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Martin Armstrong Rages Against Socialism: "Government Has Replaced God"
Submitted by Martin Armstrong via ArmstrongEconomics.com,
Socialism v Capitalism
The debate for socialism is simply that they regard it as unfair when anyone has more than another does.
The solution is always to rob someone else to improve your own life. If you take this philosophy as your own, then you rob others because they have more, which is no different than robbing someone on the street or breaking into their home (a crime resulting in you living tax-free in prison). However, if you vote for politicians to degree the very same act as law, it somehow makes robbing other people legal. If they complain or assert rights, then they are greedy capitalists who worship their money more than your desire to rob them in claims of fairness.
Socialism violates the Ten Commandments which prohibits anyone from coveting what their neighbor has. Well, God must have had a bad day for he does not understand what is fair. If someone is smarter than others are, that is OK and God’s Will, but he should not have more material things. God obviously cannot be all knowing since Marx must be right. God clearly can’t understand what is fair. It was Julius Caesar who said man will believe only what he wants to believe. There is no changing his mind.
Europe has a death wish. Since World War II, they have been infected with socialism that is reflected in the unemployment.
The highest unemployment is confined to nations with the highest degree of socialism. If you attack investments, you do not create jobs, and the end result is rather bleak. People are not getting married because they cannot find employment or earn enough to fund a family.
When will we wake up to this hatred of the so-called 1% and realize it is an excuse to keep politicians rich in tax revenues?
So why do we put up with taxes anymore when they are only necessary at the local level and not federally? It is time for a major readjustment in this plague that has torn the world apart at the seams ever since Marx created the Progressive Era that manifested in Socialism and then Communism. I suppose it is like killing someone. If a cop does it, it’s OK. If you do it, it becomes a crime. Government clearly has replaced God. That’s the only explanation.
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If we only pray hard and loud and long enough, God will drop everything and come to our rescue.
And so we wait for Godot...
Suicide, Transcendence or Acceptance.
Well they replaced the Christian God with a Jewish one, what did they expect?
The Hebrew Roots movement is both Christian and Jewish and is Exploding.
NeoDarwinism is the State Sponsored Religion. It is to justify higher salaries for the rich and powerful. It is Self Righteousness on steroids.
Go figure, peak invaders in European culture. The blowback from this will be one for the history books, and it will be well deserved once again.
It's essentially like the whole of the middle-east just delcared war on the European peoples, and they did so by infecting Europe with it's delusional and psychopathic philosophies. How long before the European people start getting together to fight back?
You guys thought WW2 was violent. The next one will be the whole planet.
Also, the rich are the bankers, whom are almost exclusively Jewish.
Darwinism is based on rational thought and logic, not religious idoltry. If you peons could keep your heads out of the clouds for more than a few minutes you might actually learn something from reading about Darwin's thoughts. The church is the tool of your oprression, quit worshiping the Jewish idols.
The Age Old Conflict between God and State; as the state rises, the repository of morality and ethics, the delineation between good and evil, handed down via spiritual and religious practices ceases.
We're already there, aren't we Mom?
Wait... Obama is **not** the Messiah?
When did Armstrong get out of jail?
Marriage rates have fallen because government has outbid men for support.
Employment rates have fallen because government outbids employers with welfare.
Interest rates have fallen because government has outbid savers.
Comment of the Year. Short but sweet.
I understand how you feel, but as I said before, The Bible tells a story of a nation going bad - and when it happens, don't expect God to do much more than to punish it.
And the "good" people? They get marched off into slavery for a time.
For doubters watch this documentary:
Patterns of Evidence: The Exodushttp://shop.patternsofevidence.com/?gclid=CIy5vP3Mz8gCFYhcfgod6f8HUw
There is some pretty compelling evidence that the Exodus really happened.
Or here: http://www.arkdiscovery.com/red_sea_crossing.htm
Is it free on YouTube? I want my socialist version.
Quit being a dick.
Anymore of this God talk on ZH and I'm going full jihad. You do not need a divine dictator to promise you heaven or hell in order to tell the difference between right and wrong. You are the all singing all dancing crap of the world! Take responsibility for yourself.
Humans are still just monkeys with car keys. And the monkeys still need their gods.
Monkeys still need their gods? Ive never seen a monkey pray.
whom do you think taught them to throw shit at ea. other?
Well, that's pretty close.
Really what I think you are trying to express is that everything humans think takes on the appearance of rationality, when in fact it's little beyond what monkeys think, and clearly not rational at all. What we think is situational, as we understand the world around us.
