EC, are up to it. Remember that you can't just go round writing CAPITALISM!! on blogs and comment forms, you have to take the time to explain things and that can be maddeningly frustrating.

Teaching people to be rational is like teaching people to do math. It won't do to give people the answers, they have to learn the method of solving problems for themselves. In this analogy, quoting Rand early and often is like giving away the answers to the homework questions too early, people won't learn anything that way. They have to work through all the steps and validations of major ideas.

This post has been edited by Grames: 12 October 2008 - 03:59 AM

[EC]

Grames, on Oct 12 2008, 05:56 AM, said:

I wonder if you EC, are up to it. Remember that you can't just go round writing CAPITALISM!! on blogs and comment forms, you have to take the time to explain things and that can be maddeningly frustrating.

It's better than doing nothing. But if people are at least pointed in the right direction of the correct ideas it is MUCH better than do nothing. The best thing to do is tell others when they are wrong and point out where they can find the correct answers. Going through long complicated answers to others statements does nothing but show that you can write eloquently. Why not just point them to the original even more eloquent answers?

[Zip]

EC, on Oct 12 2008, 10:00 AM, said:

Going through long complicated answers to others statements does nothing but show that you can write eloquently. Why not just point them to the original even more eloquent answers?

I would wager most people would rather come to understand the truth through conversation, directed discovery, friendly guidance and reflection.

People do not respond well to being flogged even if they are being flogged with the truth.

[IchorFigure]

I agree with what you're saying. I think the most important thing to do is simply stress and emphasize the role government played. It's even commonly known to most people that the CRA, the Fed, and Fannie/Fred played a big role in this mess. And so, with some highlighting and rational connecting of the dots it's not all that hard to make a point. The governments role in forcing banks to deal in bad loans, the governments role in keeping interest low, the governments insistence that every American should be allowed a home, their near monopoly on the credit rating agency, their subsidization of freddie and fannie, their securitization of the mortgages, and on and on, the facts are all there and on the side of truth.

My trouble with this situation is simply trying to keep up on the facts. I do my best day by day to understand what's going on, but so much is going on now it's rough to keep up. I noticed in the last few days there have been a lot of online articles that reference Greenspan and at the same time deride Rand because they think deregulation was the problem.

[Capitalism Forever]

EC, on Oct 3 2008, 12:40 PM, said:

Are you in?

Could you elaborate on what exactly it is you're proposing?

[Zip]

Capitalism Forever, on Oct 13 2008, 11:30 AM, said:

Could you elaborate on what exactly it is you're proposing?

Yes, getting back to the original proposition and ignoring an argument that has somehow migrated here from a completely different thread...

What is your proposal?

[softwareNerd]

Zip, on Oct 13 2008, 12:38 PM, said:

..an argument that has somehow migrated here from a completely different thread...

Sorry about that. I've moved the "forum focus" posts to another thread.

This post has been edited by softwareNerd: 13 October 2008 - 02:31 PM