Ron Paul 30 Years of Consistency

Only 30 years of consistency in the public record? I suppose that's pretty good... 

Most public people have consistency all the way back to the last comma in the sentence currently being uttered.

"We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, Trial by Jury, and the English common law, find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence."-- Winston Churchill

Bank Documents: Created From Thin Air

You MUST watch this and pass it on.

Rand Paul - Consumer Choice

Senator Rand Paul points out the hypocracy of bureaucrats.

This is most excellent.

Production and The Prodigal Son

I recently taught a series of Sunday school lessons on the parable of the Prodigal Son, which is found in Luke chapter 15. The Sunday school material I used began by observing how deeply ingrained the parable of the Prodigal Son is in our Spiritual and literary traditions. It was noted that Shakespeare used plot points from the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Merchant of Venice and in Henry IV. Country music singer Hank Williams recorded a song called the Prodigal Son comparing the Prodigal's homecoming to the joys of heaven. The world's great Art museums contain many works featuring scenes from the Prodigal Son's experience. Of course we recognize terms like a wayward child being referred to as a prodigal son or daughter and we hear people talk about killing the fattened calf or riotous living. So the stories and the ideas of the prodigal son are very familiar in our traditions, culture and language.

In addition one can argue that this parable is the most richly detailed and personal of all the parables of Jesus. It is safe to say that everyone can relate to at least one of the three characters in the parable at sometime in their life.

Because of the details in this parable, many people seek complex symbolism, layers of meaning or hidden lessons which bend the rules of interpretation. We want to be very careful to focus on the plain meaning of Scripture and not invent our own meaning for the parable.

Our goal then, is to read the parable and observe the details that provide the framework for the story, so that we can understand the plain meaning of the passage. As I began to prepare my Sunday school lesson, a new facet of the details of the story came into my view. I noticed that there were many terms which were directly related to production. So class began with the study of how production fits into the parable. Our first task was to agree on a definition of production.

Production: Labor and resources combined to provide for needs and wants.

It was easy for us to recognize and agree that production is some form of gain or increase. Next we went through a series of questions to see if production was reasonable to consider in studying our Bible lesson. First we asked "Since people eat food and use things, do people depend on production?" The answer is obviously yes. Next we asked "Does our dependence on production influence our decisions?" Again the obvious answer is yes, with a good example being that we often go to work because we want to have food, clothing and shelter. Next we asked "Does our dependence on production challenge our morals?" Again the obvious answer was yes. Then we asked "As Christians, does our dependence on production challenge our obedience?" Again the clear answer was yes. Finally we asked "Who made us dependent on production?" As Christians we believe that God is our Creator, which means that God made us dependent on production.

So let's think about what we just observed. People eat food and use things which means that people depend on production. Our dependence on production influences our decisions, challenges our morals, challenges our obedience - all because God made things that way. (For those who do not believe that there is a creator, please explain how nothing and no one produced everything. I enjoy that debate.) There is no question that thinking about production while studying Scripture is a good idea.

There are more than 50 terms in the parable of the prodigal son which are related to production. In the passage which is pasted below you will see various terms in bold. These are terms related to production. For example the term give is meaningless unless there is something to give. The term share is meaningless unless there is something to divide. The term estate obviously refers to the property of the father. The term everything refers to all of the property belonging to the son. Journey is a term indirectly related to production because in order to take a journey one must have the resources to do so. Think of your vacation. Loose living is a term related to production, as we see in the parable when his resources are gone. Then we have the term enough bread. Bread is clearly related to production and enough communicates a quantity of production. Further down we see the terms music and dancing. Music flows from an instrument which would've been produced from profits which belonged to a producer. He was willing to use these profits to create a musical instrument because his more immediate needs of food shelter and clothing had been met. And of course dancing is something that typically involves music and is something that occurs among people who are in good spirits with full stomachs. We could go on and on looking at the terms, but we have sufficiently illustrated the reason that various terms are considered to be related to production.

Luke 15:11-32 And He said, “A man had two sons. “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’ “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. “And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. “And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ” NASB95

As written above, I noticed that there were several terms related to production in the story of the prodigal son. After I went through the passage marking the terms that were related to production, it became clear that if these terms were removed there would be no story. So now we have this richly detailed parable which influences our traditions and culture and art, and which is meaningful to nearly every person in some way at some point in their life, and we find that if we remove terms related to production the story falls apart. To be very clear, I'm not saying that the truth of the story is lost, because truth exists apart from the story and apart from the framework used to tell the story. However, this parable relies heavily on the concepts of production to convey certain truth.

Our country today is sometimes called a welfare state, which means that there is a significant portion of our population that depends on welfare for food shelter and clothing. If the story of the prodigal son were told today in our country, it would go a little bit differently. After the younger son had squandered his wealth on loose living, he would've gone to the welfare office and signed up for his welfare check and food stamps. This would have kept him from "coming to his senses", thinking about the condition of the hired help on his father's estate, recognizing the error of his ways, repenting of his bad choices and bad attitude, confessing these to his father and ultimately being received back into the family.

The parable of the prodigal son tells us things about God the Father, about Jesus as Savior, about Christians as prodigal sons and daughters and about the religious people like the scribes and the Pharisees who approach God based on their works and confidence in themselves. This parable also tells us something about how God's natural order and natural law is used to draw people to truth.

A Christian is supposed to be led by the Spirit, not by the flesh. According to the Christian worldview, an unsaved person is led by the flesh rather than by the spirit.

A person who understands spiritual truth will filter the desires of his flesh through spiritual understanding. If a person who is led by the flesh is going to learn spiritual truth, his flesh sometimes has a role in leading him there. The parable of the prodigal son is an excellent example of how a hungry belly will bring a person to his senses. Therefore whether the flesh leads the spirit or the spirit leads the flesh, it is important that the flesh and the spirit move in the same direction and work together. With that thought in mind let's consider what happens if the flesh and the spirit go in different directions.

Based on my Christian worldview I believe that the God of the Bible is the creator of the universe and everything in it. I also believe that God is the ultimate producer, even going beyond production to the act of creation. I also believe that man is created in the image of God and, because God is a producer by nature, we also are producers by nature. However not everyone produces. So the question is, if people are by nature producers but are not always productive, how does a person feel when they are not productive? I agree that there are many people who are lazy and unproductive and have no desire to change, but what is going on inside? Consider the drug addict who is destroying his body. He is choosing temporary pleasure over the immediate and long-term health of his body. Likewise, people will choose to be lazy and unproductive even at the expense of the immediate and long-term effect on their spirit or the inner man.

