On 01/12/2015 12:22 PM, Juan wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 10:07:05 -0700 Mirimir <mirimir@riseup.net> wrote:
Stallman opines therein:
| Above all, we need a state in order to have democracy, which | is the system by which the many non-rich [aka beta, weak, | clueless, stupid, etc] join together to overcome the power | of the rich [aka alpha, powerful, skilled, smart, etc] and | thus deny them control over society.
I agree, but only provisionally, and only if the alphas don't control the state. However, alphas typically do end up controlling the state, and that's the fatal defect.
Yep.
You quoted and refuted (a part of) Stallman's more general theory.
What first caught my attention though was that somebody who's allegedly concerned with freedom, is an advocate of, among other things, public education and 'national' 'defense'.
Also, all the rest of 'free' socialist programs he favors require high levels of taxation. But of course, robbery is freedom.
Right, all of that stuff ought to be funded by voluntary contributions, either from self-interest or compassion and generosity. Robbery is unprovoked aggression.
What's needed long term is conversion of betas into gammas. With enough gammas, the state will arguably wither away. But I'll be dead long before then, so I focus on the process.
When I first read it I missed this line
"Copyright (c) 2013 Richard Stallman Verbatim copying and redistribution of this entire page are permitted provided this notice is preserved. "
LMAO! unintentional self-parody at its best.
No, he's just saying that he'll track you down and kick your ass if you fuck with his shit. There's no state required for that ;)
Well, the copyright notice looks like a US government copyright notice. But that's not what I was getting at anyway.
Yes, you're right. He could have used non-state terminology.
The thing is, as Rysiek pointed out, Stallman's position doesn't seem fully consistent.
And Mirimir, you've just violated Stallman's copyright! It says "verbatim copying" but you added a comment of your own inside Stallman's text. Brace yourself!
Not at all. Short quotes in reviews etc are fair use.