Thoughts on Freedom

I recently had an argument on Usenet with a communist regarding an important aspect of freedom: doing what you want with what you have.

My opponent, a polite Australian communist named Fran was arguing the usual undefinable socialist platitudes: that using private property for ‘frivilous’ reasons (ie. more than what we ‘need’) is immoral as it wastes resources, keeps others in poverty, violates the rules of social ‘obligation’ and leads to an empty, meaningless life.

The final posts in the thread nicely sum up the argument that occured. I’ve posted the exchange below the cut. For the purposes of readability, I’ve played with the formatting a little. Keep in mind, this was a quickly typed series of responses, not a prepared series of debate points.

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John Humphreys once told me his definition of freedom was ‘the ability to do what you want with what you have’.

That includes being able to do something for no good reason, other than the fact that you want to.

Like buying one of these:

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EDIT: gah! I gave the incorrect link to a housewife reading the communist manifesto. Kind of bizarrely amusing in itself, but not what I meant to link to.

This is the correct link to the North Korean music video. Watch it and feel the commie love

Apparently, the Aussie notion of a “fair go for all” means stealing my money to pay this clown to poison the minds of children:

I am a teacher. I teach at a secondary school in Sydney’s western suburbs

In fact, Mr. Bob Treasure is the head teacher of a faculty at the Erskine Park High School in Sydney. He’s also an enthusiastic supporter of totalitarianism:

What’s more, the considerably greater proportion of GDP expenditure on education in Cuba is spread evenly. It is designed to make opportunity the same for all. There is no palpable nor obscene inequality of private schools with abundant resources and public schools with few. The Cuban education system is one built upon social justice, and for that we say:

‘VIVA FIDEL!’

Sounds wonderful.

Blessed with Fidel’s munificent education system, the young Cuban Eloi can use their reading skills on books they’ll get jailed for reading, research things on the internet which they’re not permitted to access, learn about other countries they’re not allowed to travel to, learn about their government which they’re not allowed to oppose.

Well, at least if they get sick, they’ll be taken care of in Cuba’s glorious “free” healthcare system.

This is something of which the Cuban people are rightly proud, and it is something for which we say:

‘VIVA FIDEL!’

Well, I loved the cockroaches and blood on the floor. Very colourful. Viva Fidel!

Just the kinda guy we need teaching the young’ns.

I hope the bastard ends up under Val Prieto’s floorboards.

(Cross-posted to whackingday.com)

Someone just told me that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme “saves Australia over 1.5% GDP in health costs”.

Comments?

UPDATE:

When questioned regarding the 1.5% figure, the author said it represented…..

“just the pharmaceutical costs saved.

If the PBS were removed, those that could afford to buy
drugs still would, but those that couldnt wouldnt simply not
buy any drugs, they’d buy cheaper, far less effective drugs
but in higher volumes.

The costs saved in that figure dont include, as you say, the
costs of keeping people out of hospital, nor does it include
the costs saved by keeping people out of GP clinics.But most
importantly, it doesnt include the costs saved by making
people healthier more quickly and cheaply,  thus allowing
them to get back to work/family life quicker.Those costs
saved alone are enormous.

The PBS is one of the best pieces of  public health policy
ever invented anywhere in the world at any time, by any
empirical measurement.“

Feel free to add your own $0.02

This isn’t going to have a happy ending:

Two months after Chávez was reelected to another six-year term by an overwhelming margin, Venezuela is experiencing a fundamental shift in its political and economic climate that could remake the country in a way perhaps not seen in Latin America since Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959. On Wednesday, the National Assembly is expected to entrust him with tremendous powers that will allow him to dictate new laws for 18 months to transform the economy, redraw the structure of government and establish a new funding apparatus for Venezuela’s huge oil wealth.

Yeah, because we all know oil wealth + authoritarian regimes always work out great.

These tools will be thrilled.

The Sydney Morning Herald, they’re having a forum on Fidel Castro’s “legacy”.

Naturally, the closet-fascist pinko loons - who would scream with rage at having to live under the same laws as Cubans - have come out in full force. Some sample comments:

“Some one who gave his country free medicare and alot of pride and respect for themselves”

“A powerful and resourceful man who deserves to be praised for increasing the standard of living and giving all Cubans pride in their nation.”

