Comments by "Harry Mills" (@harrymills2770) on "Objectivism, Religion, & the Role of Government | Yaron Brook | POLITICS | Rubin Report" video.

  1. You're TOTALLY missing the point, Joey Koningsbruggen. Objectivist distrust government and would restrict its mandate to the original intent of the Constitution (without slavery and women not having a vote). We have added some nice innovations to the original (some good amendments), but the core truths (inalienable rights, limited gov't.). The idea is that the gov't gets the monopoly for a very restricted set of tasks (defend the territory, uphold the Constitution) has been lost because politicians get re-elected by exceeding the Constitution, using force to benefit one group over another group. I don't think a true objectivist, steeped in Ayn Rand's childhood under the Bolsheviks, and following her reasoning to Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal (not her famous works. Just her basic work, complete with footnotes), has much, if any, trust in gov't. Quite the contrary. You don't seem to be getting the point about free trade between a society of free traders will always exceed gov't minimum guarantees.
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  2. Sounds scary, Steven Hanson.
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  3. Freedom to be full of shit is part of freedom. In such a setting, it behooves one to spend some time finding truth and exposing liars and flawed reasoning. And it's happening, in dribs and drabs. What you're totally missing in this "outlawing lies" is you then put all the power of the state behind suppressing "lies." Once that's on the books, all you have to do is control the handful of people who decide what a "lie" is. A respecter of self and others would be against such a law. You're promoting a fallacy.
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  4. Actually, it's a pretty good system, except for the fact that politicians get re-elected by expanding the role of central gov't into areas it was specifically proscribed from doing ANYthing. Charity is not in the Constitution. Social Security is not in the Constitution. Unchecked growth of gov't is not a conspiracy, so much as it's a lazy slide into corruption, the MINUTE gov't exceeds its mandate. All our famous presidents grabbed power. Decades of congresses peopled by professional politicians, who secure re-election by bribing the electorate and stealing from future generations by running up debt by simultaneously spending on everything and not taxing beyond the point of revolt. It's a death-spiral of democracy, marked by bloated bureaucracy.
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  5. Enlightenment was breaking us out of the whole Divine Right of Kings bullshit. Hobbes is a big name in the movement, and he pushed the science of government, although he was still traditionalist in the "submit to the (anointed) sovereign" cant. But Locke was really good for pushing us in the direction of the science of gov't. BTW, if we were serious about science of gov't (as opposed to "political science"), I think the science would show that maximizing individual authority and autonomy and severely restricting gov't to an absolute minimum number of responsibilities is optimal for economic, ecologic and political progress. We need to break out of "progress = more gov't programs."
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  6. I was brought up Christian, though I'm no longer practicing. Well, I dunno. Actually, I do thank the Creator when I eat, quietly to myself. But I'm beyond the whole "Come by faith to live forever" dogma. I just see a lot of good in the creation of an archetype that I believe is all good and all knowing, and try to get to that "What would Jesus (or a good guy) do?" when facing moral questions. But I don't believe, per sê. Not beyond the occasional superstitious twinge that God saw me flip that field-stripped cigarette (no filter) into the weeds. It's built in by years of indoctrination that I've grown beyond, in the "fervent belief" sense. Anyway, I started this rant to say that a sincere Christian will just modify his understanding/interpretation of the wisdom in ancient scripture. You learn, if you live long enough, that it ain't all to be taken literally, not to mention the version of it that I was raised on was re-written by King James's court. And the 10 commandments are pretty good, especially if you alter that 1st one from "I am the Lord they God...." to a humble admission "I'm a human and I didn't BUILD this world. I inhabit it and rejoice in it."
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