From Nineteen Eighty-Four

From Thomas Pynchon's introduction to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four:

"We recognize this 'sort of schizophrenic manner of thinking' as a source for one of the great achievements of this novel, one which has entered the everyday language of political discourse – the identification and analysis of doublethink. As described in Emmanuel Goldstein's The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, a dangerously subversive text outlawed in Oceania and known only as the book, doublethink is a form of mental discipline whose goal, desirable and necessary to all Party members, is to be able to believe two contradictory truths at the same time. This is nothing new, of course. We all do it. In social psychology it has long been known as 'cognitive dissonance'. Others like to call it 'compartmentalization'. Some, famously F. Scott Fitzgerald, have considered it evidence of genius. For Walt Whitman ('Do I contradict myself? Very well, I contradict myself') it was being large and containing multitudes, for Yogi Berra it was coming to a fork in the road and taking it, for Schrödinger's cat, it was the quantum paradox of being alive and dead at the same time."

In reading Orwell and comparing the differences between the perspectives of Animal farm and his final novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the author seems to have shifted from a view that the state is an effective social equalizer to one that is skeptical of even those of like mind yielding that power, hoping some positive change will come of that inherent incompatibility. 

Trayvon Movement Occupation of Florida Capitol

You had me at Florida...

The ignorance of the general public never ceases to amaze...

"Florida Governor Rick Scott was still nowhere to be seen Thursday as protesters angered by George Zimmerman's acquittal in the self-defense shooting of Trayvon Martin occupied his office in Tallahassee for the third day in a row. 

"The doors of the Capitol locked at 5 PM with around sixty protesters from the group Dream Defenders signing and chanting as CNN's cameras rolled. The group is demanding a special legislative session to consider a repeal of Stand Your Ground laws, an end to what they call racial profiling by the police and end to what they describe as criminalizing youth. 

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BigGovernment/~3/HnokMHkiq6o/story01.htm

The trouble with the protests is that they miss the mark entirely. They are protesting against a law that was entirely irrelevant in the Zimmerman trial. When Martin attacked Zimmerman and threatened his life, Zimmerman acted in basic self defense. Stand your ground law did not apply, because Martin was the aggressor. The only wounds he sustained was the fatal gunshot, while Martin delivered multiple injuries to Zimmerman. 

Given this reality, repealing stand your ground laws would have no effect on similar cases. The protestors are merely trying to politicize a tragedy for political gain. By focusing on issues of race, they are promoting racism where it was not an issue. This sort of willful ignorance plays on people's emotions and offers little in the way of reason. Ignoring the facts will not resolve perceived social problems. 

Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics

If everyone took the time to learn about economics from a sociological perspective, society might achieve much more than ever before, in a voluntary manner. Unless, that is, people relegate social decision-making to a small group of sad sociopaths. That worked well for Germany, the USSR, Great Britain, and many other prior empires. Now its America's turn, I'm sure the central planners get it right this time... 

Those who fail to learn from the History Channel are doomed to watch it on repeats. 

Hazlitt's gift to us both clears any misconceptions about the science of economics and reinforces it with the moral arguments against violence and coercion by the state. Statists come in all flavor. We must each take up intellectual arms against tyranny to conquer the ruling ignorance that seeks to guide society, it would rather watch us stagnate and suffer. If you think you know anything about economics, let Henry school you. 

Reviews at:

Economics in One Lesson: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3028.Economics_in_One_Lesson

Also available for free courtesy the Mises Institute's publishing efforts to bring prosperity to society.

http://mises.org/document/6785/Economics-in-One-Lesson