Here's an example.
I have a friend who told me about his experience owning a monkey. He said the little bastard was nasty. No doubt! He said the monkey would shit into his hand, and then throw it at him.
Were you or I trapped inside a monkey's body, and were we owned by my friend, doubtless we could think of nothing more rational to do.
There you have it. That perfectly describes all the monkey shit getting tossed around ZH.
"We are semi-civilized beasts with baseball caps and automatic weapons."
- George Carlin
Religion - chew toy for the limbic system.
Hmm, perhaps you did not read all the way to the end. The author is basically making a call to action and you ridiculed him for not taking responsibility for himself. Perhaps your hatred of people of faith is greater than your willingness to read, listen, and understand.
Brillant post.
Check the percent of babies born out of wedlock on socialst contries .. also goes against god http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/23-2.htm
Pegans drowned their unwanted babies during roman empire where as Christans stopped that practice .. today US aborts 1 millino babies ..
just saying here, we've lost our way at a nation and have turned against god in my humble judgement.
The USA has aborted 55 million plus baby's sine 1973
If the magic sky fairy gave out free iPhones, he'd probably have more followers.
Obama would make Karl Marx proud.
And I think he would make Mussolini proud.
One of us is correct.
Well he is not making me proud and I got Marx picture.
He makrs the Grand Mufti proud
Government is just taking advantage of the inherent rebellion in man's heart. Not following God's plan for us started back in Eden when Adam and Eve rebelled, hence here we are.
You want to do away with all this? In time, God will see it so.
sschu
But demoncraps need votes. MOAR FREE STUFF!
When you are at the top you develop a system that works for you, like those wealthy Austrian aristocrats.
The UK's aristocracy has seen social systems come and go, but they all provide a life of leisure and luxury with someone else doing all the work.
Feudalism - exploit the masses through land ownership
Capitalism - exploit the masses through wealth (Capital)
The system itself provides for the idle rich.
The entitlement culture started at the top and has worked its way down.
Socialism - exploit the masses by deceiving them into believing that you care about them while fleecing them.
Armstrong argues for government to print money and do away with taxes. That ought to help ;-)
One of them needs to go it seems.
Dont Worry, people will soon realize that unfettered capitalism will give the corporations the freedom they need to create jobs. We already give corporations economic development grants and tax breaks, preferential treatment when they commit crimes, corporate welfare and access to taxpayer funded infrastructure (even when the corporations pay no taxes). We clean up after them when they pollute the environement, and bail them out when they make mistakes and bankrupt themselves. If only we just get rid of these job killing regulations, they would have the freedom to create some jobs.
Let's nationalize,, I mean socialize all these companies so deeks like you can push your socialist propaganda to everyone.
The science wars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_wars
Government did not replace God, science did.
Genesis 1 says: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
God created something out of nothing. Science has yet to come up with a (reasonable/believable) explanation about how this occurred. The idea that the universe/world/humans were formed from "nothing" is a bit farfetched.
How did God do it? He is God, He is all-powerful, He can do anything. While you may not like this answer, it is a far better explanation than anything science has come up with to date.
sschu
This must be how the FED conjusres money?
Scienmajistically?
The better explanation is... we do not know. How can you be so sure your god is the correct one?
How can you be so sure your god is the correct one
I have studied the Bible and its stories/concepts/precepts and have found them to offer compelling evidence that the God of the Bible is the true God. He is fundamentally different than any other "god" out there (God came down to man, grace, clear change in person when a person undergoes true salvation, others) and He offers rational and understandable explanations for the world as we see it.
There is lots of good evidence (both inside and outside of the Bible) for the God of the Bible and this warrants a close look by the skeptic.
One's world-view needs to offer a reasonable explanation for the world as it is, nothing else comes close to what the Bible has to say.
sschu
You said: How did God do it? ... He can do anything.
Can God make a rock so heavy that he can't carry it?
Better to say that God can do anything he wants to do.
Where did we get the idea that God created the universe out of nothing? If the Jewish Bible and the New Testament is correct, the God revealed there has always existed. And we actually know very little about the God described in those books - only what is revealed there. What is God made of, that "stuff" which has existed forever. We don't know. Perhaps the universe is made out of parts of God. Anyone who says that it isn't is making a statement they can't possibly prove. Which makes the discussion of the subject a bit silly and a waste of time.
When you can't prove something one way or the other, it's better to focus on things that can be proven.
Where did we get the idea that God created the universe out of nothing?
Genesis s 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
When you can't prove something one way or the other, it's better to focus on things that can be proven.