When a person lives in such a way that he squanders the property that he has and does not work to replace it, he faces poverty and hunger. Poverty and hunger led the prodigal son back to his senses. If the prodigal son had been given just a little food and clothing and enough shelter to survive, chances are he would not have come to his senses, repented, confessed and been reconciled to his family. His inner man would've become corrupt and undergone decay, rather than healing.

Therefore if a Christian really loves other people he will never do anything to support the physical man in a way that will ultimately harm the spiritual man. Let's consider the passages from Scripture that will guide us in best serving the physical and the spiritual man.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

Proverbs 16:25-26 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. 26 The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.

I want to consider one other point the parable. When the young son returned, his father hugged him around the neck and commanded his servants to bring a robe, a ring, and sandals for his young son. Each of these gifts has a significant meaning, but we are going to focus on the ring right now. In those days, that ring would have been a signet ring which gave the possessor a right called usufruct. Usufruct is a Latin term that literally means "use of the fruits" and it describes the legal right to use someone else's property at no cost, while reaping the fruits as though the property were your own. We can see that the young son lost his right to any further inheritance, but while his father was alive he was able to use a portion of his father's property in order to produce and begin building sufficient wealth to take care of his own future family. Scripture records that God told the children of Israel that the land was His and they were tenants. With a little thought we can see the similarity between the Garden of Eden as the father's estate and Adam and Eve being evicted, but given the right to use God's property to satisfy their needs and some of their wants.

In summary, we find that the parable of the prodigal son is heavily dependent on terms related to production. We observed that our decisions are influenced by our dependence on production and that our morals and obedience are challenged by our dependence on production. We also see the God made us dependent on production and that God's natural order will cause a hungry man to lead his inner man toward right-thinking, restoration and productive life. An empty belly can get the attention of a stubborn will when no amount of persuasion will work. This means that if we support a hungry man who is unwilling to work, we have set in motion an internal decay that cannot be halted or reversed, except if we get out of the way and let the physical man once again be subject to the natural order and his dependence on production.

If we subsidize bad behavior, we will get more of it. If we penalize production, we will get less of it. Bad behavior is destructive and unfruitful. People depend on production. Following is a chart that I've shared in other places which compares and contrasts the biblical social model and the social model we use today in our country. Compare the chart to what we have discovered about the prodigal son.

The Truth About Property Tax

This is a message I sent out while a candidate for state senate in Georgia. I oppose all wealth redistribution and unlawful government. This short article is designed to move our thinking in the direction of limited, lawful government. I see a few edits I could make, but I want to send the text exactly as written when I was a candidate for office.

The Truth About Property Tax

Before we begin, let me be perfectly clear that I will work hard to see that our counties, cities and schools are properly funded. However, it is my belief that we can fund government without violating the rights of our citizens.

Property Tax

Property tax makes us Renters, not Owners.

What we call property tax, the Communist Manifesto calls rent. The first plank of the Communist Manifesto says there shall be: "Abolition of property in land and the application of all rents of land to public purposes."

If we study closely we find that property tax is really an indirect consumption tax.

Let's think about how this works.

What is the reason that government relies so heavily on property tax?

It is because they can tag the tax bill to the property. If you don't pay, you lose your property.

That reminds me of one of my favorite George Washington quotes. "Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is force. Like fire, government is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

Example:

Consider an elderly lady who is living on a fixed income with declining purchasing power. Each year the choice between food, energy (for heating and cooling), medication and property tax become more challenging.

There comes a time when she cannot afford everything and property tax is the first thing to go.

Our government, which is charged with defending the Life, Liberty and Property of Georgians, will take her property.

She will be moved to an assisted living home that she cannot afford, which means the taxpayers will pay the difference. The bill to taxpayers will be more each year than if we simply paid her property tax and let her keep her home.

What will happen to the property?

The government will sell the property on the courthouse steps. Someone who has the cash to purchase the land and pay the government rent, in the form of property tax, will now own the land.

Where does the cash come from?

The cash for property tax will come from people who are active in the marketplace, especially in the centers of business like the larger cities.

So what have we really done?

1. We steal the home of an elderly lady or at least force her to sell her home against her will.

2. We spend more on professional services for her in an assisted living home each year than the tax bill.

3. The property is sold to an active business person at a discount. Instant profit.

4. The business person's cash comes from business conducted in the larger cities where the consumption tax should be collected.

5. We have indirectly collected a consumption tax from that business person by selling the land at a discount to someone who can afford to pay the government rent in the form of property tax.

Why not simply collect a consumption tax to begin with and let the people keep their property?

To our shame, if there is anything government is good at, it would have to be wealth redistribution.

We can use a consumption tax to fund our local governments without violating the rights of our citizens.

Tax Equity

Some will complain that sending Gwinnett County or Clarke County or Cobb County taxes to rural counties is unfair.

I do enjoy that conversation. If we are going to talk tax equity, can we discuss restoring the family homes and family farms that have been taken away and broken up by declining real prices for agricultural products, rising property tax burdens and the destructive death tax?

That tends to end the conversation about tax equity.

Simple First Step Solution

Our property tax bill is set by millage multiplied by the assessed value of the property. We need to add one more element.

We need to set a cap on the property tax remitted by declaring that no person's property tax remittance can exceed 2% of their after tax income.

Of course the government officials will say that will deprive them of tax revenue. But think about what that means.

The argument becomes, if grandma can't pay because she doesn't have enough cash, that is her problem, not the government's problem. Cough up the cash or give up the property. It doesn't matter that you and your family worked for a lifetime to pay for it.

The government gets their money and then she goes into a retirement home that costs the taxpayers more than if we simply found another way to cover her property tax.

We could simply raise the revenue through a consumption tax or cut government spending.

I like the second option best.

Much More Could Be Said

There are many more details we could cover on this subject, but this outline is only intended to set the stage for a wise battle against the abuses of property taxes and death taxes.

Shane Coley

Please vote Coley for Liberty August 10th.

Soil and Liberty

Our nation is at a crossroad. We are facing the potential collapse of our currency and the following disintegration of our society. There are technical reasons this is true. Some mainstream financial advisors take this position. Certain economists take this position.

