Many people ask us why are we Libertarians and our answer is simple, because governments do not function. Period. Our primary concern is not ethics or morals or religion or "social justice" (what a joke) or anything else. We are pragmatists and as such our only interest is in ensuring the highest level of wellbeing for as many people on earth as possible. Our way to do so is through absolutely free markets devoid of all interference. Alas, this is only achievable if there are no governments whatsoever because the very nature and purpose of governments is to interfere. Similarly, there can be no government without the ability to interfere with other peoples' lives.
Yet, very unfortunately, governments are everywhere. We are polluted with governments and this is a perspective that most people do not have.
FEAR
The boiling frog story is a widespread anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to significant changes that occur gradually.
And this is exactly what people feel; nothing… until it is too late.
And this is exactly what politicians count on… that we will do nothing until it is too late.
This is yet another reason why this site exists. To let you know that it is not too late. To let you know that there is another way. To let you know that you are not alone.
In our article The Consequences Of The Politics Of Fear we explained how politicians have shifted from promising to provide a brilliant future (which they could not do) to promising to provide "security" from threats not even they can see. This is all done with the express or implied intention of controlling you. Yes, we know how it sounds but it is true. What in the past was peaceful coexistence between governments and people has now become outright warfare. Governments are most definitively out to get you. But of course, you don't see it. You don't feel it. This is so because such changes are so progressively slow that you can't possibly be aware of them. Just like the frog in our anecdote (which by the way, is true).
However, cross the line, their line, any of their lines and the full might of the government will crush you like a cockroach (yes, with that ugly "crunch" sound). Let's face it. Most of us don't live in fear of terrorists or being robbed or being attacked by entities from outer space. Most of us fear our very own governments. Or, to be more precise, your governments since we disentangled from "ours" long time ago. We don't want to have anything to do with them.
CONSPIRACY
We all know this is a master conspiracy created and managed from the top by the master brain whose only purpose is world domination…[insert maniac laugh here].
Don't be silly. Of course not. This image is nothing but the Hollywood (or Bollywood) version of a cartoonish evil arch-enemy.
Yet, this is not to say that things do not appear as such. On the surface and if you would to analyze the situation you will quickly realize that bureaucrats obey politicians who make the rules. But these politicians are basically the same in any country. And every country has relations with other countries and they even have their very own Mob Enforcement organization called the United Nations!
From the outside one must conclude that there must be a super-brain, a super-tyrant somewhere. Alas, this is not the case.
What you are seeing is simply the outcome of self-organized networks. This is easy to explain. Every politician on earth operates on the same basic rules because they need votes. As such, their basic behaviors and motivations are the same (see for example Government Morality). Consequently, they behave in the same manner as they seek their peers for support (sometimes mutual). Conspiracies exist but they are widespread in every country and into different groups.
In principle we have nothing against conspiracies since they are simply contractual agreements between people. Where we draw a line is when these conspirators interact with other peoples' properties without their knowledge or consent. Think of it in this manner. Every company on the planet has their own expansion plans. Those plans are by definition secret. Those plans are only known to a few selected people. Presto! A conspiracy! Yet, nobody sees anything unusual with these actions. They are natural actions. In the same manner, political conspiracies are simply natural actions. That is not the problem.
The problem is the enabling capability that governments have to interfere (i.e. rob you of) your properties. If conspirators are able to access such capability, then the situation suddenly becomes very dangerous. This is exactly the situation today and it is the exact reason why governments were created in the first place.
FEAR AGAIN
But there is one difference. Originally the enabling capability for robbery that governments had was very limited. Modern democracies replaced absolute monarchies precisely because this enabling capability was unlimited under them. At the time people believe that if "one of us" would be at the helm of a country, their powers of robbery will be limited. And in the beginning history seemed to have proven them correct. It is for this reason that most people did not fear governments in the dawn of modern democracies because for the most part governments stayed away from peoples' properties. Yet, over time, politicians needed to spend in order to get votes (again, see Government Morality). This was further exacerbated by the capacity to destroy economies that taxes have (see Taxes - The Force Multipliers). As each politician outdid the next one, the need for spending outweighed the need of the people. At that time governments reached for the only tool that they had left: fear.
