Free Society - I think I may have taken the red pill.
I have joined the Steemit community just over a month ago. One thing that I have learnt of myself during this time, is that I love research and to learn new things (and there are many more). I always had to learn new things on an ongoing basis, as have been working in the ICT sector for the last 25 years. It is a requirement to always learn in order to survive in the industry. It is just the way that the industry works. I can however categorically state, that I have not enjoyed the ICT learning as much as I did for the past month or so?
A new world opening in front of my eyes
Today, I find myself in a new world, filled with a community of the most interesting people and topics that I have ever been involved in. If you asked me 2 months ago, what my believes are on Capitalism, Free Society, Anarchism and the likes, I would probably have given a generic answer like: "Capitalism, That is the way that the world works and there is not much that we can do about it" or "Free society - Isn't that what communists believe?" and "Anarchism, those guys are all crazy man, nothing to speak about."
If you ask me the same question today, I have a total new view on the world, thanks to all of you! And I love it. It is as I have a new reason for living, or more importantly, I think I have taken the red pill and will probably start to follow the white rabbit :)
My new beliefs
I have always had a problem, with the way the world works, I just didn't think far enough on what can be done to change the way the capitalist society work and operates. When I was a student in the early 90's, we always had a few beers … sorry a lot of beers, and then the conversation always turned into philosophical topics … I think it is a general thing in the student community, as I had the opportunity later in life, to spend a lot of time in Oxford and Cambridge, UK, not as a student but for work related matters. I then ended up in the pubs and had a lot of conversations with the local student's while have in a few beers … no sorry a lot of beers and then the conversation turned into philosophical topics. It was like de javu. I still believe that the energy in Cambridge is a weird energy...
So do I believe in a free society? No, Not yet - but my eyes opened and I am researching this as we speak. I am reading and researching as much as I can, and will hopefully gather enough information to make an informed decision very soon. I took that red pill! My heart tells me that it will work, but I have learnt through many experiences in my life, to not just accept, but rather research and ensure that you can talk with confidence on any given subject.
Am I an Anarchist? No, Not yet, but again my eyes opened and within a very short period of time , I acknowledge that there is definitely something strong here. Something that can change the whole world, and the way things are done in the world on a daily basis.
Do I believe in Capitalism and the way the world is run currently
Hell No!
We are being screwed every day of our lives, and the fat cats are laughing all the way to the bank. We are being manipulated, and forced into a specific way of thinking, from the day that we are born, and from then forward every day of our lives.
All of this, is thanks to @dantheman , @ned , the developers of the platform and every single one of you on this wonderful platform. Thank you for giving me a reason to be excited about the world we live in!
Free Society
As I am researching the subject, I thought I will share a bit of my thinking up to now. For those who are already experts on the subject, please bear with me, I am not talking to you :) I am sharing my experience with the newbies who have not yet researched the subject.
What is a free society ?
A free society is a society where people shall have the right to exercise unlimited freedom in their own lives, freedom to live in whatever manner they choose, freedom to pursue their own goals, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal rights of others to do the same.
[Source : afreesociety.blogspot.com/]
There are however many aspects and issues to consider when talking about a free society, Financial Systems, Governments, Law enforcement - There must still be rules, Political views ,
Freedom
According to the http://www.dictionary.com/browse/freedom
the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint:
He won his freedom after a retrial.
exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
the power to determine action without restraint.
political or national independence.
personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery: a slave who bought his freedom.
exemption from the presence of anything specified (usually followed by from):
freedom from fear.
Source Credit
Coming from the Apartheid South Africa, I have some real world experience on the subject of Freedom … Freedom is much more than not being imprisoned. It means you have the right to speak, act and think freely. It doesn't mean that you can only do it at Speakers corner in London's Hyde Park :) This is something that the old government of South Africa, did not really get.
Free Society
So isn’t the wonderful USA a Free Society? Nope, we might think they are free, but the society is forced to work under strict rules enforced by blood sucking capitalist, just like all our countries are. Even in post-apartheid South Africa, we are being run by capitalism. And the problem here is that we have a openly acknowledged very corrupt government in place. I know that we have corruption, in most governments around the world, but these guys are just taking the mickey out of corruption. Ridiculous I tell you.
