Commenter Kathy Kinsley made a very interesting point in a comment to my recent post
Liberty Is Prone To Misuse. Her response was to my thought: You would prefer a police state?
Some would. Really. That’s the actual problem with libertarian philosophy. Some people really DO NOT want to make decisions. They want to be told what to do. Libertarians know what to do with tyrants, they know what to do with fellow-travelers. But they don’t know what do do with…well…natural slaves.
Eric and I discussed Kathy’s point off line and honest to God neither of us could understand the slave mentality. But evidently it is all too human. It is reputed that Moses had to do 40 years in the desert to cut it back some.
I have a friend who I used to discuss this with all too frequently. He bitched and moaned about how well the slave masters were living off of his work – he wasn’t doing too badly for a slave but that isn’t the point. I said – why don’t you go out on your own? And his response: “I don’t want the responsibility.” Well, you want to live like a child, you will get treated like a child. Quit cher bitchin.
As to what to do about it? As long as the Masters leave me to my own devices what they do with the slaves is between them and the slaves. Because freeing the slaves will not make them free men. It just makes them children with no parents. Feral children. And that serves no one well. Unfortunately.
In the mean time I advocate for Liberty and the concomitant personal responsibility. Let those with ears hear me.
Comments
10 responses to “The Slavic Mentality”
[…] there are also too many people who want to be treated as children, and they go along with them. Print PDF […]
An excellent post.
Really, that’s my biggest worry for the future. All current trends point to “employment” being less viable as a mode of life. Those who can learn and create independently will reap the rewards, but employees are ever more disadvantaged. At the same time, we are far removed from a traditional, society in which you could have an independent occupation but be pretty sure that your occupation would be viable for the rest of your life.
The question is: what happens to people who are fundamentally unsuited for independence? How many of them are there, really? (I’m willing to believe any number between 20% and 80%, and those two extremes are very different situations.) Can people be educated into independence? Can they be forced to it, and if so then SHOULD they be? You can’t just tell them to go hang–they’ll FIND a way to lose their independence, and probably in the most inconvenient way possible. That’s why I can’t be an Objectivist, even if it suited me–“get out of my way” isn’t a practical governing philosophy.
Neil,
Even if we split the difference and say it is 50% (I’m more inclined towards 80%) what can we do?
The NWO thinks killing off most of the human race is the answer.
My answer is more towards unleashing the 20% and helping them to carry the rest of us. (I might be in the 20% but I would prefer that to mass murder).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons
Was about the problem.
Also the Time Machine by Wells.
The Bell Curve was a modern look at the above. No definite solutions provided.
Also Dorsai! by Dickson
And lots of others.
Simon, funny – the Marching Morons was exactly the story I was thinking about when reading this post.
Simon-
Except that “The Marching Morons” is all about the industrial-era obsession with IQ. We’re not talking about people who are useless (or in Douglas Adams’ formulation, hairdressers, management consultants, and telephone sanitizers), we’re talking by-and-large about competent people who simply don’t have the stomach for walking the tightrope without a net.
And, truth be told, even if we’re willing to take the risk for a while we all want to install that net as soon as we have the resources.
Neil,
Too much net and people stop taking risks. And the net itself becomes a risk. A snare and not a support.
The State of NH has it right.
Live free or die.
I have nothing against people who want to be slaves. What I object to is their objecting to the very thing they want. Like my friend in the above post.
“Siddhartha” by Hesse got it right. If you want to live as a free man you have to be willing to go hungry. Willing to die.
We have enough slaves. It is not about IQ. It is about attitude. And the attitude is Moronic. Because given enough of it we will all be slaves.
“Child of Fortune” by Spinrad discusses the amount of net that I think is viable. Not the actuals in that novel but the general idea.
Child of Fortune
Here is an old timer who got it right.
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude than the animating contest of freedom — go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!” Samuel Adams
True, the difference is the willingness to fail and fail and fail again until you succeed. The problem is the mentality that is afraid to ever fail in the first place, and looks for someone to assure, not success, but a lack of failure.
@Neil… I think you’ve got it. And we in this country have been encouraging that attitude (with all sorts of expert advice). You are wonderful – even if you get straight D’s…(Erm. Excuse me? No. unless you are severely retarded and and D is a grade up–TOTALLY OFF TOPIC – can anyone tell me what happened to “E”? ABCDF? No wonder we have language problems in this country – even the teachers can’t get the alphabet right.
@Simon. GO SAM! That’s one of my favorite quotes (see the original comment you quoted if you want to know why…).
Kathy,
My Mom is a typical Democrat. When I told her I was starting over she said “You’re 68”. As if age was a barrier. I said “So what?”
For her old age is a chance to be idle. For me it is a chance to do some more.
For the last 12 years I have had some family problems that kept me from my work (other than ‘netting [heh] ) those have gotten reasonably resolved and so I’m starting over. My health is pretty good and my brain still works. I’m going to have to be in a position to save who I can. And I LOVE my work.
Bringing A Little Light To The World™