Our security depends on knowledge. Please consider the following ideas.

Dollars

Imagine a Wall Street hedge fund manager who has acquired millions of dollars in the previous year. Imagine if he sold everything of value he had, including house, clothes, cars, etc. and only held dollars. Imagine that he never traded those dollars for anything. He just held his dollars.

Is he wealthy?

Or is he hungry and cold?

He cannot eat, wear or be sheltered by his dollars. Unwilling to part with his dollars and having no other property, he is a man in poverty.

This would also be true if he held a currency that no producers would accept in exchange for goods and services. This is the current situation for Zimbabwe Dollars.

Soil

Let’s say our Wall Street banker finds this situation to be untenable.

He is hungry and cold.

So he buys food, shelter and clothing. These are all directly or indirectly based on products which come from the soil.

The people who produced these things live in houses, wear clothes and eat food which are dependent on soil.

So, even the Wall Street banker has nothing if he only has dollars. And even the Wall Street banker is directly dependent on soil.

All nations are agrarian or have agrarian dependencies, whether they know it or not.

Only a fool believes a nation can survive without a strong agricultural base.

Only an enemy would undermine a nation's agricultural base.

Our agriculture and industry have been undermined.

Production

Have you ever noticed that everything we do or use relies on production?

Consider the following questions:

Can we agree that if a person stops eating, he will die?

Can we agree that if a person is dead, he no longer thinks, at least temporally speaking?

Can we then agree that thought relies on food?

Can we agree food must be produced?

Can we then conclude that thought relies on production?

If thought relies on production, can you name even one thing that you do or use that does not rely on production?

Teachers

Teaching can be edifying or destructive. One can be taught to build or to tear down.

If teachers have a desire to promote and support the teaching profession or society as a whole, they must teach production.

If a teacher simply wants to be guaranteed a certain quantity of paper tickets, like dollars, perhaps they should move to Zimbabwe. People in Zimbabwe have plenty of paper tickets. Of course the people starve, but even the poorest person has vast quantities of worthless paper money.

Perhaps teachers actually want valuable incomes so that they can enjoy food, shelter, clothes, relationships and leisure activities.

If food, shelter and clothing are what the teachers want, they should NOT lobby the government for guaranteed quantities of dollars. Instead, since everything we do or use relies on production, they should teach the students how to be productive.

Anything that interferes with the freedom to teach students how to be net productive should be considered an enemy of the teacher, student and society.

Fundamentals

I have noticed that people eat food and use things.

The government produces nothing and wastes much.

Government has nothing to give.

Everything we do or use relies on production.

Through taxation, regulation, litigation and inflation, government reduces the quantity of production, which makes us all poorer.

The things we use must be produced.

I have noticed producers exchange with producers. Paper money which has been devalued and made worthless will not be accepted by a producer. Our dollars will soon be worthless, which means producers will not accept our dollars in exchange for what they have produced.

We have destroyed agriculture and industry in our nation.

We are losing generational knowledge and trade skills.

We can no longer produce adequate quantities of what we need and want.

Conclusion

Paper money is poverty. Electronic money is death. All nations which debase their currency have collapsed.

Unless we learn the truth about production and the truth about money, we will lose our liberty and prosperity. Unmistakable poverty and tyranny will take its place.

Dollars are worthless and useless in their own right. We must understand the true foundations of liberty, beginning with soil and production. Otherwise, when dollars can no longer be exchanged for production, we will witness the disintegration of the United States as we know it.

Every man, woman and child must learn and teach the truth about production and the truth about money.

If we do that, the United States of America will again be strong, prosperous and free.

INTERPOL Now Above The Law

And ready for action...

Who is INTERPOL?

"INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 188 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime."

INTERPOL has been granted full immunity to operate in the United States by an executive order signed December 17, 2009 by President Obama.

On December 29, 2009 the classification protocols for originating SECRET and TOP SECRET documents were modified and expanded by executive order.

Classification authority can be delegated (Section 1.3), which means the Czars will likely be able to exercise this classification authority via delegation from the President of the united States.

Why should the Department of Agriculture have authority to originate SECRET documents?

Except in rare cases in the stewardship of a limited government, government secrets are not good for liberty.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin

INTERPOL - History and Current Events

INTERPOL was founded in 1923 and was taken over by Germany from 1938 until 1945. Four of the presidents of INTERPOL were Nazi SS officers. The President that revitalized the organization after WWII was from France, but also worked for the last of the German leaders.

Hitler used INTERPOL as a control point for the police infrastructure across the nations Germany was conquering. By exercising central power to pressure the leading police officials to control their own personnel, Hitler controlled of all the police powers of the state. It was a sinister and effective system of control.

INTERPOL is reportedly the second largest international organization after the UN.

INTERPOL is working together with UN officials and the 188 member countries to "debate the global police issue and to craft a declaration that would lead to an action plan for international police peacekeeping within 12 months."

Today in the united States, we have agencies originating TOP SECRET and SECRET documents which will be off limits, even through the Freedom of Information Act.

These documents can be used to guide police activities conducted by INTERPOL on US soil for which INTERPOL has no oversight and is answerable to no one. INTERPOL can operate completely above the law.

We will not know if anyone makes use of this system until it is too late to do much about it. One thing is certain. At least one legally untouchable domestic black-ops system is in place if any high officials decide they want to use it.

Liberty Solution

Got liberty?

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.“ ~ Johann Goethe

Want liberty?

People have to work to get it.

A few in our founders' generation did that.

We have been steadily giving it away ever since.

We have to work to get it back.

If we do our part, our children will be granted a special gift.

They can then work to keep it.

Knowledge is power.

Learn the truth about production.

Learn the truth about money.

Learn the truth about government.

Liberty Solution

Liberty, States Rights, Nullification

Thank You For A Great Start!

I want to thank each of you who have shared your resources with me as I work to win a senate seat here in Georgia. I will be another voice of reason and courage in our state legislature.

There are good men and women who serve in our state government, but we must do more. We are facing real problems in Georgia. Someone must set the example by plainly speaking about these problems.

We have no more time for political games and leaders who refuse to take risks. I am looking forward to the days when I am able to cross swords with those who oppose plain truth. These people are stealing my children's future. And yours.

