Hello, and welcome to my blog. This blog is all about one man's frustration with the monumental catastrophe that humankind has wrought. The catastrophe to which I refer is what we lovingly call 'Civilization.' Now don't get me wrong, I don't mean to throw out the baby with the bath water, some of the institutions we've created are worthwhile, and the legacy we'll leave to future societies will be worth studying. But, I am quite sure we can do better. Now I don't mean to suggest that I have all the answers. I'm not offering, let alone promising, a 'Shining City on a Hill.' I'm just here to point out that anybody who is promising this and other nonsensical pie in the sky is definitely not planning on sharing a slice with you. That, and I'd like to share some of my (and, through the magic of the hyper-link, others') musings on a Better Way(TM.)
Ok, now that's out of the way, a brief disclaimer. I am what you might call an anti-authoritarian. I do not oppose ALL authority, indeed I am quite in favor of the sort of authority which one becomes through study and research and which is consulted for the purpose of informing policy or making critical decisions. I don't even necessarily oppose that sort of authority which, historically, was ordained by God to a cabal of despots bound together by the accident of birth, but which in more recent years has been mandated by 'the People' in various forms of elections which modern 'authorities' love to paint as 'democratic.' However, if this latter class of authorities care to earn my respect and voluntary compliance, they will need to justify their authority. As an example of justified authority, I tell my dog she may not play in the street because she is not capable on her own of deducing that said activity is highly imprudent. I do not, however, recognize the legitimacy of a social contract negotiated before my birth in a dialogue which included only the wealthiest and most powerful members of the then-nascent nation it was conceived to govern. I continue to deplore that system as it continues to remain a vehicle for the wealthy and the powerful to cement and grow their wealth and power at the expense of those who toil to produce the same. I seek to destroy all institutions of hierarchical authority which include most prominently, but certainly not exclusively, the State and Capitalism. In short, I am a libertarian socialist, or in more 19th Century terms, an anarchist.
Most likely, you disagree with me about all of this. Most likely, you see a significant need for the State. Most likely, you subscribe to the bulk of the apologetics of Classical Liberalism which gave birth to and facilitates the continued existence of the current global system of economics. If that's the case, I hope to show you that, in the oft-quoted words of Noam Chomsky, "[l]ibertarian socialism is properly to be considered the inheritor of the liberal ideals of the Enlightenment." You might even subscribe to the more recent and far bolder apologetics of the Freshwater and Austrian schools of economics and believe in the magic of pure laissez-faire ideology and other of the lunacies currently championed most notably by the likes of Senator Ron Paul. If so, I encourage you to read on. You will only hate half of what I have to say, for our social platforms differ only minimally. As to the other half, if I am unable to persuade you, at least my polemic will aid you in developing and refining your own.
Ultimately it is my sincerest hope that whether you love or hate what I write, whether you agree with me whole-heartedly or reject every word I pen, or find yourself any place in between, this blog will foster a dialogue which will aid us in broadening our world views and improving social discourse so that the opportunities and freedoms of our successors might exceed our own.
In solidarity,
Erik the Red