So a real free society is much wider than just acting, speaking and thinking freely. It involves not being oppressed in any way by anybody or any means, even those in positions of authority. This freedom should be applied to everybody and everything, this should apply to your political views, your personal views and even in economic transactions. Why do you think that all currencies in the world have different values? Why is the US Dollar stronger than the British Sterling or stronger than the South African Rand? Well f@ck knows? It is a game, that the fat cat capitalists started long ago, many decades ago .. And all of this is based on what? I have read many good posts on the subject of fiat currencies and financial systems …
Anyway, Freedom means that we should not be forced, controlled, directed in anyway or means! So the bottom line rule in a free society is that freedom should be applied equally to all the citizens in the free society. We do not have the right to interfere with anybody else's freedom or harm their freedom or harm them for that matter. In other words, you are not implementing freedom if you harm anybody or their right to freedom in any way. The above is the 'No harm' principle, which needs to be an underlying principle or value, within everybody in the Free Society. Hence, my hesitance, to just say that it will work. I can definitely live by this principle, but I am questioning if everybody in society can. There is te just too many people in society that have been brainwashed through the times and the way we live for the past few centuries.
The 4 ways to build a free society
While doing research on the subject I read a post from Jeff Deist, where he highlighted 4 ways to build a free society. I quoted a summary of each of his 4 points below for those that will not read this. It is a good read please do so when you get some time.
So when people start talking about bringing about a Free Society it normally evolves around the four options. The four is not communally exclusive and can work separately or as a combination of the four.
Option 1 The Political Option
The argument goes something like this: government, and the political process that surrounds it, are inevitable in the real world. Therefore libertarians must not stand idly on the sidelines while politicians inexorably steal our freedoms. Instead we must organize and become active politically, under the banner of a third party vehicle like the Libertarian Party or by working within the Republican Party, because whether we want to involve ourselves with politics, politics involves itself with us.
Option 2 Strategic Withdrawal
This approach involves separating, withdrawing, or segregating in some way from the larger society and political landscape. It asserts that the current environment is largely hopeless for libertarians politically and culturally, and therefore attempting to play the game where the rules are so heavily slanted in favor of the state is foolish.
Option 3 Winning hearts and minds.
The hearts and minds strategy argues that no change can occur unless and until a significant portion of a given population shrugs off its bad ideas and embraces sensible ideas, particularly in the areas of politics, economics, and social theory. Politics is a lagging indicator, and it follows downstream from culture. We should focus on the underlying disease, not the symptoms. Just as Left progressives have captured the institutions of the West — academia, news media, government, churches, Hollywood, publishing, social media — libertarians ought to focus our efforts on reclaiming these institutions for liberty and a brighter future. So it makes sense to launch liberty-minded people into the streams of academia, business, media, and religion. This is how we strike the root, or at least chip away, at the mindset that supports the state.
Option 4 Resistance
Of course another strategy often discussed among libertarians involves simple resistance to the state, whether open or covert. This tactic contemplates actions like civil disobedience, tax protests, evading or ignoring regulations, and engaging in agorism and black markets.
It also contemplates the use of technological advances to advance freedom. “Third way” libertarian technologists promote this approach, citing advances like encryption, cybercurrencies, and platforms like Uber — all of which when first developed existed in a sort of grey area as regards their legality.
This is a big subject and cannot be done in one post. So I will every so often share my learnings for those interested.
Final Thought : Has the world turned into such a statism environment that we do not know how to be free anymore? Will this decentralised blockchain, underpinned by the Steem currency be the start of a revolution against the real world capitalism and currencies? And also a statement which Jeff Deist made in his conclusion : Lets turn the thoughts of What must be done from a question to a declaration.
Says I who do not believe in the Concept of Free Society fully yet, Go figure :)
Happy Steeming
Please follow me on my blog @jacor if you enjoy my topics and content.
@jacor features authors to promote a diversity of content and new authors. All STEEM Dollars for these posts go to the featured author.
If you are looking to be featured as an author, please contact me via email - [email protected]
@jacor
I agree with the idea of having an open mind and learning more and this is why I upvoted the article. As for the second part, I think you need to read more on the subject of free market/lessaiz-free capitalism vs crony capitalism/corporatism.
Capitalism and Corporatism are two separate things. Corporatism is the action of using the state as means to advance ones own interests. Corporatism breeds monopolies and corruption.
Free market capitalism eliminates momopolies and corruption, even cartels by allowing competition. The state is the tool that allows corporatism to exist because it concentrates the power to the top.
In reality there was never a pure form of capitalism since all economic activities are regulated from the goverment. This is where anarcho-capitalism comes as an answer. If you think about it the big guys on top are very much acting anarchic while the rest at the bottom follow them as rulers.
Free society and liberty is an important but complex topic very much worthy of discussion. When we talk politically about a free society, we should first of all be mindful of who would become freer. Is it those who least need to be freer or those who most need it?
There are many flavors of libertarianism but the general idea is to allow individuals the right to pursue their own goals without infringing on the equal rights of others. This is generally understood as a removal of restrictions, protections, and regulations. Creating these equal rights can involve two improvements to freedom.