Take a look at the graph below.
For as long as the needs of the people were small, the need for spending was small. As such, people just ignored governments altogether. But as these needs increased (by politicians pushing "social" programs in order to seek "equality" while dismantling private initiatives) the needs of the people grew artificially. The problem was that the need for spending always grows faster than the needs of the people. This is so because the larger the needs a government must serve, the larger the organizations a government must support. We have larger overheads, larger deals, and larger boondoggles. And if a politician wishes to be elected, this person must promise more than its predecessor. So the Arrow of Fear goes into one direction only: up. It is like the arrow of time represented by the amount of Entropy in the universe (or in more modern times, its quantum equivalent). It only goes in one direction.
This is the reason why deluded people still believe that a "good government" can be had if only we could find the "right person". This is, of course, lunacy. First at all, no such person exists and even if it would exist, this person would be trapped in the infrastructure created by his/her predecessors. How long do you think that a president or prime minister would stay in power if it would be to announce the cancellation of even one of the so-called critical "social services"? 24 hrs perhaps? 48 hrs at the best. It is not possible to revert to a previous state more than it is possible to revert time.
Because of all of this, there is only one tool left: fear.
Fear was first presented as an external entity, as we discussed in our article The Consequences Of The Politics Of Fear but it was then adopted directly by governments. Do as we say or else…
If you take a look at the previous graph, you will notice that as the "Need to Spend" grows, the Fear Region becomes darker. This is so because as politicians increase robbery (i.e. taxation) they need to inflict more fear. This concept is a very old one.
The amount of control a government has is directly proportional to the amount of fear it can impose.
As governments need to spend more and more, this becomes less and less popular and at some point even Public Relations (i.e. propaganda) ceases to work, then fear becomes necessary. It is because of this reason that the amount of fear imposed by governments on us will only go in one direction: up. This is also represented in the graph above by the Fear Arrow. It only grows darker.
PREEMPTIVE ACTION
Governments know this. It is for this reason that they are increasing fear in order to increase control in order to prevent people from rebelling against fear. Presto! A positive feedback loop. Every step the government takes to increase fear requires an increase in fear to prevent people from rebelling against fear. Thus, fear grows exponentially. The arrow of fear grows in one direction at an exponential rate.
The problem with this growth is that, as the USSR learned, it is not sustainable. It is so from an economic, military and political point of view. In ultimate analysis the trigger point for the collapse of the USSR was not its inability to provide life necessities for their people but because the leadership lost their appetite and thirst for more fear. When the USSR began to disintegrate, Mikhail Gorbachev could have maintained "order" through the use the military. This was a real option. However, he realized that all this had already been done (and more) under Stalin and that eventually, over time, the situation grew more and more precarious. He realized that there was only one option: to evolve.
Yet, this is not to say that our leaders will evolve out of the politics of increased fear any time soon. They are just getting started. We have a truly horrible and fearful future ahead of us. This much is unavoidable. The big question is what will interfere with the arrow of fear? What will be the trigger which will stop it? Again, political evolution.
CONCLUSION
The Arrow of Fear moves in direction only: up. Get ready for it since over time you will become aware of increasing government threats, manipulations, surveillance, monitoring, penalties, blackmail, pressures and ultimate naked fear. We will not be surprised at all as most "Intelligence Services" mutate into "State Security Organizations" with powers to arrest and even kill at will. Our very own KGB. Mark our words, it will happen.
But who knows? Maybe you will enjoy it. Maybe you enjoy living in constant, permanent and overwhelming fear. Yeah… there is nothing more comfortable than the comfort that brings the "security" provided by total surveillance. Yeah…
Oh, btw, careful with that toilet flushing habit of yours… you may be breaking a law.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.
