The Deer in Winter

Just as there is a vital connection between body and mind, light and dark, thought and action, there is also a connection between the “law and order controllers,” who focus on reining in man’s baser impulses through the expansion of criminal statutes and “crime prevention,” and “social controllers” who seek to “improve the lot of other men,” by having government control what people ingest (restricting alcohol, nicotine (smoking) and trans fats consumption, the over-consumption of sweets, etc.), the redistribution of incomes, mandating personal safety precautions (seatbelt and bicycle helmet laws, etc.) groups that each revile the other as “fascists,” are in fact, BOTH brother fascists.

At first, this false dichotomy is hard for most Libertarians to understand. True Libertarians, who believe in social AND economic freedom/Liberty clearly see the fascistic tendencies of both controllers, BUT neither one of the controllers sees their own as, in any way, wrong, let alone fascistic.

To the Libertarian the “law and order controller” who’d criminalize what you ingest (ie. marijuana and other “illicit” drugs) is no better, nor worse than the “social controller,” who would have the state ban smoking, trans-fats, etc.

I am largely, or primarily Libertarian, although I have very strong “law and order” tendencies, despite the fact that I support first trimester abortion, the decriminalization of some now illicit drugs and prison being restricted to ONLY violent felons, with alternatives for crimes against property, etc.

In contemporary society, most Conservatives tend to be “law and order controllers,” while most liberals tend to be “social controllers.”

Ironically enough, there seems no way forward from the current political hyper-polarization than for these two types of controllers to recognize that they are NOT adversaries or oppositional viewpoints, but merely “flip sides of the same fascistic coin.”

And I use the term fascistic in the positive here. The urge to manage or control others is universal and is only looked down on by those naïve enough to lack any self-reflection at all.

The problem that confronts us, at this point is that each of us sees his/her favored form of control “benevolent” and even “necessary,” and the “other” as arbitrary, often mean-spirited and unnecessary.

ALL such human control is arbitrary, capricious and unnecessary. ALL of it done to make the controller feel important, to feel better about him/herself.

In fact, Bismark’s Germany proved that a modern welfare state must also be a “police state.” Which is merely to state the obvious that if we are to have a viable welfare state that is not going to abused to the point of unsustainability, that also requires a veritable police state where suspected abusers (and ALL who get, are ultimately suspect) must be constantly monitored, their movements scrutinized and limited and their lives as regimented by the state as is humanly possible.

That conclusion is so obvious as to be undeniable. Human nature is such that many viable people will feign dysfunction and non-viability when the option for non-productive (work-free, stress-free) living is made available. That is to say, that as we “reward” (take care of without a quid pro quo) something, we get more of it and that’s true whether we’re rewarding indolence and sloth, stupidity, poverty or disability. Whe the option for “work-free”/effort-free living is made available, many, MANY people will “follow the path of least resistance.”

Likewise, as criminal statutes are expanded, more and more of what were once considered “free (free-choice) activities” are restricted and that restriction of freedom makes more and more people less productive, or at least less prone to be productive, creating the corresponding need for a widespread and systemic welfare state.

So once it’s accepted that the goals of the “social controllers” can’t be met without the goals of the law and order controllers” being implemented and vice versa, both groups of controllers/fascists should be able to happily wake up and realize the obvious...that ultimately they are on the SAME side!

There really is no natural fight between today’s Liberals and Conservatives, they are indeed flip sides of the very same coin, but they BOTH do have a very natural opponent or adversary in Libertarians who believe no such massive human control is necessary.