Notice how little difference is apparent, by virtue of this representation, between the statist aspiration of Modern Liberalism vs Modern Conservatism …
… DIAGRAM:
… QUESTION:
This “anarchy” the State’s boosters are always warning me against: Just how bad would it be?
Especially since we are headed there anyway….
Don’t forget that a big part of 4GW ‘winning’ involves convincing non-combatants that they will be better off with Team Insurgent than with Team Tyrant.
C’est compliqué, non?
As published by Western Rifle Shooters Association
With credits to Liberty’s Torch and a little additional wisdom …
“Let me now state what seems to me the decisive objection to any conservatism which deserves to be called such. It is that by its very nature it cannot offer an alternative to the direction in which we are moving. It may succeed by its resistance to current tendencies in slowing down undesirable developments, but, since it does not indicate another direction, it cannot prevent their continuance. It has, for this reason, invariably been the fate of conservatism to be dragged along a path not of its own choosing. The tug of war between conservatives and progressives can only affect the speed, not the direction, of contemporary developments.”
– FA Hayek, Why I’m Not a Conservative (1960)
… from what appears to be the source.
Hayek’s comment points to a loss of direction. I would suggest that the “loss” is intentional. The grand experiment of the American Revolution was methodically usurped by ruling elite of Europe.
One of the main tools of the elite is discussed in the following documentary…
Hello Jeff --
I do not agree that Hayek’s statement points to a “loss of direction” … loss assumes that some direction once existed.
Hayek acknowledges the definition of the word conservatism. By its nature, conservatism is absent of direction.
Conservatism: the disposition to preserve or restore what is established and traditional; the inclination, especially in politics, to maintain the existing or traditional order.
Conservatism is a reference to the proven and comfortable. Progressivism is an application of the Overton Window. Progressivism establishes an end-state different from the status quo. Conservatism embraces the status quo (or its philosophic predecessor).
Progressivism is a storm at sea that blows the ship along its path. Conservatism is a “sea anchor” that limits the rate of drift. The sea anchor resists the force of the storm, but the ship is nevertheless moved by the storm.
That is the message in the quote by Hayek above.
Thank you Hans for this definition of Hayek’s thought. Instead of using “loss of” I should have used “misdirection.” The whole diagram above outlines the various tools by which the elite have turned back the tide of liberty and have restored the collective state.
I believe the elite have purposely used the power of language to define the limits of public discourse on the political economy. The discourse is framed by the notion “conservative versus liberal.” And the elite have used language to then describe the current set of beliefs represented by these two words. Through the process of time, we have seen that the content of beliefs which are represented by conservative and liberal has changed. But I say that we should not allow ourselves to be boxed in by this way of thinking. Rather, I believe the discourse of political economy should be about identifying those who plunder and those who produce. God has in the Scriptures, defined it this way.
“Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
1Sa 8:10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king.
1Sa 8:11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint [them] for his own chariots and [to be] his horsemen, and [some] will run before his chariots.
1Sa 8:12 “He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, [will set some] to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and [some] to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
1Sa 8:13 “He will take your daughters [to be] perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
1Sa 8:14 “And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give [them] to his servants.
1Sa 8:15 “He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.
1Sa 8:16 “And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, [fn] and your donkeys, and put [them] to his work.
1Sa 8:17 “He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.
1Sa 8:18 “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”
And so we live in a country which is ruled by a king and has turned its back on the word of God. If the Lord will not hear us because of our own actions, who will help us? The only answer is ourselves. And I know that how we act is part of the test. If we act with Sacred honor, the Lord will hear and help us.
If you read carefully what is said in 1 Samuel, you will see that the common people will be plundered for the benefit of both the king and “his” servants. The Founding Fathers sought to establish a system which minimized the potential of those who want to plunder those who are productive. Each individual, according to God’s economy is either bless or cursed by what the individual sowes. A nation of God fearing people will reap the blessings, and likewise a nation off people who reject God will be cursed.
Job 34:21 “For His eyes [are] on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps.
Job 34:22 There is no darkness nor shadow of death Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Job 34:23 For He need not further consider a man, That he should go before God in judgment.
Job 34:24 He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place.
Job 34:25 Therefore He knows their works; He overthrows [them] in the night, And they are crushed.
Job 34:26 He strikes them as wicked [men] In the open sight of others,
Job 34:27 Because they turned back from Him, And would not consider any of His ways,
Job 34:28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him; For He hears the cry of the afflicted.
God will hear those who cry out to Him. He will reject those who reject Him.