Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> There is nothing the world - even the Jihadism we are dealing with - there 
> is nothing in the world more evil than socialism.

James, I want to make clear that I am an independent at heart. I take full 
responsibility for my life, my decisions, my results. I don't want anyone 
getting in my face. And that is what I see from the theocrats who appear to 
be gaining ever greater power in my country. They are not comfortable with 
having full freedom to live as they believe; they want to force others to 
live the same. That effort is killing freedom. I respect all personal 
beliefs but I demand respect for mine, and my demand includes freedom FROM 
religion and the religious beliefs and practices of others.

> A social philosophy of staunch self reliance is the only solution to both 
> of them, a social philosophy where people would be embarrassed to boast 
> how weak and parasitic they are and it would become a way of life for millions.

I think that is a wonderful, utopian dream that is not compatible with our 
complex modern life. Life has become such a challenge to the common man 
that he is unable to deal effectively with all the choices he must make on 
a daily and yearly basis. Most moderns are labor slaves who come home 
exhausted mentally, unable to make further effort, who move further and 
further from our independent homesteader dream we hold to be ideal. Those 
of us with a homesteader mentality are in the extreme minority. Whether by 
purposeful design or by technological advancement or some social evolution 
not clearly understood, the modern worker is caught in a web of dependence 
because he simply does not have the knowledge, the time, or the motivation 
to change. I see no plausible way the dependent condition can be changed, 
even if there was the understanding and the leadership to facilitate the 
corrective process.

> . . . . But once socialism dissolves your rights to the property and 
> capital necessary for your independent life (which is what homesteading is 
> about, eh?), you are screwed forever.

That would be true if the society became fully socialized. I see no 
requirement for "none or all." I see partial socialism/collective 
administration as more than an economic plan. Seems to me we can pick a few 
items to socialize and keep the rest of it free. Infrastructure and 
implementation of interstate travel, interstate commerce, the military and 
other necessities can exist only if they are paid for the peoples of all 
the states. Laws must be on a collective/socialized basis because we are 
free to move from state to state. But ownership of the means of production, 
of opportunity and of private property need not and must not ever be 
socialized.

Socialism used to be a pejorative to me. Then I began to understand the 
condition of health care here and in other countries. Many other countries 
pay less and have superior health care for all citizens. I envision a 
universal health care system wherein citizens are rewarded for keeping 
themselves healthy but all make a contribution to the system. I see that as 
a health ownership society. Unhealthy people bear unhealthy babies, perform 
work at lower efficiencies, become a drag on society. Healthy people bear 
healthy babies, work more effectively, prosper and contribute more to 
society. For too many there is a downward spiral that ends in poverty, 
misery and crime which leads to loss of self esteem and self 
debasement--they become essentially useless beings. Few children do well 
from such an environment. With universal health care (and effective 
education) we will be far stronger as a people than we are today. I need 
add that I believe such a course is morally right.