This is a long rant, and there’s no hiding that, but it is critically important. People are not aware that there is a double standard within academics – that which is taught versus that which is true. Social sciences are a method of control if not learned properly, and it is almost never learned properly.
In our culture, truth takes a backseat to political convenience. Conclusions are drawn for the public by the talking heads. Dissent is unpatriotic. Going against the grain, no matter how right you are, and how wrong they are, is looked down upon. You will be branded a heretic, a traitor, and a crackpot.
This is my story, with a focus on Austrian Economics. I live this double standard every day in class, on tests, and in conversations with my peers. I can explain Keynesian & Neoclassical economics that I am taught, but I tell the truth–the Austrian perspective–whenever I can get away with it.
The morals:
*Think for yourself.
*Do not take what you learn/are told at face value (including what I say!)
*Always question, always reason, always test
*Truth is elusive and emergent, never established and static
*Thought control is more prevalent than you think.
*Be a nerd.
Follow these things and you are my hero, and the hero of humanity.
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[This article is a continuation of How Anarchic Market Forces (And Not the State) Created Civilization]
The epoch following the Neolithic Revolution in 10,000 B.C. was characterized by unprecedented growth in human population, culture, technology, and trade unrivaled in all of human history. The natural emergence of ideas and technology through entrepreneurial innovation and market processes over many years of natural selection led to the creation of the necessities of advanced civilization–agriculture, husbandry, pottery, medicine, metallurgy, trade, law, and money. States, as we consider them today, were conspicuously nonexistent.[1]
While some social stratification based on ability, function, or gender existed, on the whole, Neolithic societies were much more egalitarian than those found today. Most societies were centered around the family and the village, with some even looking down on excessive accumulation of wealth. Likely, there were wise elders or elites that emerged in each village based on reputation and respect, who adjudicated any possible disputes between community members; but they were not held to be a separate, superior class. The marvels of archaeological sites like Çatalhöyük, Abu Hureya, and Ain Ghazal in Ancient Mesopotamia are testaments to the success of voluntary relations and market exchanges. Based on the evidence found within these sites, it is accurate to say that human civilization predates the State by 4,000 years.
Some of the earliest States to be established were Arslantepe and Uruk, in the form of powerful cities dominating a surrounding hinterland. The “great” empires of old, Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria would model themselves on these Sumerian structures. Contrary to whatever fashionable methods are proposed today, a State can only arise through a very specific three-step process: through conquest, establishment of institutions, and ex post facto justification.
I don’t care what you call my beliefs – debate me on the ideas behind the label.
The Economics of the “Public Option”
The current national preoccupation with healthcare has produced a lot of baggage and straw men arguments from both “sides” of the debate. The discussion of alleged problems of the current healthcare industry has devolved into a shouting match over “death panels,” the “public option,” and “obscene costs.” While there may indeed be concern for these residual issues, neither Republicans nor Democrats are able, or willing, to consider the fundamental economic concerns that are the root of all the industry’s current woes.
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Law, order, stability, trade, property-rights, writing, pottery, agriculture, these are all elements that we strongly associate with “civilization.” The mainstream paradigm that we are all taught in history is that the great ancient civilizations flourished because their leaders were “wise” and “virtuous” governors of their people. The great empires of old had constructed such wondrous public works, transportation systems, and law codes under the sage-like guidance of the imperial State.
But new empirical evidence, backed by libertarian economic theory shatters this paradigm. In fact, each and every one of these facets of civilization were developed naturally, through anarchic forces long before States. In fact, human civilization pre-dates the State by over 4,000 years. Let us investigate the fascinating truths uncovered about the Neolithic Revolution.[1]
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So, you want to debate us Free Market Anarchists (FMAs)? You want to “prove us wrong,”" knock some sense into us,” “teach us a lesson about the real world?” Well step right up then, we welcome any challengers! But be forewarned, lest a potentially constructive debate degenerate into a hubbub of strained emotions (or friendships), a refusal to engage in future debate, or you becoming one of us.*
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