Paul Rosenberg – 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^[1].

Bear in mind that these problems 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^[2]. 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, bio-hacking, 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.

SF Source Freeman’s Perspective Mar 2019