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PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS,
ECONOMICS AND THE LIKE...

Purpose
Volitional Science
Pilgrim's Progress ... Dr. Bob Volitional Science Lexicon
Profit or Die A Case for Optimism
Galambos What Can I do?
Natural Republic Libertarian Links

International Society of individual Liberty



PURPOSE--This is the rudimentary beginning of a section to share information on attaining & maintaining total personal freedom ... & a bit beyond ... saving our planet, our universe & ultimately attaining my personal long-term goal of facilitating the perpetuation of what I consider the most noble, exciting & interesting experiment in the universe: humanity.



"Pilgrim's Progress" Dr. Bob's journey in philosophy, politics, etc.

While we're rather slowly building an interesting & informative section on Libertarianism, Individualism, Objectivism & other politically incorrect isms, here's a quick outline of Bob's progress:

Politically ignernt 'til discovering Ayn Rand in 1966, then read everything she's written, including subscribing to her personal newsletters for many years, meeting & reading much of what her students & her mentors created (Brandens, Peikoff, Rothbard, Maybury, von Mises, etc.)

Joined the Libertarian Party the year it was founded in '72 & have voted Libertarian ever since (it's safe ... they never win, so it's never my fault!). Bob's been a passive member, simply living the principles, answering questions honestly & writing an occasional letter to the editor, etc.

Became
perhaps the first person to sign the Code of Terra Libra, so may be the first citizen of that first & only truly free country on the planet, founded 10/93 by our friend & genius, Frederick Mann, who taught us that trying to shrink government thru politics is like trying eliminate prostitution by joining the pimps union (not Frederick's words exactly) and that the way to shrink government is to deprive it of funds and at the same time build a better alternative. The better alternative is the new network economy based on creativity, synergy, win-win & the abundance mentality. That economy, combined with the Internet technologies such as encryption, will replace our present force-based adversary "win-lose" scarcity mentality economy, along with the governments, politicians, lawyers & other criminals that enforce it.

Discovered our company 2/97 & eventually concluded that it's the best vehicle for creating that new economy ... & for personal growth in all five Pillars of Health (mind, body, finances. family, society)! For details, click here

Discovered
Rose Wilder Lane's "Discovery of Freedom" in late 90's & Andrew J. Galambos' works December, 2002."
 
Until 1/9/03, I believed that "Atlas Shrugged" was the second most important book I'd ever read because Ayn Rand taught me more about philosophy than anyone in the previous 20 years. And that Rose Wilder Lane's "Discovery of freedom" was the third most important book I'd read.

1/9/03, having read the introductory book to the works of Andrew J. Galambos, "Thrust for Freedom", I began his huge "Sic Itur Ad Astra" [The Way to the Stars -- the guy's an astro-physicist] & quickly realized that THIS is the second most important book I've ever seen ... & as I write this I've still got a mere 868 pages to go in this book!. In fact, it may be THE most important book I've read.

"Sic Itur Ad Astra" is allowing me to integrate 30 or so years of knowledge gained form the world's finest mentors in philosophy, economics, politics, ethics, epistemology, physics, etc..It is a step beyond all the great Libertarian & Objectivist thinkers with whom I've been studying since discovering Ayn Rand's works in 1966, so it is the foundation for this section on philosophy & beyond.

However, for a sound philosophical foundation in all this, I'd still read Rand's "Anthem", "Fountainhead" & "Atlas Shrugged", in that order & in the process, I'd be discovering all her non-fiction works like "The Virtue of Selfishness", "Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal", etc.."

"Since 1997, I've been living the Five Pillars of Health Balanced Lifestyle based on the philosophy & vision of World Peace thru World Wellness with which Isamu Masuda founded the largest Wellness Research & development organization on the planet, Nihon Kenko Zoushin, Kenkyukai, Inc. in 1975 because after 3 years studying & trying to prove the technologies invalid, the company a flaky, fad-driven fluke & the marketing system immoral & unethical, I've learned that the technologies are exactly what living things need & extend Natural Hygiene's Requisites of Health to include partial control of our personal energy environments & that the organization is among the most stable, sound, consistent in existence & their Japanese-re-engineered system of word-of-mouth marketing is the most advanced form of the free market & the most just, moral & ethical means of getting goods from manufacturer to user.  (Do I win a prize for the longest sentence of the year so far?)