I have studied history, economics and other topics for well over a decade because I care deeply about our country. I have learned that we are being attacked from within by subversive forces whose power comes from our own labor, property and production. This is true. I will gladly debate anyone on the subject, any time and any place.

Beyond sending out letters and a few electronic messages, I have been reluctant to ask for campaign funds. The whole process troubles me. The only way I can be satisfied that a contribution is worthwhile is this:

The money we spend has been used, and will be used, to spread a message to the people in the 47th District, and beyond, which can secure our liberty and restore prosperity in our land. I have learned the truth about how our nation is being dismantled and I want to share this with my fellow citizens and legislators. I also want to argue for our liberty and prosperity on the floor of the senate and from the platform afforded a senator.

If this were a business, you might say I have a great product for sale:

The keys to restore liberty and prosperity.

I welcome the support of all who will help spread this message, whether by learning and teaching, directing people to our websites or helping pay the bills.

Thank you to all who have pitched in with time, talent or money. I am blessed, humbled and encouraged by the support.

I want to say a special public thank you to Mike and April Brown. Mike is in Afghanistan serving at the call of our nation. April is home taking care of four beautiful children. Together they share a strong faith in Jesus Christ. They have contributed regularly to this campaign and I am reminded each time how we abuse our military men and women and their families when we refuse to do all we can to defend liberty here at home.

I encourage you to join Mike and April in the fight for liberty. The Mike and April Brown's in our state should not have to spend themselves fighting abroad only to be left to do the same thing over again here at home.

We have already spent more than $18,000 in the campaign. If you want to join us, contributions before December 31 are a big help.

http://www.shanecoley.us/support.html

Blessings,

Shane

Job Creation - Open Letter - Senate Press

Dear Senator Pearson,

I like your Senate Press article today and I appreciate your service, first in your role as a Producer and then as a senator.

You wrote: “Raising taxes is no way to stimulate the economy in a downturn.”

I would expand the thought to say: “taxes are no way to stimulate the economy ever.”

Government intervention always reduces production. Prosperity follows production.

Reduced production equals reduced prosperity.

The factors that are undermining our ability to produce are systemic. We must find ways to reestablish genuine production in Georgia; our state and our home. This must include finding ways to insulate our production and population from the devaluation of the dollar.

We will be wise to begin by keeping all the dollars we possibly can in Georgia in the hands of the citizens, while encouraging the use of precious metals in indirect exchange. We should pass legislation that keeps Federal taxes remittances in Georgia, to be paid to the Federal government for the value of services it provides, which are in the proper purview of the Federal government, after adjusting for inflation of the money supply.

Let the government and those it favors suffer the consequences of inflation for a change, instead of the people.

The rights of sovereign states will not be enjoyed unless we actively claim those rights as people of strength, courage and conviction. We must take back what has been taken away, while we still have a little strength left.

Mainstream academic thought would consider this a foolish approach, but the mainstream academic thought on the subject of economics is laughable, so we should not expect mainstream thinkers to understand. Or if they do, they are thieves and cowards for advocating for the Keynesian style economic system that is designed to destroy capitalism, and therefore to destroy liberty.

Keynes wrote the following in 1919:

“Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some… Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.”

When one can logically and mathematically understand and illustrate that a particular system serves the purpose of illicit wealth transfer, which is accomplished via the use of differing weights and measures, one can judge that system to be morally wrong. Our American system fits that description.

When one reviews history, one discovers that these market interventions via currency debasement are always seeds of greater oppression that lead to collapse of the productive capacity of a nation, and eventually the collapse of the nation.

When one considers that people eat food and use things, one may notice that for a nation to prosper, it must produce.

In addition to producing the things which constitute necessities, a nation must produce things valued by other people and nations if it hopes to continue trading with producers in the future. Producers exchange with producers.

Exporting inflation and selling debt to finance US purchases of foreign production is not a sustainable system. When our dollars lose their decreed value, if we are not producing, we will not be able to care for ourselves, and we will have nothing to exchange with producers for what we need.

Senator Pearson, I thank you for your service. I hope to have the opportunity to help you and others shrink government and restore production in the state of Georgia, leading the way for the same unified outcome in other states.

We need strong liberty warriors who step up to the battle line with fire in their eyes and their belly because they understand that we have been had, duped, abused, pillaged…

We have allowed a system of theft and control of production to sap the strength from our people, state and nation. We should be ashamed and angry. This is war, whether we acknowledge it as such or not. Just ask the ex-farmer, ex-textile owner or great American worker who is losing purchasing power and property daily.

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies." ~ Thomas Jefferson

The American system rips our production, property, savings, investments and retirement from our weathered and worn hands, a little bit more everyday.

Productivity retained in the hands of producers is the solution.

Georgia Senators: Know the truth. Stand. Cross the battle line. Restore liberty and prosperity in Georgia.

Blessings,

Shane Coley
47th District Senate Candidate
http://www.shanecoley.us
Real Solutions for Real Life

Defining Production

I was challenged by a friend today to define PRODUCTION versus NON-PRODUCTION. It is an interesting question to answer concisely. There are intertwined value systems which must be touched on in order to reasonably define the concept.

First, we must recognize that Production necessarily involves subjective valuation of output. However, any attempt to define Production in terms of value would require innumerable variables and conditions presented with regard a specific individual. Even then, the individual would need to guess the value he would assign.

Therefore, we have no basis to define or classify Production versus Non-production in terms of value, since value is conditional and subjective. We will, however, touch on the concept of gain versus loss to round out the categories.

Production results from employing your resources to satisfy the needs or wants of yourself or others.

Non-production results from employing someone else’s resources to satisfy the needs or wants of yourself or others.

Note: For additional insight, please review the articles about costless money and wealth transfer.

Production

For example, if a person uses their time to operate an employer’s machine to achieve a certain output, this is productive on the part of both owners. The employee owns his time and the employer owns the machine.

If this activity results in gain, then capital increases. If this activity results in loss, then capital is diminished.

If the owner of capital can afford to continue the activity, and chooses to do so even while generating losses, then production is still occurring and the activity is subjectively worth the cost to the owner of capital.

This subjective value judgment may never change, even if the owner depletes all capital and is forced to cease the activity.

On the other hand, the owner of capital may cease the activity by choice before losing all his capital.

Thus, Production may result in gain or loss, but if loss, the loss will be limited by the capital of the owner.

Non-production

Non-production is the act of consuming resources to which the consumer has no right.