I am OK with this subject. This reveals that there are some things of God which we can “know” but not fully understand (like the trinity or incarnation). This is as it should be, God being infinite makes certain things such that they need to be taken on faith. This does not diminish their truth, however.
sschu
You have not answered my point. And this is only rhetorical. I probably won't be back, so answer for others if you want.
What is seen was not made out of what was visible. God is not visible. So, if God used part of himself to make the universe, that "truth" would not violate the verse you quoted.
Making something out of what is not seen, and making something out of nothing, are two different animals. Dry ice (something that can be seen) is made out of something that is not visible (the gas). That is not the same as saying that dry ice is made out of nothing.
And my statement ... when you can't prove something one way or the other ... was directed toward the discussion of what the Universe is made of or from (nothing vs. parts of God's substance). I understand that, without faith, it is impossible to please God. I wasn't addressing that with my remarks.
The Hebrews 11 scripture needs someone with a background in Greek to do the translation which is beyond me (visble versus not seen).
I think I understand what you are proposing, but it sounds a bit too much like pantheism to me, so I will pass. I guess Spinoza and Einstein thought that "God was eternal infinite substance and this was the esensce of the universe."
So what is the Biblical reference for this view?
sschu
I'll answer that for you; a transformed life. One bent on rebellion toward one bent on serving God and by proxy man. Salvation is so difficult that it literally takes a supernatural act of God to perform it and He does it everyday. To the non-Jew the message is foolishness and it is and t the Jew a stumbling block and it is as it is written.
We cannot prove God to you; we can only tell you what He meant by what He has said and any belief or transformation of the spiritually dead person is the work of God. The Creation speaks of what? A Creator. The complexity, variety and sheer size of creation speaks of power and knowledge and presence..the very attribute the "first cause"must have in order for the LAW of CAUSE & EFFECT to be true; something a person with the capacityt to use deductive reasoning, very few, will always conclude.
That is a legitimate question, the evidence is the numerous transformed lives as a result of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We serve a God of 180 degrees; we were walking on the path of wickedness and tuned onto the path of righteousness and not by anything we did; He did it.
The creation itself speaks well of Him; this is not random chance; this is well orchestrated and the putting it together and upholding of it, the universe, is not something a person or any group of people could conceive.
Also, we cannot reach out of our universe, so the only way we can know who God is is if He reaches into His creations and reveals Himself and He did in the person of Jesus.
What separates Christianity from all other religions is Christianity is the only based on a personal relationship with the living God based on two primary things: love and forgiveness. No other religions god is personal nor offers the gift of being reconciled. All other religions are based on something the god does and something the man does, which puts the reconciliation dependent, not on the god, but the man. Man cannot change his nature on his own; that is why the gospel is such good news; God changes a person from the inside out and is indeed a new creation in Christ Jesus. To the unbelieving world God tells us the message is foolishness and it is and to the Jew a stumbling block and it is. But to the one who has faith; it is the POWER of God unto salvation and it is. Just a little information and clarification and I can add that most of what is portrayed in the mainstream as Christianity (i.e Roman Catholicism) is contrary to Scripture and is no more Christian than Satan is.
Neil de Grasse Tyson made the best comment to shut up a questions and thinking like this. If you define God and faith as that which explains what science cannot, you accept that God and faith are a continuously diminishing pockets of lack of knowledge.
There are many facts today for which people some time ago meant were far fatched. I bet that there were many saying that the idea that Earth looks like a ball and there is this gravity pooling us to the center is far fetched.
There are many facts today for which people some time ago meant were far fatched.
So your point is we are just not smart enough (yet) to know how something was created out of nothing?
sschu
If you define God and faith as that which explains what science cannot, you accept that God and faith are a continuously diminishing pockets of lack of knowledge.
Also, forgot this one. I make no such claim to define God in this manner. I was simply asking the "science replaced God" poster to provide an answer to the obvious question of how we got here.
We can of course assign attributes to God which are clearly stated in His Word (holy, omni-, immutable, loving, etc). To define an infinite being with finite words and concepts seems futile.
sschu
"The tides come in; the tides go out. Nobody knows why that is!!!!!" --Bill O'Reilly
Christians have absolutely no interest in the why. They Don't want to know, they just want to believe.
"God created something out of nothing."
And of course, this dim-witted notion just HAD to show up. And WHY is it dim-witted? Because the simple response is "..then what created god?". And then you say "god has always existed!" and then I can say "the universe always existed!".. See, your god is not required in order to explain ANYTHING is nature. Where will you hide your god next in order to protect him?