What's the appeal & nobility of "non-profit" in this society.  Why are so many people so proud of their non-profit ventures?  My guess is that it stems from that "profit is evil" mindset taught to us from youth in this society & so apparent amongst Natural Hygienists.

Profit --Here are the words of Harold Porter, world-class physicist, computer wizard, patriot, my friend & a man of impeccable integrity.  He talks & walks what he believes & has been imprisoned for failure to file tax returns, which he still does not do:
                     
MAKE A PROFIT OR DIE
 
            There are laws in the universe.

Some people elect "legislators" to "represent" them in Washington (or somewhere).  These "legis-lators" have in that title the two Latin words:  legis meaning "law" and lator meaning "proposer".  The "laws" they propose are not LAWS; they are the momentary whims of the "proposers" (or the "people").  They are elected to "make" laws" and -- darn it [sic] -- they do!
Twenty-five years ago I became concerned that we were losing our freedoms in the USA as a result of those well-meaning (?) legislators.  I began a search to find a country that was free.  That search ended with the belief that the USA was one of the freest on Earth.  Bad as it is, it's the best available.

Following that pitiful search, I became involved with a venture to start a new country.  In blissful ignorance, I thought that a beautiful tropical island, good principles, enthusiastic people, grit, determination, and great ethics would create a paradise that couldn't fail.  To my consternation, I discovered that the organization of the country included no technique for generating profit.  Failure to generate a profit will inevitably result in failure of the organization.  Great surprise!

After that loss of emotion, money, time, friends, and  -- very nearly -- the loss of my life [he's referring to the Minerva Project Harold was building (in the 70's?) -- rw], I began to understand how little I understood about the LAWS of the universe concerning the rise and fall of organizations ... countries included.

As a generalized principle:
All organisms must show a profit or die

Examples abound.  They include all life, from the smallest amoeba to the largest star.
Entropy is a word physicists use to describe the concept that unrecoverable losses occur in any closed system; that the system "runs down" as time passes.  A thermodynamicist uses the "second law"  [of thermodynamics] to describe the same phenomenon.  The vulgar express the same idea with fewer on a bumper sticker:  "Shit happens".  We all know -- intuitively -- that things need lubrication, paint, maintenance, and replacement or they will fray, deteriorate, wear out, or plain "break".  This is a LAW.

When does one get the resources for maintenance?  If a system simply "breaks even", there is no available source for counteracting entropy.  Only if one creates more than that which is necessary to "function" -- a "profit" -- re there assets which can be used for upkeep.

Yet some people see "profits" as evil.  Ants -- yes, I mean the little buggers in the garden -- know enough to produce profits.  Yet people think that profits are an unnecessary function, and are somehow sinister.

Whales and sea lions store fat.  Potato plants produce tubers.  Grasses make rhizomes, dogs bury bones, squirrels cache nuts, woodpeckers store seeds, ...  Yet humans are so "smart" they make claims to the contrary.  In all of life, profit yields success and failure to make a profit results in death.

John Scarne wrote "the Bible" on gambling.  In it he spends a lot of time telling people that "the house" is going to win because they've stacked the odds in their favor.  Scarne spends many pages showing "the uninitiated" that even if the odds were "even", you still wouldn't win because your "bank" is so much smaller than that of the casinos.  His point is that strings-of-losses occur and when you can't cover the losses you leave the table with less money than you had when you arrived.  Good point!  You must show a profit!

In business, the difference between phenomenal success and dismal failure is often tiny.  As a percentage, it is almost always less than ten percent, and is regularly less than five percent.  There are charlatans who say things like "General Motors made two-hundred-million dollars last year.  They can afford to give us a 7% raise".  These people don't understand that one year of profit means little to the life or death of an organization.  They don't understand that the profit-ratio (= 0.002 in this hypothetical case) is so tiny that the organism could die with the first tiny fluctuation of the market.

Some years ago NASA asked the question, "We can usually recognize life on Earth.  How would we recognize life on another world?"  The most reliable answer was "Look for something that has processes running in the opposite direction of entropy."  [the physicist's definition of life! -- rw]

Among humans, the exceptions to the principle are almost always non-voluntary.  States support themselves by theft.  Religious organizations usually support themselves by threats, often hidden as "you won't get into heaven" or some such.