In order to own a resource, it must be received as a gift, be homesteaded, or be produced.

The only other method of acquiring property is theft.

Therefore, if property one claims ownership to came into one’s possession by theft, fraud, coercion or force, then to the extent that one’s production is dependent on that property, one is a Non-producer.

Suppose 30% of my output (or my receipts which can be exchanged for real property), owes its existence to property which was NOT homesteaded, received as a gift or produced. In that case, I am 30% Non-producer and 100% thief, since being a thief is not a graduated attribute.

Thus, Non-production may result in gain or loss, but if loss, the loss will NOT be limited by the current capital of the owner. The Non-producer will use the system to gain access to additional real property through legalized plunder.

Legalized Plunder

Following are fraudulent methods of wealth transfer which turn Producers into Non-producers of varying degrees.

Costless Money

Here is my view of costless money:

“Costless money production is the founding and enabling tool of stealth oppression, which is a cancer that eventually gives birth to open tyranny. Our ignorance of basic economic principles leaves us viewing effects as causes, while the causes always remain hidden from our mind's eye. We fund our own destruction while blaming each other for the pain caused by an ever present, yet unseen enemy.”

Costless money causes a wealth transfer, which is theft. In addition to the government itself, early users of large quantities of costless new money are prime offenders.

When inflating with costless money, the purpose of inflation is to use NEW MONEY to purchase REAL ASSETS at OLD PRICES, thereby causing a wealth transfer from the people who get the new money last, toward the people who get the new money first.

The poor and people on fixed incomes suffer most. They pay for the wealth transfer to Non-producers through loss of purchasing power.

Taxation

When taxes are collected from one group and given to another, we take from Producers and give to Non-producers.

Whenever someone gets something he didn’t work for, someone else worked for something he didn’t get.

Regulation

We are taught regulation protects us from big business. This is a fallacy.

In fact, regulation creates barriers to competition and barriers to entry in the marketplace. Prices are higher than they would otherwise be and quality is lower. This causes a wealth transfer through coercion and through the waste of the consumer’s capital by forcing the consumer to overpay for sub-standard products.

Litigation

Litigation is a bludgeon used by government and established business to suppress competition. In addition to creating barriers similar to regulation, frivolous litigation wastes resources which could have been used more efficiently, which then increases costs to consumers.

Summary

I will discuss this in greater detail another time. There are interesting implications that flow from these categories of Production versus Non-production.

Our liberty and prosperity depend on our understanding private property, honest exchange, production and non-production.

When the economy turns around...

I hear politicians talk about "when the economy turns around", but these comments are based on simple-minded and naive "wishes".

So what will restore prosperity? What will "turn the economy around"?

We must understand that producers exchange with other producers.

As a nation, we have wrongly taught our people that labor is dishonorable.

We have exported our jobs. We have lost generational knowledge in agriculture. We have lost trade skills in industry. We have severely damaged the freedoms that foster small business entrepreneurs.

The time is coming when we can no longer exchange worthless paper for what other nations produce.

Why would a person give you their brand new oil, silver, wheat or lawnmower in exchange for a piece of worthless paper? Our dollar is quickly being recognized for what it is: a worthless piece of paper.

Prosperity follows production.

If you want to see the economy turn around then you must fight for production to be reestablished in our land. This is not optional. It must happen.

Men, we must defend our own production and our private property the same way we defend our wife and children.

We take care of our families by using things that are produced.

Productivity retained in the hands of the producer is the solution.

Its your property. Fight for it. Nothing else will do.

Inflation and the Fall of the Roman Empire

Liberty is enjoyed by those who control the profit from property and labor. If someone else controls your profit, then they also possess and enjoy your liberty. Your profit is that which you earn by producing more than you consume.

Capitalism employs the checks and balances of scarcity, labor and property to allocate resources and social authority to the most efficient producers and organizers of production.

Capitalism does not exist in a system that confiscates profit from producers, to reallocate to capable non-producers and those benefiting from favored business license. Such a system is socialist, which is marketed as capitalism to the masses, in order to march quietly toward a totalitarian system of government.

Costless money transfers production, labor, property and life savings from the working people into the hands of a privileged class. This theft must end if we are to have a future hope of liberty and justice for all. There is a solution. Learn it, speak it and pursue it with all passion and great haste. -- Shane Coley

Inflation and the Fall of the Roman Empire

Shane Coley for Georgia Senate

Please visit the Shane Coley for Georgia Senate official website for more information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Republican Shane Coley announces for State Senate Seat in 47th District

Winder, GA – August 5, 2009 – Shane Coley announced his candidacy for the Georgia state Senate today. He is seeking election in the 47th District which includes Barrow, Madison and Oglethorpe counties and portions of Clarke, Elbert, and Jackson counties. Senator Ralph Hudgens is not a candidate for re-election.

Coley, a conservative republican and native Georgian, is excited about bringing new energy and a non-political focus to the seat.

“Georgia needs bold leaders who understand the source of the problems facing our state,” Coley said. “We need fewer rules, less taxes, smaller government and more liberty.” Coley added that it was productive Georgians and not state officials that have made Georgia great. ...

Read the entire press release here.

Economic Terms in Scripture

Normally I would read the following list and ask the hearer to consider possible labels for the category.

So far, I have found agreement that economics is a suitable heading for the list.

Next I ask where the list was sourced. The answers are always reasonable and sometimes correct, since it really is just a guess. Some say economics books, dictionary or Scripture.

The answer is Scripture.

The third question follows the list.

Profit
Gain
Exchange
Bought
Price
Forfeit
Repay
Costly
Redeem
Ransom
Redemption
Cost
Inherit
Calculate
Enough
Wealth
Sell
Buy
Value
Debt
Certificate
Cancelled
Talents
Possessions
Debtor
Gift
Free
Forgive
Credited
Account
Due
Wages
Treasure
Deposit


What are the subtopics within Scripture from which these terms were drawn? Please read the list and answer for yourself before advancing.

The subtopics are salvation and the relationship between God and man.

