We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
|
Samizdata quote of the day Whereas a conservative writer might warn that humans are just as likely, if not more likely, to bungle things when applying past experience to new plans for society as when trying to fix their own private lives – and an optimistic libertarian writer might note that people are far more rational in planning their own lives than in planning others’ – left-liberals have a tendency to think that humans’ ability to plan collectively is inversely proportional to their ability to plan their lives as individuals.
– Todd Seavey
H/t Quotulatiousness
|
Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
|
And this is in part due to the faustian bargain leftist conclude with Leftism: The relief of ceasing to be responsible for yourself, in exchange for the exhilaration and affirmation of pretending to be responsible for everything else. Just sign the petition to Save Darfur! Free Tibet! Fight Racism! Make Poverty History! But, my student loans? My employment? My healthcare? My retirement? Well, the government really ought to do something about all that, oughtn’t they?
Case in point. My sister actually said that she wanted smoking to be banned to help her give it up.
“My sister actually said that she wanted smoking to be banned to help her give it up.”
I was told it would help me give it up.
I was sorely tempted to take a baseball bat to them.
“…left-liberals have a tendency to think that humans’ ability to plan collectively….”
Except that “planning”, and “enforcing”, just never seems to end up decided collectively.
We the people…, …Of, by, and For “the people”, …But you can’t fool ALL “the people”, ALL the time. etc. ad nauseam.
The delusion of democracy sounds great, until it doesn’t. Oddly, it’s the folks who end up finding “solace” under the namesake “Democrat” tent….
Once upon a time there was a wolf who wore sheep’s clothing….
Once upon a time some mice decided that “belling” the cat was a good idea…
Bloke in Spain, I had much the same temptation. It was during Christmas dinner though, so a threat of being thrown out of my house had to suffice.
As for cigarette bans, here in Australia, the nanny state banned advertising a few years back- but sales seem to be increasing! I don’t know how long this needs to go on before it is an established fact, but it seems like the law has backfired.
Going back to the OP, I can think of people in my locality whose ability to plan would fit into each of these categories.
Is the quote not just seeing a political slant where there isn’t one?