Most organizations find some technique for producing value and selling it at a profit; even the Sierra Club has found that it cannot live solely upon "mooching", it makes money from selling calendars and other items -- at a profit.

That's sure a refreshing clarification ... for me, at least.  Make sense to you?  That was quoted in its entirety from the 9/93 Terra Libra News No.3, a most informative & highly recommended publication.

Anyhow, back to Galambos! He created an entirely new field of study called Volitional Science. Click here for details.



What is Volitional Science?

The following is from a brochure entitled, „What is V-50?‰, originally prepared by Evan R. Soulé, Jr., Contractor, The Free Enterprise Institute and The Liberal Institute of Natural Science and Technology.

The true liberal says that you own your own life
and all of your life's non-procreative derivatives.


One who favors coercion by force or fraud says that the political state owns your life and your life's derivatives.

What do you say?


The political state tells you what you can read, what movies you can watch, what drugs you can take, what businesses you can operate and how, what you can build on your property, when you can build on your property, how you can build on your property, what you can own, what you can buy, what you can sell, what records you must keep.

The political state tells you that you cannot bet on a football team or in a private lottery. It tells you and your doctor what treatments you can have or cannot have. It tells you by race and by sex who you must hire or who you must not hire, who can be promoted or who can or cannot be fired.

The political state owns the waterways they are polluted. The political state regulates the utilities rates are skyrocketing. The political state provides schools children cannot read. The political state runs the court system it is overloaded. The political state is supposed to protect you from violence crime is increasing. And the political state operates the Post Office enough said.

The political state can seize your private bank records, your private medical records, your private financial records.
But their records about you are confidential.

The political state tells you how you can advertise, where you can advertise, and what you can advertise.
But none of these laws apply to the political state.

Political laws only forbid or compel: they tell you what you cannot do or they tell you what you must do.
They restrict you, but not the politicians.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to vote yourself a pay raise at someone else's expense?


Isn't it time for a change?

Volitional Science shows you what, how, and when.


Volitional science is the innovation of Andrew J. Galambos, physicist and founder of The Free Enterprise Institute (FEI) in Los Angeles in 1961. Volitional science represents the application of the techniques and epistemology of physics to the social domain.

Andrew J. Galambos was born in Hungary and earned degrees in physics from the College of the City of New York and the University of Minnesota. He taught physics, astronomy, and astrophysics at six different colleges and universities in various parts of the country before he founded FEI.

Beginning in 1961, Galambos' unique and powerful ideas were presented by him in person in Los Angeles and on audiotape in selected cities throughout the United States, as well as in London, England and Sydney, Australia.

The principles disclosed by Dr. Galambos are derived from physics. Since our social technology lags behind our physical technology, the result is that we are still using the same social techniques we used 10,000 years ago except that instead of throwing stones at one another, we can now hurl hydrogen bombs. Dr. Galambos has innovated a new social science technology that he calls volitional science. The V in his course designations represents volition.

Volitional science is non-political, non-religious, and is neither a mass movement, nor a political or intellectual crusade. Volitional science does present an unusual analysis of the nature of the problems confronting us, and discloses a permanent, durable, non-coercive and practical solution, as well as how to achieve the solution by profitable, individual action. In essence, the volitional science lectures are built upon man's greatest achievement: the discovery in the physical sciences of universal laws of nature. It is upon these fully established principles of nature that the entire structure of volitional science stands. The guarantee of Andrew Galambos and his companies is that you will find these unique lectures worthwhile.


A few of the topics in V-50 (Sic Itur Ad Astra, Volume One):

Can morality be defined with precision such that all observers can agree on the morality of a given act?
Why has the human species mistreated and often killed its most important benefactors?
How do you know you are right? On any subject at any time?
How do you define FREEDOM, PROPERTY, SOCIALISM, CAPITALISM (in a non-economic sense), COMMUNISM, COERCION, CRIME, GOVERNMENT, LIBERALISM, CONSERVATISM, PROFIT, DEMOCRACY, SCIENCE, TRUTH, BUREAUCRACY, OWNERSHIP, VOLITION, IMPORTANCE, IMPOSSIBLE, and LUCK? these are defined.
How can the scientific method be applied to free will?
Are there absolutes? Is everything relative? What is the distinction between subjective and objective knowledge?
Why have all attempts at civilization resulted in a rise and fall?
How can one overcome the difficulties imposed by RECESSION, DEPRESSION, INFLATION, WAR, BUREAUCRACY, and CRIME?
Is it possible to create a durable civilization without coercion? If so, then how?
What is the common basis of the destruction of all societies?
What is the reciprocal connection between science and freedom?
What is the purpose of The Liberal Institute of Natural Science and Technology, The Free Enterprise Institute, The Universal Scientific Publications Company, and indeed all of Andrew J. Galambos' companies?"