Matthew 16:26-27 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. NASB95

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. NASB95

1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. NASB95

Psalm 49:5-9 Why should I fear in days of adversity, When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me, Even those who trust in their wealth And boast in the abundance of their riches? No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him— For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever— That he should live on eternally, That he should not undergo decay. NASB95

Revelation 21:6-7 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. NASB95

Colossians 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, NASB95

Luke 14:27-29 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, NASB95

Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. NASB95

Colossians 2:14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. NASB95

Matthew 6:12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. NASB95

Matthew 25:14-15 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. NASB95

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NASB95

Romans 4:3-9 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” NASB95

2 Timothy 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. NASB95

2 Timothy 1:14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. ESV

Much can be said about this economic correlation to spiritual and eternal things in Scripture. The implications are far reaching. It seems to me that in order to understand God's view of economics in spiritual matters, we must have a correct temporal view of economics.

I will save other commentary and illustrations for another time.

How to spot Natural Money

Natural money has at least the following two attributes:

1. If the substance or thing were never again used or accepted as money beginning right this instant, it would still have at least one other practical, productive use.
2. The Productivity Filter CANNOT be bypassed in bringing the substance or thing to market.

For instance, if US Dollars (which we know are costless to produce) were not accepted as money any longer, they would be useless.

Even though Gold and Silver have been outlawed as money, they continue to be mined and used.

Great nations are built and stand on natural money.

Costless money is a burden, indeed a cancer, no nation has the strength to bear.

Costless money causes us to fund our own destruction.

When we support costless money or fail to understand and defend natural money, we actually have chosen to give up Liberty in exchange for certain tyranny.

Tales of Titans and Hobbits

Tales of Titans and Hobbits - Mises

Mises Daily by Juliusz Jablecki | Posted on 7/9/2007 12:00:00 AM

Literature can exert a powerful influence on our ideological views.[1]

Ayn Rand, after all, was primarily a novelist. Many people were converted to liberalism (or at least some variety of it) after experiencing in person her unquestionable charisma and magnetism, but the significance of her novels, most notably Atlas Shrugged,[2] can hardly be overlooked.

Indeed, it is only having read that expressive story that many future libertarians — among them Walter Block[3] — once and for all denounced socialism along with all the physical and mental bondage which it ineluctably imposes upon people. Hence, it was a narrative — a novel or, if you want, a fairy tale — that had managed to shape and contextualize the readers' notion of such abstract matters as freedom, l'étatism, or egalitarianism.

Another novelist who also managed to gain an exceptionally wide circle of readers and admirers was John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, the author of a worldwide bestseller The Lord of the Rings.[4] Even though Tolkien's style of writing was much less obtrusive than Rand's — he never forced upon his readers any particular reading of his book, and he overtly disliked conscious and intentional allegories — the English novelist never denied that his work concerns something more than just elves or dwarves, or that it deals with certain ideas. As he wrote to Michael Straight, the editor of New Republic, The Lord of the Rings was meant to succeed first of all as an exciting and moving tale — but a tale addressed primarily to adults, involving something more than mere chase and escape, namely some reflection of the writer's own views and values.[5]

Since Tolkien considered himself a conservative anarchist,[6] it should come as no surprise that while trying to answer his publisher's questions regarding the symbolism hidden in his magnum opus, he suggested to "…make the Ring into an allegory of our own time… an allegory of the inevitable fate that waits for all attempts to defeat evil power by power."[7]

Therefore, even though Tolkien's saga is all too often interpreted as an apolitical "road novel" or "picaresque novel for children," The Lord of the Rings could very well be the source of unending inspiration for libertarians as a belletristic dramatization of Lord Acton's famous statement that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Both Rand and Tolkien, then, passionately tell their tales about freedom, but they resort to completely different aesthetics, and, in consequence, paint two entirely different pictures of the world, with different heroes and different challenges. Are those differences important? How do they affect the "moral" of the respective tales? Given that it is of utmost importance just what kind of story one tells, it is perhaps worthwhile to reflect upon the different world images depicted in Atlas Shrugged and The Lord of the Rings, comparing the characters of both narratives along with the predicaments they face, and asking the fundamental question, which of the two novels constitutes a better context, a better literary frame of reference for freedom and Hans-Hermann Hoppe's idea of natural order?[8]

The Titans

Atlas Shrugged is, shortly put, a story of a strike, although not an ordinary one.[9] Rand does not write about labor unions or working masses, but about titans whose irreplaceable work, like that of their Greek predecessor Atlas, keeps the world alive. Titans are big capitalists, owners of ironworks and mines, men of genius, people who are creative and in every respect outstanding. Such is also the main character of the novel, Dagny Taggart, the heiress to the huge railroad company Taggart Transcontinental, which she desperately strives to save against ever more impudent government attempts to lay hands on her fortune. The society in which the heroine lives is dull, envious, lazy, essentially quite helpless, and were it not for the handful of Atlases, it would have definitely plunged into despair.

Dagny loves what she does for a living. She is an extremely talented railroad executive, and directing the whole enterprise seems not to tire her at all. The real burden for her is not work itself, but the necessity — the legal obligation — to share its plentiful fruits with the rest of society — the ungrateful mob of losers. Initially, the situation, though harsh, seems bearable, mainly because the heroine carries on with all her everyday duties with the relieving thought in mind that she is not alone, that other great achievers feel and think similarly, and though they may be outnumbered, they constitute the real engine of the world.

Gradually, however, Dagny realizes that the very engine of which she considered herself a part has been abruptly turned off and the titans, one after another, seem to be disappearing. The kidnapper turns out to be John Galt — a mysterious, legendary hero, whose name elicits expressions of helplessness among the losers:

"How should I deal with it?" asks one frightfully mediocre worker.

"How should I know?" is the invariable, dull reply. "Who is John Galt?"

Galt used to be one of the titans, but greed, collectivist bias, and ingratitude from the society to which he had given so much in the past have induced him to go on strike — not to fight with the oppressive system, not even to try to change it, but simply to leave, taking others along. And so they go, one by one: the great composers, innovators, creators, directors, owners… As a result, the engine of the world stops, and the economy plunges into chaos, for when there is no one to prey upon, the society of insatiable vultures no longer knows what to do.

The Übermenschen find refuge in an extraordinary valley hidden somewhere in Colorado, where the dollar sign does not stand — as on the "other side" — for greed, bribery, and sneakiness, but instead symbolizes success, skillfulness, and creative powers. The one and only unforgivable sin there is altruism. So they live, far from the dying world, bound by a promise that never again will they let unproductive loafers gain from their work.

