Gustave de Molinari | Anarchy is no guarantee
"Anarchy is no guarantee that some people won't kill, injure, kidnap, defraud, or steal from others. Government is a guarantee that some will."
Gustave de Molinari
Posts
Nassim Nicholas Taleb | gap between journalists and the public
in Nassim Nicholas Taleb"The fact that there is a gap between journalists and the public is shown above all by the fact that the former are much more interested in the opinion of their colleagues than in the judgment of their readers. Compare this with a healthy system, for example that of restaurants. As we [...] have seen, restaurant owners care about the opinions of their diners, not those of other restaurant owners, which keeps restaurant owners doing what their job is; it prevents the industry as a whole from moving away from diners' interests. In addition, skin in the game creates diversity, and monoculture is prevented. Economic uncertainty exacerbates the situation. Journalists currently work in the most insecure profession imaginable: the majority live hand-to-mouth, and ostracism by colleagues would be fatal. This makes them easy victims for manipulative lobbyists, as has been seen in connection with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the wars in Syria, and more. In this profession, if you say something unpopular about Brexit, GMOs, or Putin, you're toast. It's the exact opposite of professions where being a follower is punished."
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Ernst Jünger | The most horrifying prospect is that of technocracy
in Ernst Jünger"The most horrifying prospect is that of technocracy, controlled rule exercised by maimed and mutilating minds."
Ernst Jünger
Kwai Chang Caine | the prison is within you
in David Carradine, Kwai Chang Caine"If you trust me completely…I can help you. If I tell you you are not within a prison the prison is within you can you believe that?"
Kwai Chang Caine
Roland Baader | The only true human right
in Roland Baader"The only true human right is the right to be left alone - by anyone you didn't invite or welcome"
Roland Baader
The Libertarian Pilot | rules of state power
in The Libertarian Pilot"We were raised by people who dutifully follow the rules of state power. We were brought up to follow the rules & not question the state. But now malicious people make the rules. It's time to teach our children something different."
The Libertarian Pilot
Joost A.M. Meerloo | democratic or totalitarian
in Joost A.M. Meerloo"In my own experience, I have been amazed to see how unrealistic are the bases for political opinion in general. Only rarely have I found a person who has chosen any particular political party - democratic or totalitarian - through study and comparison of principles."
Joost A.M. Meerloo
Carl Gustav Jung | confrontation with the world of darkness
in Carl Gustav Jung"Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not the confrontation with the shadow and the world of darkness. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The later procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular."
Carl Gustav Jung
John Adams | Fear is the foundation of most governments
in John Adams"Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it."
John Adams
George Orwell | The further a society moves away from the truth
in George Orwell"The further a society moves away from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it."
Napoleon Bonaparte | There is no more good-natured, but also no more gullible people
in Napoleon Bonaparte"There is no more good-natured, but also no more gullible people than the Germans. No lie can be conceived treacherous enough, the Germans believe it. They follow a slogan which was given to them, to act against their own countrymen, rather than the real enemies of their country."
Napoleon Bonaparte
Jean-Claude Juncker | step by step until there is no turning back
in Jean-Claude Juncker"We decide on something, leave it lying around, and wait and see what happens. If no one kicks up a fuss, because most people don't understand what has been decided, we continue step by step until there is no turning back."
Jean-Claude Juncker
Ignazio Silone | If at a future moment fascism will return
in François Bondy, Ignazio Silone"If at a future moment fascism will return, it will not be so stupid as to say: 'I am fascism.' It will say: 'I am antifascism.'"
Ignazio Silone
Noam Chomsky | course of intellectual self defense
in Noam Chomsky"Citizens of the democratic societies should undertake a course of intellectual self defense to protect themselves from manipulation and control, and to lay the basis for meaningful democracy."
Noam Chomsky
Murray Rothbard | The function of the statist ideologists
in Murray Rothbard"The function of the statist ideologists is to weave the false set of Emperor's clothes, to convince the public of a massive double standard: that when the State commits the gravest of high crimes it is really not doing so, but doing something else that is necessary, proper, vital, and even – in former ages – by divine command. The age-old success of the ideologists of the State is perhaps the most gigantic hoax in the history of mankind"
Murray Rothbard
Upton Sinclair | whereby industrial autocracy keeps its control over political democracy
in Upton Sinclair„Journalism is one of the devices whereby industrial autocracy keeps its control over political democracy; it is the day-by-day, between-elections propaganda, whereby the minds of the people are kept in a state of acquiescence, so that when the crisis of an election comes, they go to the polls and cast their ballots for either one of the two candidates of their exploiters.“
Upton Sinclair
Maximilien de Robespierre | The secret of liberty
in Maximilien de Robespierre"The secret of liberty is to enlighten men, as that of tyranny is to keep them in ignorance."
Maximilien de Robespierre
Sergej Lawrow | „Master of the house“ of NATO and EU sits in Washington
in Sergej Lawrow"Both Nato and the European Union have resigned themselves to the fact that their ‘master of the house’ is in Washington and in Washington they have decided that the world must now be monopolar, they talk about that all the time."
Sergej Lawrow
St. Antony the Great | You are mad; you are not like us
in Antonius der Große, St. Antony the Great"A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, 'You are mad; you are not like us.'"
St. Antony the Great
Napoleon Bonaparte | Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich
in Napoleon Bonaparte"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet. Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."
Napoleon Bonapart
George Bernard Shaw | We are more gullible and superstitious today
in George Bernard Shaw"We are more gullible and superstitious today than we were in the Middle Ages, and an example of modern credulity is the widespread belief that the Earth is round. The average man can advance not a single reason for thinking that the Earth is round. He merely swallows this theory because there is something about it that appeals to the twentieth century mentality."
George Bernard Shaw
Joost A.M. Meerloo | Numbing the senses by monotonously repeating
in Joost A.M. Meerloo"Numbing the senses by monotonously repeating an assertion is a key element in utilizing mind control techniques."
Joost A.M. Meerloo
Joost A.M. Meerloo | hammering noises of arguments and propaganda
in Joost A.M. Meerloo"The continual intrusion into our minds of the hammering noises of arguments and propaganda can lead to two kinds of reactions. It may lead to apathy and indifference, the I-don't-care reaction, or to a more intensified desire to study and to understand. Unfortunately, the first reaction is the more popular one."
Joost A.M. Meerloo