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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Sep 18, 2008, at 6:43 AM, bob ford wrote:

> I'm not as smart as James, you should wait for him to give a proper  
> definition, but I'll briefly tell you how I would formally and  
> practically describe socialism
>
> Socialism is a vague form of conceptualized Marxism.  Marxism is  
> built on the maxim that "from each according to his ability, to each  
> according to their need", but, Marx never told us how to reach that  
> desired balance.  It simply doesn't work.  I started studying Marx  
> and Engels when I was a freshman in high school.  I subscribed to  
> Mother Jones when I was fifteen.  I ate this concept up when I was  
> young and idealistic and blind to the reality that kindness and  
> cooperation are not instinctual.
>
> Socialism , for the proper Libertarian definition is the tyranny of  
> the many over the few.  Individuals who want to do their own little  
> bit of expressive living, such as homesteaders like you , have to  
> learn to conform to the collective ideal.  I'm tired of conformity.
>
> I want to be able to drive to Missouri, stay in a proper hotel, buy  
> a bunch of fishing supplies, and stay for three months without any  
> record of my movements.  That is no longer possible.  I would like  
> for my nieces and nephews to go through at least the first 25 years  
> of their lives without being numbered , herded and separated  
> according to their abilities before they even recognize what  
> abilities they might have.
>
> I want to be left alone, completely, by anyone or any entity, that I  
> haven't expressly given permission, to intrude on my life.  In  
> return, I will leave everyone else alone.  The government is not my  
> friend, and they are not here to help me.  They want a measure of my  
> worth, so they can take a kilo of my flesh.
>
> I'm not really a capitalist, I don't think.  I believe in freedom  
> and liberty for the individual, and then you do business with whom  
> you trust.  Today, there is so much governmental involvement, you no  
> longer know who to trust or how to behave in business.  We are not  
> becoming a Socialist society.  As of yesterday we became one.  Watch  
> for further restrictions on your liberties in the very near future.
>
> Well, Gene.  I've put my thought on paper.  I don't write well, but,  
> go ahead and take your shots......bobf

Bob, thanks for your thoughts.

I have no interest in taking shots. I seek truth.

I largely feel as you do. But the word "socialism," it seems to me, is  
today used more casually and less usefully than in the past. For  
instance, here, you seem to feel that loss of freedom is tied to  
socialism. How do you see that connection? I see it as Big Brother-- 
the government--intruding further into our lives, not the direct  
result of social programs except as we willingly accept them. Yes, for  
some we have no choice. Pay taxes or go to jail.

We cannot take or use what the government provides without giving up  
some freedom. If we use any public facilities then we are subject to  
the rules of those charged with maintaining those facilities. So, yes,  
if you walk to the store, your freedom is restricted by traffic  
signals. But that walk is your choice. To avoid that walk you must  
leave the city. That is my choice.

Seems to me you could take that Missouri trip as you wish. As long as  
you pay cash, there is no record of your movement except your  
registration in the hotel. The hotel is a choice for you. If you  
choose to stay in the hotel you must follow the rules of the hotel,  
which will certainly include identification and registration. The  
hotel management would be fools to not require that. Would you give a  
room in your house to someone you did not know?

Tyranny of the many over the few is also sometimes suggested as a  
definition of democracy. It doesn't work; all of us have equal power  
at the ballot box. We mostly deserve what we get, except when lies are  
so well done that we cannot see through them. I detest lies but they  
are part of the modern scene. To me they are criminal and those who  
speak or write them should be subject to censure. Whoops--that would  
be a loss of their freedom, right? So we see that full freedom  
includes recieving much we don't want.

I have been a non-conformist for all of my life. It has caused me  
pain. I persist. The homestead life, here in the midst of hundreds of  
wooded acres, is my best answer.