“Let me get this straight - a government that cares more about enriching the MINDS of its population than the pockets?? [...] like Mao, Chavez, Lenin, (not Stalin) and most of the left-wing leaders, Castro actually really wanted to help EVERYONE in his country. Right-wing leaders (like Howard) are only ever interested in preserving the structres that enabled them and their friends to succeed or gain power in the first place.”

“ok frst of all Brett a lot of this oen economy you talk about is caused by the sanctions. If you want to have business in USA, virtually everybody, you cannot do business in Cuba. So in effect the situation your describing is not caused by Castro but by the belligerent US policy”

“So what if they don’t have the right to vote? At least they are taken care of and would have probably been much better off and way more advanced (than even India the biggest democratic country in the world for years now!!)had not the great ‘democratic’ country, USA, call for so many sanctions on that little country! I wish more leaders would be like Fidel Castro and grow a backbone!!”

“I DARE SAY, CUBA IS IN MOST RESPECTS BETTER OFF THAN US, THEY ARE POOR, BUT INDEPENDANT.”

“Love him or hate him, I think we all have to agree his achievements are great in the face of such adversity and the world will not see such a leader for quite a while.”

Scratch a lefty, you’ll find a totalitarian.

OK smart people, here’s your chance to educate the village idiot:

Is it possible to have a healthy economy with all four of the following characteristics:

- low taxes
- low inflation
- low interest rates
- low unemployment

Let’s pretend God installs you as a benevolent dictator of modern-day Australia: what would you do to achieve such an economy?

Here’s some of that ‘free’ public education that so many people think is essential to our survival:

THREE NSW teachers a month are being sacked for gross incompetence and shocking crimes, including sexual assault, child pornography and supplying drugs.

http://tinyurl.com/y3jdnd

Here’s a horrible thought: just how awful a teacher do you need to be that even a public education system would regard you as “grossly incompetent”?

…and why haven’t hundreds of teachers been fired for being, you know, communists?

My son just got his first job.

He found out he will have to pay income tax.

He said ‘that sucks’.

Knowing that it sucks is a very good place to start your career.

- Frank Zappa

Greetings,

The name is Tex. I have my own website over at whackingday.com. John Humphreys kindly invited me to join up here and sing the praises of gay porn and the Iraq War. Or something like that.

Anyhow, by way of a self-deprecating introduction, here are some brief factoids about me:

-> I am 33 years old, live in Canberra, and last week bought my first home.

-> I came to the conclusion that most things I believed up until 2-3 years ago were complete crap. I’m too embarrassed to list the many stupid ideas I supported, though in the interests of disclosure, I will mention the words “gun control” and “medicare”.

-> “Important” books give me a headache. I know the other authors here experience a ten-inch boner at the thought of reading Ayn Rand, Albert Jay Nock, Robert Nozick, von Mises and all that crap, but just the thought of reading this sludge makes my bowels tremble.

-> My view of economics and liberty in general is unapologetically simple: voluntary transaction is good, government regulation thereof is bad. I keep this algorithm simple for two reasons: 1) it works, 2) all complicated economic theory is pretty much an extension of the general rule. There, I just saved you from reading 2000 pages of Chicago school horseshit.

-> Here’s an issue most people reading this will not agree with: my views on the Middle East & Israel make Bibi Netanyahu look like Cindy Sheehan. I don’t give a rat’s arse about the so-called “Palestinians” or their “occupied territories”. They have no genuine historical beef, other than getting their arses kicked in wars they keep losing. I don’t cry for Nazis, even ones who wave the Koran instead of Mein Kampf.

-> In a similar vein, I support the Iraq war, and am one of the few people on earth not pissing their pants over the way it is going. I may elaborate later.

-> I don’t belong to any political party. Well, not yet. I keep meaning to fax off a membership form for the LDP, but I never get around to it.

-> I work in the higher education sector in the field of asset management.

-> I may have single-handedly destroyed the political career - and probably the sanity - of Victorian Greens candidate Thom Lyons.

-> Monica Belluci is the world’s biggest babe.

-> Vindaloo curry is the food of the gods.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll do a ‘real’ post sometime in the next few days.