Her book The God Of The Machine, published in 1943, is one of the best defenses of freedom and capitalism ever penned. The essay you quoted is part of that tome. Sadly, it's very hard to find these days.
An original copy maybe, Francis. Readily available through Amazon. I just ordered it.
Kevin, there are so many parallels in that essay that you can apply to issue today. Socialism in general, universal health care, illegal immigration, entitlement programs and on and on all jump out at me.
The Greater Good™
A metaphysical concept designating anything that undercuts capitalism and the frivolous American way of life, and/or promotes the new, progressive mode of being. Any action taken with altruistic intentions in mind, regardless of its practical result or purpose, or of the misery that it may produce, is considered a contribution to The Greater Good™. In various contexts may denote an opposite of capitalism, a euphemism for Communism, or an atheistic alternative to God. Also known as "Common Good." E.g. "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the Common Good." (Hillary Clinton) The masses invariably find this expression quite analgesic and convincing. Use liberally while enforcing wealth redistribution schemes.
While the site is meant to be a parody of collectivist cant, it's too close to reality to be truly funny. The phrase, "regardless of its practical result or purpose, or of the misery that it may produce" is the core essence of ALL Democrate/Socialist/Communist redistribution practices.
"It may be said, and it may be true, that in both cases the wielders of power are vicious hypocrites; that their conscious objective was evil from the beginning; nonetheless, they could not have come by the power at all except with the consent and assistance of good people."
That makes our pending presidential election all the more scary, doesn't it?
Now, contrast this:
"The objective is to do good to others as a primary justification of existence; the means is the power of the collective; and the premise is that "good" is collective."
with these statements by Hillary Clingon:
"We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
""(We)...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."
"We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own...in order to create this common ground."
Points up the truth in the old riddle: If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Note:
All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost;
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JS-Kit/Echo comments for article at http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2007/10/humanitarian-with-guillotine.html (10 comments)
Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.
That book resides on my Dad's bookshelf, in Orlando. Sadly, I've never availed myself of it's riches.
I shall request it of him at the soonest opportunity.
Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Her book The God Of The Machine, published in 1943, is one of the best defenses of freedom and capitalism ever penned. The essay you quoted is part of that tome. Sadly, it's very hard to find these days.
An original copy maybe, Francis. Readily available through Amazon. I just ordered it.
Kevin, there are so many parallels in that essay that you can apply to issue today. Socialism in general, universal health care, illegal immigration, entitlement programs and on and on all jump out at me.
Fantastic read!
Check out the definition of "The Greatest Good" from The Peoples Cube:
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/red/viewtopic.php?t=42#GG
The Greater Good™
A metaphysical concept designating anything that undercuts capitalism and the frivolous American way of life, and/or promotes the new, progressive mode of being. Any action taken with altruistic intentions in mind, regardless of its practical result or purpose, or of the misery that it may produce, is considered a contribution to The Greater Good™. In various contexts may denote an opposite of capitalism, a euphemism for Communism, or an atheistic alternative to God. Also known as "Common Good." E.g. "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the Common Good." (Hillary Clinton) The masses invariably find this expression quite analgesic and convincing. Use liberally while enforcing wealth redistribution schemes.
While the site is meant to be a parody of collectivist cant, it's too close to reality to be truly funny. The phrase, "regardless of its practical result or purpose, or of the misery that it may produce" is the core essence of ALL Democrate/Socialist/Communist redistribution practices.
Harsh? I don't think so. Nor hyperbolic. So-called humanitarianism is founded, IMNSVHO, in a contempt for individual autonomy.
No. The truth she speaks may be unpleasant, but it is both accurately and precisely true.
M
Made me think of Bertrand Russell: The Harm That Good Men Do. A must read essay.
"It may be said, and it may be true, that in both cases the wielders of power are vicious hypocrites; that their conscious objective was evil from the beginning; nonetheless, they could not have come by the power at all except with the consent and assistance of good people."
That makes our pending presidential election all the more scary, doesn't it?
Now, contrast this:
"The objective is to do good to others as a primary justification of existence; the means is the power of the collective; and the premise is that "good" is collective."
with these statements by Hillary Clingon:
"We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
""(We)...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."
"We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own...in order to create this common ground."
My parents are deeply committed and religiously motivated humanitarians...
(sigh) It's all very aptly descriptive.
Another quote from Lady Macbeth, which I'm not sure isn't even more chilling than the others:
"If you work hard and play by the rules, you can have a good life."
Sound at all familiar?
Points up the truth in the old riddle: If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Note: All avatars and any images or other media embedded in comments were hosted on the JS-Kit website and have been lost; references to haloscan comments have been partially automatically remapped, but accuracy is not guaranteed and corrections are solicited.
If you notice any problems with this page or wish to have your home page link updated, please contact John Hardin <jhardin@impsec.org>