Let me paint a fun picture for you. There's this thing humans do called trade. We have found in greater and greater numbers throughout our history that we are capable of far greater things when we are able to divide our labor and work together, simply providing for the want/needs of the people we knew and cared about in return of having our wants/needs provided. It was mutual, and our labor became worth what we were able to provide. This is why tribes of human beings became the most efficient creatures at dominating regions for themselves. Sometimes throughout our history, groups of people have conspired together to rob, larger, productive groups of people. Sometimes this money was taken as a form of "protection" by a gang promising not to hurt you as long as you funded them. Sometimes that gang had better weapons than you and forced you to consent to pay what you "owed" them for the protection they provided you.
This scheme is called a racket. It protects you from the illusion of the imminent danger that is confronting you. It's probably organized crime's crown achievement.
So, let me pose a question. What are you afraid of? Because whatever it is, I'm sure I can find someone willing to take something you value as compensation to promise to protect you from what you fear. In fact, they might even employ people to keep an eye on you, you know, just to protect you from all of the terrible things that every person in the world could be plotting against you. Well at least against the group of you who are willing to pay for their protection. But wait. Maybe there's this way you could force them to pay a share, so your share would be less. You know what, I bet there might even be people willing to keep track of every productive thing that they do and every thing of value that they earn in order to make sure that they are paying their fair share. You know what's crazy, I bet they could even convince people that they should have to take the time to keep track of that just so they can make sure that they contribute how much they should have to contribute. I bet if you were really smart, you could get other people to pay for more of it than you do. Especially the people who make more than you do. So this is perfect, everyone will pay their fair share because the people who are keeping track of everything won't have any conflicting interests and will definitely value everything that you value. At least the ones you vote for. Well I mean, they'll at least share some of your values. Like the ones you really care about, like keeping people safe and stuff. And the children. I promise you, they'll love the children. In fact, they'll make sure to teach your kids all the things you could never have the time to teach them. Like how to obey the rules and stuff, and who all the important people in your life have been and how the world works. I mean sure, the quality of education they provide isn't as good as you would like, but, I mean, you have a life to live too, and I mean, this way more people will be paying for my kids education so I know that by the transitive property of how money makes things awesome, if I have to pay for it, the education system will have to get better. I mean, that's what the people who are running the show are telling me right now. If I had enough of other people's money to use to teach me, I could pay all the people who own the rights to all of the infinitely reproducible knowledge available in digital form that can be copied for virtually nothing. If I could give those people other people's money, I would have a better shot at being happy and supporting myself and stuff. Yeah. Maybe that group of people I'm being forced to give my valuable stuff to will endow some form of organization with the responsibility to keep track of who's getting all the money that needs to get the money that they deserve from the people that owe it. Ooh, maybe we could just make more money and give it to the people that need it. Yeah that will solve it. Sure the money that people made before will be made worth less, but it's for the greater good. I mean the people I pay to keep track of whether or not they're forcing me to pay them enough money to keep me safe seem to be acting like it. If they only could have the power to take more money away from the people that had it, they could make sure that all the money that is getting made is going to the right place. Good thing those really rich guys are always willing to lend them money in order to make sure that that stuff gets done right. Sure we have to pay it back to them, but that only increases my share of the bill a tiny bit and I mean, the people who have more than me will at least have to pay for more of it. This world is so destined to be a better place. I'm going to get forced to pay these guys who are forcing everyone to pay them to make the world a better place for me. I don't even have to think about what I'm spending my money on to make sure that the things I want taken care of for the improvement of the world are done for the people who need it. I don't even have to want to do the right thing, it'll be done anyway. Because someone will force me to. It's awesome. Thank goodness for those guys. I heard they even force people not to hurt other people like me. It's the coolest. I mean I don't hear every story, but I hear there are some terrible people out there, there have even been times where those people have forced people like you and me to make sure that other people like you and me force the bad people not to do bad stuff to us. Thank goodness for those people in charge, forcing us to do everything all the good stuff that they force us to do. I mean yeah, I don't agree with everything they stand for, but at least they're serving me well. I mean, hear and there they might decide to give my money to things that I morally detest and would never ever voluntarily provide money for the cause of. And sometimes they support groups of people who are a little stricter with the people they're protecting than they are with us, and sometimes they even allow for the unjust persecution of other people, but at least they're looking out for most of us. I mean, look, they're even making me save money for when I get older so I can keep affording to pay them to take care of me. Well, I mean they're not really saving my money, they dipped into that account in order to pay for some things that I'm not sure I agree with, but I'm sure it was for the best for everybody. Sure, some well connected people got kind of rich from it, but they deserved it. I mean, this was money that was just sitting there. These days, we have to print more and more of it in order to make sure those people keep getting their rather extravagant due compensation, but at least they're getting and keeping what they deserve. I mean it does seem like some of these people are making the decisions to force me to pay for the things to be done by the people who are funding their campaigns, but I'm sure it's all for the best. They've got to be looking out for me. If they weren't, I would have never have agreed to pay them in the first place. Well my parents wouldn't have. Well I mean their parents. Well I guess it was actually my grandparents parents that agreed to that in this country. At least we're making the world safe for democracy. That way the will of the majority can dictate to me as an individual what is right for me to do, and not rely on my community to teach me that on my own. If it wasn't for all of these people forcing me to do the right thing, I might actually have to learn how to think about morality in a logical fashion. I don't know that I'm up to such a big task as figuring out what the right thing to do to make my community a better place.
