Showing posts with label Liberty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liberty. Show all posts
Friday, July 31, 2009
Live Free or Die is 200!
Today, New Hampshire's beloved motto "Live Free or Die," turns 200 years old. Now let's hope the people of this state will remember its meaning over the next 200 years.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
The Rise and Fall of Society
I just finished reading Frank Chodorov's book The Rise and Fall of Society. I have nothing but praise for this wonderful book. I recommend it to all interested in libertarian theories of the State, both new and experienced.
Chodorov had a way with language. His eloquent style makes the most mundane and convoluted topics almost elementary. The book is short - only 168 pages - but that fact masks its breadth. His clear writing combined with great fluidity allow him to fit everything into so few pages.
For Chodorov, government is created to ensure the security of a community. Production and commerce bring prosperity, and that right is protected by government. But government ceases to be a protective force when it pushes programs and reforms in the name of "society" and "justice." Chodorov reminds us, however, that society is made of individuals. The predatory State degenerates society and takes power away from the people.
Written in 1959, The Rise and Fall of Society is a classic that is just as important today as it was when it first arrived almost 50 years ago. Buy your copy today at the Mises Institute Store. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Chodorov had a way with language. His eloquent style makes the most mundane and convoluted topics almost elementary. The book is short - only 168 pages - but that fact masks its breadth. His clear writing combined with great fluidity allow him to fit everything into so few pages.
For Chodorov, government is created to ensure the security of a community. Production and commerce bring prosperity, and that right is protected by government. But government ceases to be a protective force when it pushes programs and reforms in the name of "society" and "justice." Chodorov reminds us, however, that society is made of individuals. The predatory State degenerates society and takes power away from the people.
Written in 1959, The Rise and Fall of Society is a classic that is just as important today as it was when it first arrived almost 50 years ago. Buy your copy today at the Mises Institute Store. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Insight of the Week
This week's insight comes from Friedrich Nietzsche: "[E]verything that elevates an individual above the herd and intimidates the neighbor is henceforth called evil; and the fair, modest, submissive, conforming mentality, the mediocrity of desires attains moral designations and honors."
The herd, the collective mentality, is a symptom of today's mass democracy. The superior in ability are not tolerated. Democracy places equality high among the virtues of civil society. Public education is a perfect example. The classroom has become a tool for leveling, not advancement, of students. In commerce, the CEO is derided as a "greedy profiteer" while the parasitic bureaucrats that seek to lessen his production are hailed as selfless givers of social justice.
Clearly our sense of what is moral as been inverted. I really see no other cause than mass democracy and the expansion of the state. Our Constitution doesn't seem to be a limiting factor in the growth of the state. "Equality" has become more important than liberty and freedom. But what are we to do?
The herd, the collective mentality, is a symptom of today's mass democracy. The superior in ability are not tolerated. Democracy places equality high among the virtues of civil society. Public education is a perfect example. The classroom has become a tool for leveling, not advancement, of students. In commerce, the CEO is derided as a "greedy profiteer" while the parasitic bureaucrats that seek to lessen his production are hailed as selfless givers of social justice.
Clearly our sense of what is moral as been inverted. I really see no other cause than mass democracy and the expansion of the state. Our Constitution doesn't seem to be a limiting factor in the growth of the state. "Equality" has become more important than liberty and freedom. But what are we to do?
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