"The tides come in; the tides go out. Nobody knows why that is!!!!!" --Bill O'Reilly Christians have absolutely no interest in the why.
Of course we understand why tides are what they are, it has to do with the moon. You are not really quoting that esteemed theologian Bill O are you? :-)
You are grossly misinformed about Christians not seeking answers to the "why" question. This is manifest in the large number of believers who are likewise scientists. Old news, Christians are dumb lemmings. How about Paul and Luther and Newton?
What is your evidence that the universe has always existed? Most scientists think that there was an origin of some type, steady state theory has long been discarded.
Try it, read the first 3-4 chapters of Genesis and tell me it does not ring true, that the explanation is at least plausible.
sschu
As Dawkins pointed out, christians are EXTREMELY rare amongst "elite" scientists (members of the National Academy of Sciences, where about 97% are atheists).
It's doesn't matter if something "rings" true. What matters is evidence (or lack of it).
What matters is evidence ...
Reality exists, regardless of our ability to perceive it. The "existence" of evidence depends upon our ability to perceive it. The existance of reality doesn't. Reality exists whether we perceive it or not. It exists whether there is evidence for it or not.
Before the invention of the microscope, say in 500 B.C.E., bacteria and viri existed and did their damage. In spite of the lack of evidence for them, they still affected people.
We can create many examples where things mattered a whole lot to people even tho there was no evidence at the time that they existed.
Christians are the only ones who know where we came from, where we are going and how we got to where we are now. Everyone else is just guessing and come up with "the goo to you via the zoo" or "nothing + nothing = everything"; foolishness.
The Christian is the only one that can take the LAW of CAUSE & EFFECT and deduce the attributes the "first cause" must have in order to be the first cause and make the Law a Law; others, like yourself, can't take the first step in understanding.
The 4-5 of you guys sound like the borg. Resistence is futile and similar. Or more like a cult actualy.
Please provide an alternate world-view that is meaningful. That works better than insults.
Sschu
Here is one.
If you truly believe in the bible, then why are you even here?
The bible and the god contained in it are both irrational and none logical. Therefore basing your world beliefs on something that is irrational, makes you irrational.
A conversation and a meeting of the minds will simple never exist with you and should be avoided as both a waste of time, and unproductive.
My god is better then your god. This is reduced to: "I am better then you, and you should see it that way." This is further reduced to your EGO is better then all. Once you get passed your EGO and understand that you will never have any real answers on this subject then you will see that the bible is a simple control mechanism, of which you exemplify perfectly.
The truth.
You and I know nothing. We will both die, and pass into whatever existence that awaits us. Alone.
So take some responsibility and create the better world you espouse, because my friend you are living right now.
If you truly believe in the bible, then why are you even here?
The bible and the god contained in it are both irrational and none logical.
Please provide some proof of these statements. If anything, God is ultimately rational. It is totally irrational to NOT believe. For example, how can one look at the world, its complexity and beauty and not see a divine hand as part of the creation?
Oh, and Acts 1:8
sschu
He cannot sin; that is good, for that is all we can do.
We know exactly how the universe came about:
In the beginning, there was nothing. Then it exploded !!!
You are joking right? Beginning means time and also means an end; time is a created thing likewise he end of time is an uncreated thing. It is why a thousand years is like a day and a day like a thousand years; meaning in the eternal (absent of time) state time is meaningless.
Based on what you said; "..nothing..Then exploded"; interesting concept that takes a nanosecond to dismiss as serious, which why I asked if you were.
Sorry man, I have had chickens watching me all afternoon and its started to unnerve me...
I don't know much about religion and surely don't profess to know if God exists or not, but there is much more unexplained than explained. What God does offer all of us is a warning that besides the salvation of worshipoing Him, tells us how to live a life of fulfillment and prosperity. The bible provides many examples of the disaster that our current world offers us today.
You are close, but the Bible is much, much more than a book of wisdom.
God came down to meet you here on earth, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to find YOU and offer the chance to be in His presence FOREVER.
But it starts with the idea that we are broken people living in a broken world.
Read Ephesians 2:1-10 very carefully!
sschu
God on Zerohedge, are you fucking serious? The bible doesn't explain at all how something can be created out of nothing.
Argument in the bible: something was created out of nothing. How? There's this God that can create things out of nothing.
Does that sound convincing to you? Let me rephrase that. X happened. How? Y did it. What's Y? The thing that created X. Ah, that all seems to make sense, praise the Lord.
The bible doesn't explain at all how something can be created out of nothing.