They await the end of history, the moment when

the creed of self-immolation has run, for once, its undisguised course — when men find no victims ready to obstruct the path of justice and to deflect the fall of retribution on themselves, when the preachers of self-sacrifice discover that those who are willing to practice it, have nothing to sacrifice, and those who have, are not willing any longer — when men see that neither their hearts nor their muscles can save them, but the mind they damned is not there to answer their screams for help… when they have no pretense of authority left, no remnant of law, no trace of morality, no hope, no food and no way to obtain it — when they collapse and the road is clear….[10]
Then the titans will once more lift the Earth — all the superior individuals will come back to rebuild the world.

The Hobbits

Tolkien's novel also ends with a theme of rebuilding the world, a promise of setting things straight, bringing back the right order of things. It begins, however, in an entirely different way: not on the platform of a huge railway station, nor in a big factory, nor in a beautiful palace. The Lord of the Rings begins in the Shire — more precisely in Hobbiton, a small village peopled by hobbits, unobtrusive, somewhat clumsy, little creatures, whose straightforward and rather friendly nature makes them very similar to humans.

One day a great magician, Gandalf the Grey, pays a visit to the village. He is concerned by the fact that one of the hobbits, a certain Mr. Bilbo Baggins, keeps there hidden a precious artifact — a mysterious ring. Forged many years ago by Sauron, the Lord of Darkness, the Ring of Power is one of many rings of power, the one, however, that controls all the others. It has apparently found its way to Hobbiton by mere chance, as Bilbo brought it with him from one his journeys, hoping to hide it there from the rest of the world, adoring its gleam and magnificence.

The ring would give Bilbo strength and vitality, unusual in his advanced age, but it would also make him dependent on the ring itself. Before he knew it, the old hobbit became a serf of the Ring of Power, never daring to part with it, he would always keep it in a pocket of his ornamental waistcoat. This state of affairs would have probably gone on for many long years had Gandalf not learned the mysterious history of the ring, and recognized its true dark nature. Gandalf understood that Sauron knew very well where to look for his long lost precious treasure, and would inevitably claim it.

The ring cannot, however, go back to its creator, since it would mean the destruction of the whole Middle-earth and slavery of all peoples inhabiting it — darkness would fall over the once wonderful world, covering the horizon with a veil of smoke. Unfortunately, that mighty source of power cannot simply be buried or hidden, since the ring itself tries to return to its master who surely will not spare strength or efforts to regain rule over the world.

Thus, the only way to save Middle-earth seems to be to destroy the damned ring. Easy as it may seem, the task is in fact extremely difficult, for being a magic artifact, it will not yield to ordinary flames or any smith's hammer — it can only be thrown into the fire of Mordor in the Cracks of Doom. First, however, somebody must take it there. This will not be easy, since the road is guarded by Sauron's soldiers, the ugly, ruthless orcs.

It might seem that only Gandalf himself or one of the great and noble knights of Middle-earth could undertake such a dangerous quest. Unfortunately, to the extent that the Ring of Power gives its bearer strength to rule the world, it also overcomes him. It is an entity whose nature is to control everyone and everything. Thus, if the ring were to be worn by Gandalf or any other of the great heroes, it would become a terrifying implement of destruction, since anyone who slips it on his finger stops being himself and becomes instead a mere servent to the ring.

Only someone so mediocre, so weak, inept, and created seemingly for the sole purpose of minding his own merry business like Frodo Baggins — Bilbo's heir — could, at least to some extent, resist the evil power. Not clearly knowing what awaits him, Frodo sets upon his mission accompanied by a few friends from the Shire along with the distinguished knights of other races: Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; two men, Aragorn and Boromir; and wise Gandalf himself.

Many times, the long journey puts Frodo's immunity to the test, showing that even such a moderate creature as himself cannot always resist the power of darkness. Once the ring eventually gets thrown into the abyss of Mordor, the sun rises again over Middle-earth, everything can be started anew, and the old world order is restored — without replacing the defeated power by a new, more sinister one.

How to Fight the System

These summaries might suggest that since the story told in The Lord of the Rings takes place in a fictitious world, while Atlas Shrugged describes a real-life situation, it is Rand's novel that does a better job of dramatizing the libertarian creed. Nevertheless, even though Tolkien creates his own world, different from the one we see around us each day, he meant the characters, the heroes of the war for Middle-earth, to be just as real as, say, the pygmies of the African jungle.[11]

Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli are all characters created for the purpose of storytelling, but this does not change the fact that they are exemplifications of definite truths, principles, and values — as are Rand's characters, John Galt and Dagny Taggart. It does not matter whether one fights to defend Hobbiton or Taggart Transcontinental. In their most profound, most significant message, the two novels essentially talk about the same things — about challenges that a man must face, about his moral responsibility for himself and for all that he loves, and about the captivating and destructive influence of power and coercion.

Moreover, both novels clearly denounce the so-called imperative of action, that is, the belief that a system can easily be changed from within. It is plainly described in Atlas Shrugged, where the main characters express their opposition to the wickedness of the world by simply running away from it, confirming with their deeds the famous dictum of Etienne de la Boétie: "Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed."[12]

Even though in The Lord of the Rings it is an active fight and not passive resistance that forms the central theme of the novel, the fight is fought outside the system. Gandalf and Galadriel, both of great powers, consciously reject the possibility of defeating Sauron with the ring — they know very well that it would turn them into tyrants themselves.[13] The Lord of Darkness can only be defeated by destroying that which constitutes the very essence of his might — the Ring of Power.

Those similarities do not imply that there are no differences between Atlas Shrugged and The Lord of the Rings. Quite to the contrary — differences exist and they are the very reason why one of the novels serves better as a contextualization of the idea of natural order. To see this, we shall turn to the dissimilar structure of worlds and characters in both novels.

In Atlas Shrugged, for example, it is hard not to notice that somebody drives the world, maintains the reality in order, and without him everything would plunge into chaos. Clearly, that mysterious entity is not the state apparatus — rightly described as a machinery of exploitation — but a group of exceptional individuals who have simply created civilization — radio, television, central heating, music, law and order, etc. Luckily, the Übermenschen are benevolent and have no evil intentions vis-à-vis ordinary people. They wish neither to exploit, rule, nor control the rest of the society, but rather to impose upon it their rational project of "enlightenment" — they want to make use of their genius and bring prosperity and comfort to all.