On the one hand, society can remove environmental protections and regulations so that resources can be freely taken by those capable of exploiting them, generally the rich. Regardless of the negative consequences and the rights of others, these individuals should be allowed to do what they want without restriction in order to make their already comfortable lives even better.
On the other hand, society can remove individual protections and regulations so that the resources and wealth of the rich can be freely and legally taken by those that need them, generally the poor. This type of freedom assures equal rights for all. Regardless of the slightly negative consequences to the rich, the legal removal of property protections will allow the poor to have what they need to live the lives that they want.
The actual ideal of libertarianism, as an consistently applied political philosophy, should mean that everyone gets equal rights to freedom, not just the rich. Unfortunately, this is very far removed from how the majority proponents of libertarian philosophy regard its application.
Well said, upvoted.
This is a key distinction and making more distinctions allows conversations to be more nuanced and more likely to build alliances.
Collusion between industries, regulators and lawmakers who are able to keep themselves above the accountability of representative democracy is one key element of the Corruption eating away at societies across the globe.
@kyriacos, thank you very much for the valid comment and advice. I will definitely read up in detail on what you suggested. Like I said, I am not a specialist on the subject but love reading and researching.
Conflating free market capitalism with state capitalism (corporatism, fascism) is why Millennials have mistakenly fallen for Bernie's socialism, which is simply the other side of the statist coin. Thus did economist* Thomas DiLorenzo coin the term "fascialism" to describe this "New American System":
Incredibly, the two-party duopoly that has long ruled America has adopted both fascism and socialism as the defining characteristics of our economic system. Call it Fascialism. It is a recipe for national economic suicide.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2009/06/thomas-dilorenzo/fascialism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_School
https://mises.org/about-mises/what-austrian-economics
Np @jacor
We are all here to learn from each other. We are all students on this planet
The government in my life only cares for me, using society as a tool.
I always have a problem with the word free. This is relative: individual, company, organization. Everywhere, we are faced with the freedom of others that may affect our freedoms. So, where is the frontier?
Well said @jacor and big support from here. I vote at least a little bit for your proposed option 3- winning the hearts and minds. One person at a time, heart to heart. Deep in our subconscious we know that all humans are meant to be decentralized. Let's be solar powered by the sun, and decentralized. Let's build more anon blockchains that build the fabric of a post-industrialist and free society where anything can be discussed and then wonderful things can be invented. Remember, we are all a sub-set of nature, so let's get inspiration from a rainforest, not a desert.
We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation. Agent Smith--The Matrix
+1 yeah that part was scary.
Did you know that Wachowski brothers based The Matrix on the Polish Catholic State? (little known fact!)
Wow sir ! I didn't know that!
Catholic State + Communism = THE MATRIX!!!
good post @jacor congrats 8]
@jacor ...I used to be a Libertarian...but now I am an Anarchist...we believe that the State has to be totally dismantled in order to have individual freedom...the government is but a vehicle used by the State to subjugate the people...we believe in total decentralization and power restructuring...I have an abhorance to centralized fascist power structures...true freedom is freedom from statutes...following the common law...and profiting from individual endeavors...I do believe corporatism hurts the people by giving controlling interests to a few at the top...leaving the rest powerless in managing their own lives...For corporatism to work everybody would have to incorporate themselves as an LLC...I don't see how that could happen! I took the red pill sometime ago! Welcome to Wunderland!
I applaud your efforts in the exploration of this topic - or, maybe I should say - topics. For my own part, I have narrowed the argument down to the group of thoughts and ideas surrounding 'control'. The controls established, by often well-meaning social structures called legislative bodies, are a reflection of how they - and the people who elected them - see humans as a whole. That mirroring effect is telling; It strikes me that controls are established because of a belief that humans will act badly without them. This view, the projecting of the worst of the self onto others, is a part of the human condition. It accounts for - among many other things - the tribal nature of our species. That is what we must change. That is why, in my opinion, the focus must be on a positive and growth oriented future for the smallest minority of all - the individual human.
Like you said - BIG topic. I look forward to hearing your thoughts as you explore.
Cheers.
One thing I have learned from experience is that it is better to learn 'on the go' than 'learn everything and then do it'. When a friend of mine joined YouTube in 2008, he told me let's start together and I was reluctant. Now he is a YouTuber who makes thousands of dollars every month and I have just started making videos on Youtube in October 2015. Anyways, its better late than never.
Firstly well done here on Steemit! It was actually exploring these beliefs that led me to Steemit (I am a follower of Jeff Berwick on fb) I am also learning and exploring. The government has made my life a misery (sometimes a living hell). We desperately need a new society.
Thanks for this article. Topics about free society for me like a sound of hope.