Yes, the "how" part of the circumstance is not explained. But if you accept that He is the Amighty and Allpowerful God, then it makes perfect sense, even if I cannot understand the "how".
But there are a number of things we take for granted in the world (like black holes) which we do not fully understand, cannot observe or understand "how" they happened. That does not make these things any less true. A "how" explanation is not required to make them true. God gives us a number of these things (incarnation, trinity, creation), perhaps by design?
sschu
The number of people who can resist the lure of loot is smaller than the number of people who attend those elite .001% conferences like the Bilderberger, CFR and other elite groups.
So almost no one can resist the lure of 'free stuff'.
Politicians, who love power, cannot resist offering 'free stuff' no matter whom they must rob, or send to their deaths in one senseless war or another, to get it.
And if you truly examine the insidious nature of it, use your eyes, mind, memory, and personal experience... you will realize that all of it, every mad gyration and insane contortion of logic seemed somewhat reasonable at the time it was offered. Because that is the nature of the human mind, to bring the human heart's desires to reality. And for that reason it will offer one twisted justification after another why THIS time it is alright to do the wrong thing, in direct proportion to the opportunities it has to achieve the mind's desires by immoral behavior.
This, more than any other thing, is why power must never be centralised. Corruption is guaranteed in proportion to the concentration of power regardless of the general character of those sent to wield it. Their internal machinery will twist their characters like wax into unrecognizable things, and those who admittedly already desire power will be the easiest to reshape.
Everyone seems to think other people are getting free stuff.
Yes, and they want the free shit too. Humans will NEVER get past the idiocy of something for nothing. Someone can call you on the phone right now and tell you how YOU HAVE WON this incredible prize. FREE FREE FREE, and people will not hang up. We all think somehow we are special and that if we are just in the right spot at the right time, or simply smarter or more deserving than others, we too can be the WINNER!
What do we think the stock market is about? Its about winning, its about something for nothing, its about thinking you are smarter, better informed or just simply lucky.
And they just keep trotting out more "opportunities", and the people just keep buying it.
Everyone seems to think other people are getting free stuff, and no one needs to work anymore.
Since there is no god, what exactly is being replaced?
and for the remaining belivers in imaginary friends - capitalism violates Christianity - you know the one about the eye of the needle and the camel. Then capitalism is the road to hell.
The only good thing in the bible is the "water into wine" thing (hat tip to Chris Hitchens). Well, and the sodomy.
explains a lot
Professor Emeritus Karl Marx was just brighter than you are, Armstrong.
There is no Dana, only Zuul...
that's just the thorazine talking
The nobles looked on enviously at King John, at his wealth and power.
They made him sign the Magna Carta to curtail his power.
The Magna Carta is the basis of the US Constitution, which is based on the politics of envy.
Martin you are in the wrong country.
Or perhaps they got tired of being jailed without cause or judgment, perhaps they hated the kangaroo courts, perhaps they grew tired of a king who confiscated property left and right.
And perhaps the colonists grew tired of being ruled by a government which did not represent them as they saw themselves. Or better yet, a government which was taxing them into oblivion without their representation.
I do hate revisionist history. Apparently our founding fathers were all a bunch of drunken slave owners who fought a completely justified government that only wanted to make them pay back for the French and Indian war. And of course they did not deserve to be represented by their government because even though the decisions made by their government affect their lives they don't count. At least that's what they taught 5 years ago when I was in public school. No wonder the country is slowly going to the dogs.
Martin Armstrong obviously doesn't know much about history. Taxes are as old as the Ten Commandments.
Humans will always be humans. They cannot be intrinsicly less greedy, less arrogant, less willful, less selfish. Reason directed humanity is an oxymoron. If you can't reason that out, well you aren't reasonable.
Anyway I don't see how this graph proves the point. Not an effective graph.
Socialism fails bc it requires government to step in and force people to hand over resources. If our current situation tells us anything, it is that power corrupts and Governments do not serve the people but private interest. In other words people will always do what is best for them, look at the prisoner's dillemma. Only Free Market Capitalism harnesses private interest for the better.
There is no free market without some socialism.
There are two types of behaviours we know. One is chaos, kill or be killed, eat, consume, get bigger, stronger, better, obtain more, grow indefinetly by stepping on everyone and everything in front. This is the normal behaviour of bacteria, viruses, plants, some animals like tigers. It is natural. The other is order which is more of a civilizational thing, but also present in nature (social animals of all types). I find that capitalism as an economic system is in the middle. It requires order to exist, but it relies on chaos. Free markets the same way require order provided by an entity greater than market participants which will keep equality of actions of market participants. Without that entity the participants who gain enough money/power will rig the market, making them non free and unidirectional.
