Debunking the 'self made man' myth

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Oh, I could read it but I seriously doubt you'd like my opinion of it.

... If I want to read liberal envy and bitterness I have only to come to this forum and read just abut any thread that certain people have participated in.

Self made means they worked to earn what they got instead of having it given to them.

You are setting up a straw man. I do not argue for anarchy, but for a government whose purpose is to defend individual rights rather than violate them. It is the distinction between a properly delimited police force and a protection racket.



It is a valid description. With regard to any area of peaceful human action ? trade, marriage, migration ? there are those who primarily want to let people alone, and those who primarily want to boss people around. In either camp there are disputes over goals, methods, and fine points, but at the root it's one or the other.



My opinion of most people is not so low as yours. Fraud is an indirect form of force; you physically possess my eggs, which you obtained under false pretenses, and I cannot readily recover them. It is exactly as if you entered my home and stole the eggs while I was away.

Not only is fraud a crime ? and it would be if it were a defective radio you sold me, claiming it worked when you knew it didn't ? in the case of the milk, you actively tried to do me physical harm, by representing poison as a wholesome beverage. This would be a form of assault even if no money or trade were involved ("Here, try my delicious, wholesome milk," he offered, stifling an evil cackle). Only a maniac would do such a thing. Fortunately, maniacs are a tiny minority in any society, and of course laws, police, and law courts properly exist to protect honest men from maniacs and criminals of every variety.



Certainly not, but the law's concern should not be the morality of your actions but the fact that you have grossly violated my rights in at least two ways.

If an intelligent young man spends every spare moment smoking marijuana and playing video games, I may believe he is acting immorally, but he is harming nobody else so it's not for me to coerce him into different actions.



There's that straw man again. Fact: nobody can stop you from lying, deceiving, or selling a substandard product. The law can only punish you after the fact. Even in our current highly-regulated society, government agents cannot monitor every transaction; even in food production, USDA and FDA inspectors do not closely watch every facility. Your own self-interest is the strongest motive for dealing honestly with others.

It seems to me that statists have a very odd view of other people. They seem to assume that every businessman, every convenience store owner, restaurateur, hotdog vendor, is a psychotic maniac itching to commit mass murder, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary ? and yet that anybody in a government suit is morally pure and immune to corruption, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. It's a strange religion.

... If I want to read liberal envy and bitterness I have only to come to this forum and read just abut any thread that certain people have participated in.

Self made means they worked to earn what they got instead of having it given to them.

And I tend to notice the ones that want government in their lives and everyone elses' are on the dole with no serious plans on being off of it.

I tend to notice that people who want the government to leave them alone often want to be allowed to sell shoddy products to consumers, or pay their workers slave wages, or want to discriminate against other citizens. Many people who talk about the government taking away their rights by continuously looking over their shoulders are up to something detrimental to someone else.

I wouldn't go that far, but I would say they're often naive about the kind of people who go into government, especially concerning their motivations, interests, and competence.

I tend to notice that people who want the government to leave them alone often want to be allowed to sell shoddy products to consumers, or pay their workers slave wages, or want to discriminate against other citizens. Many people who talk about the government taking away their rights by continuously looking over their shoulders are up to something detrimental to someone else.

I would go that far in this case.
It was in response to you-know-who, an individual who has indicated that he is on the D-O-L-E and also worships Obama.