It is totally different in The Lord of the Rings, where there is no "great plan for the world"; Middle-earth is inhabited by many different races — elves, dwarves, hobbits, men, ents, etc. — who all live, albeit separately, in tolerance, sometimes even friendship, but as a rule not interfering with each other. There is no government, central or local,[14] no industrial revolution and no uniform vision of progress or future. Even in the face of a terrible war, it is extremely hard to create a coalition against Sauron.

The world in Tolkien's novel is simply divided, decentralized to the extreme; beautiful in the diversity of various races, peoples, languages and outlooks — that is why no such thing as a "plan for humanity" could ever arise there as something good. There are, however, millions of smaller plans — for living through a harsh winter, for cultivating one's garden, for drinking a pint of beer in a local inn — drafted by millions of distinct individuals. The only unified vision that appears in the book is Sauron's plan; and let us not forget that Sauron stands for "an incarnation of Evil."[15]

It is instructive to compare also the main characters of the two novels. In Atlas Shrugged they are exceptional and it is precisely because of that quality that they became characters of the novel. Each of the Atlases is unblemished, pure, proud. Every detail of their physiognomy speaks of genius and magnificence. The Übermenschen do not simply move: they make motions full of charm and elegance. They do not simply work: they craft, always with passion and enthusiasm. They never get tired, weary or bored with what they do; they have no families, no children, no obligations; they are frightfully rational; they live only for themselves and for their occupational passions. If they happen to be businessmen, they never own little family businesses; they run huge corporations, ironworks, mines, or railway companies. In Rand's novel there is no place for moderation and inconspicuousness. Only that which is huge and effective deserves praise and attention.

Completely different, more human-like, are Tolkien's characters. In fact, the whole novel — though told from the hobbit's perspective — has a profoundly anthropocentric dimension. There are men in The Lord of the Rings, to be sure, but it is the hobbits who resemble real humans the most — they are rather clumsy, neither exceptionally smart, stout, nor courageous, but good, sociable, faithful and generally cheerful. The most important characters in Tolkien's novel are actually anti-heroes — they try to stay away from the world of big politics; however, when fate throws them in its very middle, they act bravely and ultimately bring salvation.

What the author of The Lord of the Rings seems to be saying, then, is that it is not titans who support the earth, but hobbits; each and every one of us, therefore, can answer the call of greatness and novelty, even should he live in Hobbiton spending most of his time cultivating his garden, smoking a pipe, and drinking beer in the local pub.

Every one of us struggles daily with the Saurons of his life, and maybe it is precisely those little triumphs that make the world a better place. As for respect and praise, it is not the directors of big corporations who deserve it the most — since, by the very nature of things, they are much too close to the ring — but those who, using only their own modest resources, earn their living by running little shops, kiosks, and family businesses. In those places one can sometimes still find the real, healthy spirit of capitalism. No wonder, then, that the Eye of Mordor constantly looks in their direction.

Conclusion

Given the breadth and length of both novels, the comparison of Atlas Shrugged and The Lord of the Rings could go on much longer, revealing many new themes and interpretations. It seems, however, that even the few differences sketched above allow for a tentative answer to the questions raised in the introduction. As much as Ayn Rand's novel, with its strictly modernist message, could have been at some point in the past an effective remedy against the plagues of socialism and collectivism, the world described in it does not fit today's reality and does not help in introducing the idea of natural order. Today, it is no longer necessary to protect big business from people. On the contrary, it is people who need protection from big business, which now goes hand in hand with Leviathan in trying to create a homogenous and completely atomized society.

The Lord of the Rings shows not only the great danger associated with all attempts to defeat evil power by power, but it also teaches that collectives do not really exist, that every one of us is the hero of his own individual story, and that law and order can easily exist without the state. Despite its egoistic message, Atlas Shrugged is full of imperatives to act, to fight, to bring salvation. Rand's characters suffer not only because the state reaches into their wallets, but because the society rejected their rational, "enlightened" vision of what is good and right.

Tolkien, on the other hand, disliked such imperatives. He hated the outlook that if something can be done, it has to be done, and once even admitted that the greatest deeds of mind and spirit are born in abnegation.[16] That is most likely the reason his characters do not look for great challenges, nor wish to change the world, and instead live quietly, fulfilling Voltaire's dictum Il faut cultiver notre jardin.

This is what makes The Lord of the Rings a much better means for conceptualizing the ideas of freedom than Atlas Shrugged. Reading Tolkien helps realize that, even after the "end of history," the world and society can move in the direction of Merry Old England rather than a soulless homogenized mass of atoms. Moreover, The Lord of the Rings conveys an extremely important and optimistic message, namely that a plurality of many different cultures, languages, societies and visions, all existing together, yet separate and independent of each other, is still viable — not in a democratic regime, but in the new world of Hoppean natural order.

Juliusz Jablecki is summer fellow at the Mises Institute, and works with the Mises Institute, Poland. Send him mail. Comment on the blog.

Notes

[1] This fact has been brilliantly captured by Jerome Tuccille who entitled his book on the birth and evolution of the libertarian movement It Usually Begins with Ayn Rand, Fox and Wilkes, 1997.

[2] Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, Penguin Books, London, 1992.

[3] See Walter Block, "On Autobiography."

[4] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, HarperCollins Publishers, London, 2005.

[5] The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter ed., HarperCollins, London 2006, p. 233.

[6] He wrote: "My political opinions lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs) — or to »unconstitutional« Monarchy. I would arrest anybody who uses the word state (in any sense other than the inanimate realm of England and its inhabitants, a thing that has neither power, rights nor mind); and after a chance of recantation, execute them if they remained obstinate!"; see The Letters…, p. 63.

[7] The Letters…, p. 121.

[8] For a detailed, socio-economic treatment of the idea of natural order see e.g. Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Democracy: The God That Failed, Transaction Publishers, Rutgers, NJ, 2001.

[9] Indeed, "The Strike" was meant to be the title of the novel; see Leonard Peikoff's introduction to the cited edition of the book.

[10] Atlas Shrugged, p. 686–687.

[11] See The Letters…, p. 233.

[12] Etienne de la Boétie, The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude (PDF), p. 48.

[13] Thus, Gandalf cries: "No! With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly! Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused." See The Lord…, p. 61.

[14] See The Lord…., p. 9–10; The Letters…, p. 272.

[15] The Letters…, pp. 151, 154.

[16] The Letters…, p. 246.