Otherwise Martin can rage all he wants, but there are types of socialism which work (capitalism socialisms). The problem is that they cannot compete with "leaner" capitalism. That is because purer capitalism does not have to take care of armies of homeless. They can just lie down and die. Same capitalism does not have to worry about the poor, disabled, non gifted, abandoned. They too can stay in the pool of unemployed and undesirable to die unless they find a purpose. If people cannot pay for their medical procedures like appendicitis, they can also, you guessed it, die. This is only fair in the life of bacteria or why not jungle. I don't really find it fair in the civilized world. Socialism is not a good productivity motivator, but the lives of majority of people are better. Equality, fraternity, liberty! When people actualy feel these things, there is a sense of warmth. There are few to none homeless, psychological health is at a much higher level, street crime is reduced to kleptomaniacs. The feeling of a safety net when buying a house for example is priceless.
*There is no free market without some socialism*
Respectively my friend, there is no free market with socialism. When government decides to hand out welfare checks or food stamps, it has altered the market. It has taken out competition by allowing businesses to sell without altering their prices to adjust for the market. When it sets minimum wage it prevents the market from adjusting.
And I am tired of this argument that, "No Market can exist without socialism." I personally have my own problems with believing that there is a a god or that any religion should have a place in politics. But there is one solid truth that nobody can deny that ruins MArxism, communism, socialism, etc. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Socialism, communism, Capitalism, these are just all measures of government power. The more power government has, the more it corrupts. And no ideology or religion has led to more deaths, mass starvation, and outright stagnation than Socialism and Communism. Introduce an inch of Socialism, and the government takes a mile which turns into Communism.
Sir, nothing personal for I bet you do care about others but judging by your picture if you support socialism than you might want to change your ideology.
"Respectively my friend, there is no free market with socialism."
This completely depends on the balance of chaos and order in the system. Or let us say unbridled capitalism (as in road to serfdom) and socialism (as in communism). The government does alter the market with min wage and food checks. But the alternative is not price readjustment, but container picking, begging and crime. Maybe even revolution. After all that, some prices may readjust. That is the reality, not von Mises theories.
"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Completely true, but what Austrian school of thought continuously misses is that in a free market power comes from accumulation of wealth. Great wealth is a potential source of great power. How about power to print money. Hence we cannot talk about how one system is simply better than the other. Liberterian capitalism just changes the way of power accumulation to the rich from the power of the state. Now the state becomes the bitch of the rich. And if you are not in the club, you will not get a chance.
FYI picture is just to piss people off. I like Marx's critique of capitalism, not comunist BS. I do believe that the capitalism mechanisms are better than full on socialism. But I also believe that the entire society should benefit from it, not only the owners of capital. Hence flat wealth tax at a relative deviation of wealth distribution should be implemented for all tax purposes. Than Blankfein for example can pay some 50 millions per year and cover it from any tax free income instead of paying less than his secretary.
That this is a fact, surely, is undisputable -- given what we've observed over the past century and a half of human history. The history of this period can be summarised as the battle of the two "ISMs": capitalism versus socialism/communism, with the population of much of the world as the guinea pigs -- and all-to-often these "pigs" got led to the slaughter (pardon the mixed metaphors).
Both ISMs took two resource-rich, population-rich contries (USA and USSR) and transformed them from largely wildernesses into modern states, capable of housing and feeding most of their population. One -- the USSR, under communism -- did it by killing/starving 50-60 million of its people along the way (China did it also -- with its transformation being even more dramatic and quicker -- by killing/starving even greater numbers). The other -- the USA, under capitalism -- did it also...yes, with some brutality to those who couldn't keep up but without the rivers of blood in USSR and China. Why? I would argue that the Judeo-Christian ethos that under-pinned American (and Western European) culture back in the 19th and 20th centuries had a lot to do with tempering the brutality of capitalism. After all, the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution were steeped and guided, in the main, by their Christian upbringing.
Perhaps, the trouble with globalised capitalism today, as its been exported around the world it has lost some of this Judeo-Christian anchoring??
For millennia, the concept of God(s) has united peoples, provided a moral framework for people's behavior, and a foundation for its laws. By abandoning and removing God from our country (and most of the world), it is little wonder why our planet is falling apart.
