Re: The Education Function

Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Tue, 22 Dec 1998 11:07:34 -0500

Samael wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dick.Gray@bull.com <Dick.Gray@bull.com>
> >
> >I don't get the point of your response, Samael. Why do you refer to a
> >"government" as a PPA? A PPA is a voluntary association that arises due to
> >market demand. It has little in common with an organization that claims a
> >monopoly on the use of force in a certain territory, and prevents
> >competition by force of arms.
>

Regarding Fabulich's comments on the theoretical evolution of PPA's into PPF's.

> Because many, many people believe that their government is acting reasonably

> (at least some of the time). They are happy (ish) with their
> representatives. While it is not a true PPA, it is acting as if it thinks
> it is (governments frequently refer to themselves as servants of the
> people). However, it's an organisation that's now claimed a monopoly on
> it's area (although I've seen it claimed elsewhere here that PPA's would
> have to have a monopoly on the area they cover) and is 'out of control'.
>
> Strikes me as a likely situation in a libertarian society, and therefore
> something you ought to be able to cope with. So why aren't you?

Well, unfortunately, in my opinion, we do not do a sufficient amount of teaching of people about the meaning and purpose of our government, which is why so much of the silly collectivist ideas have seeped in over the years from europe and spread so insidiously.

Any system requires for it to work that the members of the system actually understand how the system works and why it is the way it is, and that at least a significant number, preferably a majority, actually beleive that the system works best that way.

Currently here in the US, we have what is called a culture war, which is thought by many to be a two way culture ware, but I would say that there are at least three sides to it. The economic culture war seems to be moving in favor of the fiscal conservatives and libertarians, while the social culture war is moving in the direction, slowly, of the liberals and libertarians, but the civil rights culture war is definitely regressing away from libertarianism and toward the fascist wings of the other two sides, which is why we have Jerry Fallwell and NOW on the same side with regards to pornography, Ralph Nader and the FBI on the same side with regards to cryptography, etc.

This war, to many, is as crucial as the other two, perhaps even more so because it protects our ability to dissent. Without political dissidents like ourselves injecting new ideas and arguments into the public discource, the system would stagnate and calcify into an unacceptable state.

Mike Lorrey