Thank goodness those people, with different values than me, thousands of miles away, have mandated that a certain portion of my productivity go toward supporting things that I have a moral objection to. If I didn't, I may have never learned how much change for good can be accomplished through the use of force.
This scheme is called a racket. It protects you from the illusion of the imminent danger that is confronting you. It's probably organized crime's crown achievement.
So, let me pose a question. What are you afraid of? Because whatever it is, I'm sure I can find someone willing to take something you value as compensation to promise to protect you from what you fear. In fact, they might even employ people to keep an eye on you, you know, just to protect you from all of the terrible things that every person in the world could be plotting against you. Well at least against the group of you who are willing to pay for their protection. But wait. Maybe there's this way you could force them to pay a share, so your share would be less. You know what, I bet there might even be people willing to keep track of every productive thing that they do and every thing of value that they earn in order to make sure that they are paying their fair share. You know what's crazy, I bet they could even convince people that they should have to take the time to keep track of that just so they can make sure that they contribute how much they should have to contribute. I bet if you were really smart, you could get other people to pay for more of it than you do. Especially the people who make more than you do. So this is perfect, everyone will pay their fair share because the people who are keeping track of everything won't have any conflicting interests and will definitely value everything that you value. At least the ones you vote for. Well I mean, they'll at least share some of your values. Like the ones you really care about, like keeping people safe and stuff. And the children. I promise you, they'll love the children. In fact, they'll make sure to teach your kids all the things you could never have the time to teach them. Like how to obey the rules and stuff, and who all the important people in your life have been and how the world works. I mean sure, the quality of education they provide isn't as good as you would like, but, I mean, you have a life to live too, and I mean, this way more people will be paying for my kids education so I know that by the transitive property of how money makes things awesome, if I have to pay for it, the education system will have to get better. I mean, that's what the people who are running the show are telling me right now. If I had enough of other people's money to use to teach me, I could pay all the people who own the rights to all of the infinitely reproducible knowledge available in digital form that can be copied for virtually nothing. If I could give those people other people's money, I would have a better shot at being happy and supporting myself and stuff. Yeah. Maybe that group of people I'm being forced to give my valuable stuff to will endow some form of organization with the responsibility to keep track of who's getting all the money that needs to get the money that they deserve from the people that owe it. Ooh, maybe we could just make more money and give it to the people that need it. Yeah that will solve it. Sure the money that people made before will be made worth less, but it's for the greater good. I mean the people I pay to keep track of whether or not they're forcing me to pay them enough money to keep me safe seem to be acting like it. If they only could have the power to take more money away from the people that had it, they could make sure that all the money that is getting made is going to the right place. Good thing those really rich guys are always willing to lend them money in order to make sure that that stuff gets done right. Sure we have to pay it back to them, but that only increases my share of the bill a tiny bit and I mean, the people who have more than me will at least have to pay for more of it. This world is so destined to be a better place. I'm going to get forced to pay these guys who are forcing everyone to pay them to make the world a better place for me. I don't even have to think about what I'm spending my money on to make sure that the things I want taken care of for the improvement of the world are done for the people who need it. I don't even have to want to do the right thing, it'll be done anyway. Because someone will force me to. It's awesome. Thank goodness for those guys. I heard they even force people not to hurt other people like me. It's the coolest. I mean I don't hear every story, but I hear there are some terrible people out there, there have even been times where those people have forced people like you and me to make sure that other people like you and me force the bad people not to do bad stuff to us. Thank goodness for those people in charge, forcing us to do everything all the good stuff that they force us to do. I mean yeah, I don't agree with everything they stand for, but at least they're serving me well. I mean, hear and there they might decide to give my money to things that I morally detest and would never ever voluntarily provide money for the cause of. And sometimes they support groups of people who are a little stricter with the people they're protecting than they are with us, and sometimes they even allow for the unjust persecution of other people, but at least they're looking out for most of us. I mean, look, they're even making me save money for when I get older so I can keep affording to pay them to take care of me. Well, I mean they're not really saving my money, they dipped into that account in order to pay for some things that I'm not sure I agree with, but I'm sure it was for the best for everybody. Sure, some well connected people got kind of rich from it, but they deserved it. I mean, this was money that was just sitting there. These days, we have to print more and more of it in order to make sure those people keep getting their rather extravagant due compensation, but at least they're getting and keeping what they deserve. I mean it does seem like some of these people are making the decisions to force me to pay for the things to be done by the people who are funding their campaigns, but I'm sure it's all for the best. They've got to be looking out for me. If they weren't, I would have never have agreed to pay them in the first place. Well my parents wouldn't have. Well I mean their parents. Well I guess it was actually my grandparents parents that agreed to that in this country. At least we're making the world safe for democracy. That way the will of the majority can dictate to me as an individual what is right for me to do, and not rely on my community to teach me that on my own. If it wasn't for all of these people forcing me to do the right thing, I might actually have to learn how to think about morality in a logical fashion. I don't know that I'm up to such a big task as figuring out what the right thing to do to make my community a better place.
Thank goodness those people, with different values than me, thousands of miles away, have mandated that a certain portion of my productivity go toward supporting things that I have a moral objection to. If I didn't, I may have never learned how much change for good can be accomplished through the use of force.
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