We would like to replace god with man's intelligence and rationality to make truly informed choices not rooted in ancient theories. Unfortunately, man is corrupt...always has been. That is why we have attempted to live by a higher law and why our founders tried to create a government of laws, not of men, because they KNEW we were corrupt...ible.
Nobody cares about -isms these days. Socialism? That's some old ass recycled propaganda right there. You have to convince more than the old farts to keep your scam going now.
Ignorance sometimes has advantages...what's on the TeeVee?
I pay 30% of my income in taxes. Will someone please tell me why that is called capitalism, but if I pay 50% that is called socialism?
And for my 30% I get roads full of potholes, horrible schools, and a $500/mo health insurance bill. Maybe the folks who pay 50% are getting a better deal.
For 50% you get a government-built tiny box for living quarters and probably black pajamas and a straw hat so you can look like all of your other comrades. Socialism is communism light. Fuck all those who love socialism.
So 30%+401k+obamacare+if you actualy get sick=??? In brutal capitalism they fleece you and you still love it more bcs you are conditinaly trained to love it. In Canada they give you healthcare and elderly care without asking for premiums when you actualy get sick.
It isn't charity, caring, or beneficent if it is compulsory.
And by extension, are we a caring generous nation if we are forced to contribute to this selfless giving, and are we loving and tolerant of our fellow diverse individuals simply because we are intimidated into capitulating to the expressed dogma as presented and enforced by public media?
God is supposedly omnipotent and omniscient, therefore cannot be replaced unwillingly. Maybe he retired? Any job probably gets old after ten or fifteen billion years. Boring, too, given he/she/it already knows the ending...
Seriously, the church was government before government was government but it was not better government. Cheaper, though...
Many dicks have replaced one
"Fair, the other four-letter 'f' word." Of course, the guy on the bad side of the trade gets the more traditional 'f' word.
If you've ever seen Joseph Campbell's mythology series or read his books on myths he makes the point that many Eastern religions have many God's that they describe in intricate detail.
One flays your skin off one has eight arms etc etc.
In the East they do not literally believe in such a God the whole thing is a myth that expresses a spirtual reality. That's the problem with religion it morphs analogies and myths into literal facts and when it does that then the arguements that never stop start.
There is a ton of wisdom in all the major religons, that's what they are they express distilled human wisdoms and to ignore man's spiritual side is one of the greatest modern dangers we face.
These ideas and the counters to our baser natures have been around since the dawn of mankind. You can't just say oh well that was quaint but totally irrelevant and expect that people will suddenly stop bad behaviors.
Thank you for the beautiful linkage of J Campbell and the Templeton series.
They are indeed, great transmissions of the essential eternal "truths"
Kudos
Comments such as this are what makes the Hedge threads worthwhile.
Martin surprises me with this article which is quite good. I thought he had gone a little crazy for coco puffs after he got out of the pen.
I usually like to return to how we were designed to operate. Nothing about modern society is really congruent with our nature. We are self contained problem solving machines that tends to group up in smaller groups socially.
Expanding that and stretching that to make people fit into a modern world is unpossible and I think it explains why so many are so unhappy.
We are all designed by evolotuion to sleep in mostly, wake up collect a few berries, hunt some food down, build a fire, take a crap, take a leak, laugh, love and go to sleep so we can do it all over again the next day.
Now picture this and then imagine an accountant who can't sleep because he might of transposed a number for a huge report and if he can't fix it before someone sees it he might blow his twenty years in servitude to make partner.
Yeah ....
No.
It's no wonder we have issues.
I have been asking Mr. Armstrong a few times why does he have such a grudge with governments when most Western Governments are just puppets doing the bid of supernational corporate powers? But I never got an answer...
Go figure...
Till we address the super power of corporations, we have no chances of fixing pretty much anything. Our capitalism is simply broken... no luck in reviving it.
period...
Wealth concentration is a highly disfunctional problem that will not solve itself. And I am not a knight in shining armor that champions social justice. I am talking about efficiency (or lack thereof), poor propension of innovation, and of course regeneration through economic cycles of healthy bums and busts that clean up the system. Not to mention democracies that have been place on hold, as the actual system is designed to cater the needs of the few dispensing some bread and entertainment to the masses that are becoming blobs uncabable of crytical thinking...
It is bad, but governments are not our main problem, nor what is portrayed as socialism... which is masking a plutocratic system with such an extent and power that I have never seen through thousand of years of recorded history.
;-)
Maybe one day he will answer?
Actually Martin is quite a smart guy, with an uncommon deep preparation and understanding of history, so it makes me smile one of the previous comment about him not knowing history. He knows history all too well. That is why I do not understand what he sees... or he doesn't see and that seems pretty clear...
I was not criticising, but trying to understand his point of view that does not make much sense to me...
:-)
I've read a lot from Martin and about Martin and he kind of seems like a modern spiritualist to me only with numbers, he's just trying to explain markets in terms of humanity and how it deals with things.
I think he has some validity though he tends to wander off frequently into the weeds but that's just my opinion. He has some good ideas and some of his concepts are valid.
People like Martin to me just don't go around explaining their worldview every time they comment. He basically believes that money votes with it's feet and that modern central banking is dedicated to reshaping the charge because largely it has to be or it all would of voted central banking off the island by now.
He's just railing at the machine as if somehow they will somehow understand what they are doing and stop it.
I don't get that either because to me they understand full well what they are doing and are doing it on purpose. It amuses me to constantly se the meme that academics don't understand the real world.
They understand exactly and are dedicated to reshaping it how their handlers see fit to reshape it.
Maybe a stint in prison jades you to saying that out loud?
This has zero to do with any fictional gods or nations. This has to do with humans being abject wimps who refuse to take care of business when necessary.
What is "take care of business"? This means exterminating predators who endanger you, family, friends or possessions. The solution is for everyone to wear a couple 6-shooters (or 20-shooters) wherever they go, and exterminate predators who attempt to harm or steal... regardless of what species those predators happen to be, or what kind of skin (or uniform) they wear.
Live and let live.
And for those who won't... a quick end.
After a while... a very short while... living in such an environment, human predators will recognize their life and their chances of survival are vastly better as producer, not predator. The result is civilization. What the world suffers now is precisely the opposite.
I would argue against that although I understand what you are saying. Society would villify anyone doing that though so much so that it would I think be counter productive.
They are hurtling towards having to show their faces in all their ugly glory to spin these plates when one falls and it will, one too many will cause them to cross a line they don't even know is there and when they do it will show their true aims to any and all.
Before that happens they are safe I would imagine because the people will not follow until they are made fully aware somehow.
I do believe in God and in a design and I think he's on the side of the righteous on this one but patience is a virtue.
Oh this would try the patience of a saint but something in me tells me to just wait they will show themselves.
I'm not a propenent of the end times but of better times. I am not religious but I am spiritual, the meme we are fed from religion is defeatist and it says God has pre-ordained the events and you can't change them.
Well yes and no we can all chose and by choosing we define ourselves.
At 68, I'm finally realizing the Ten Commandments were probably scrambled around to serve the churches.
The REAL order should be 1) Don't Lie; 2) Don't Steal and 3) Don't murder.
If folks can't get the first three right, I figure the other seven really don't matter.
It also means to do your best at keeping lyin', stealin' and killin' people away from you and your family.
Why do business with them.
there is no social structure that is stable, by any 'ism' that is named.
humanity forms itself into hives with territory. hives have internal and external problems of various types. hives themselves have a lifespan.
the false dichotomy of 'ism' versus 'ism' remains.
there is only one choice in life, how to pursue what territory and with whom do you cooperate to do so.
going it alone is never the easiest strategy but hermitutde has been known to work.
And government wants you to become cock$ucking drugaddict homo$exual.
You wanted change , you get change.
And for employment you can have a job of killing people using drones , and enjoy it too as a video game. Blood gore & death.
And for spirituality you can always do soul harvesting. Fcuking dead pigs.
I saw his movie, The Forcaster. Very good movie and worth the time.
Check it out!
Assuming a fictional just society in which people are free to make the most of their natural abilities and government efficiently protects against all interpersonal violations of life, liberty, and property, then are the true interests of all individuals harmonious or antagonistic? This is a point Bastiat made in "The Law." "Essentially, economics is the science of determining whether the interests of human beings are harmonious or antagonistic. This must be known before a science of politics can be formulated to determine the proper functions of government."
I have formulated it this way to highlight the crux of the issue: In the long run, in full context of personal happiness and wealth, are the least naturally able better or worse off when the most naturally able are in some way constrained by government beyond the basic law obstructing their ability to forcibly violate others' lives, liberty, or property?
Another way to ask the question: Am I better or worse off when those more naturally able have their lives, liberty, or property violated?
If Armstrong is arguing that socialism has impoverished Europe since WWII and turned it into a wreck, he has a long way to go, appearances do not seem to bear him out.
As for socialism, has Armstrong never heard of Shell, Univlever, BP, Mercedes, etc etc ?
And what does the good book teach on economics:
Does this sound like a book which recommends the concentration of ownership?