Galambos:

"Galambos was an astro-physicist taking on the monumental task of explaining human volition by the Scientific Method ... and succeeds in this book! He creates absolute definitions for every word and term he uses, from the basic one in his book: "freedom". Most of us Libertarians have defined the term loosely as something like "my ability to live my life the
way i want as long as I don't infringe on anyone's equal right". That's not good enough for Andrew J. Galambos. He creates a much more meaningful definition noted below, which, of course, requires an equally precise definition of "property", which is quite different than the one we use that restricts the word to describe physical entities. And as he uses each basic term in his course, he defines it exactly. This is a beautiful book, actually a transcription of his course, complete with chuckles, grimaces & common, interesting language. It's a breath of fresh air!

He demonstrates why the American Revolution was the only true human "revolution" ... a complete turning around .. in human history. And he explains exactly why we're letting it fail & reverting back to the concept of the previous eons that humans require a king or empower or pharaoh or state to govern their lives ... and he presents the solution! That solution he describes as the "Natural Republic", a contractual society, where coercion is inapplicable, and the whole social structure is open to the general use of all on a proprietary, contractual basis.

Peter N. Sisco ends his foreword with "To read and understand this book is to learn to see the world from a different point of view." He is certainly correct. In Galambos' last sentence of the book he provides the reason for his efforts:
"Possibly, even probably, your efforts could lead to man's first and only durable civilization, which, when attained, will be indestructible, and will last for the duration of the cosmos."

Here's the homepage of his website . Visit there for more information, inspiration, hope ... & register for the e-newsletter of his Bridge to Freedom organization:



Professor Andrew J. Galambos

John "Jack", F. Makens

I took the lecture series from which the book, "Sic Itur Ad Astra" ("This is the Way to the Stars") is transcribed verbatim. Now reading the book I more fully realize how magnificently Galambos presents his unique concepts in ordinary language with an abundance of "RATIONAL" and "MORAL" reasoning, that is, in itself unique. One may not know what the, "Scientific Method" is, but before you are through with this book you will grasp its significance in
determining "RATIONAL" and "MORAL" reasoning". It applies to making us rationally understand human nature in a new light. And to harness it for POSITIVE (Peace & Prosperity) results, as opposed to what has produced plunder and destruction throughout history.

That is a big statement and difficult to believe. However, professor Galambos rigorously takes you through rational thought processes and gives definitions of crucial words, eliminating any possibilities of misunderstandings. I hope the ACADEMICS and ENTREPRENEURS will read this book as they are the most influential in turning the world around (an IDEOLOGICAL REVOLUTION, NOT A VIOLENT REVOLUTION) and making CHANGES FOR A BETTER WORLD.

Just as the American Revolution (the IDEOLOGICAL ONE, NOT THE VIOLENT ONE) was an GIANT STEP in bringing more FREEDOM, resulting in GREATER INDIVIDUALISM, AND GREATER PROSPERITY for the masses,this book, "Sic Ad Itur Astra" is a blueprint for a NEW WORLD without coercion, viole nce, and wars. This is a GIANT step forward in the advancement of civilization accomplished by a "GIANT", Andrew J. Galambos.

An Invitation

On March 14, 1961 Andrew J. Galambos, a physics professor, formed The Free Enterprise Institute®. Its purpose was to provide a venue from which to offer courses in a new science. Volitional Science, which Galambos developed himself, sought to find a way to eliminate coercion, in all its forms, from the society of mankind. On April 28, 1961 the professor successfully integrated the Theory of Volition giving rise to an explosion of innovative insight into how to build a societal structure that would protect all forms of property and, in so doing, build enduring freedom for the first time on earth.

Throughout the 1960's and 70's tens of thousands of Free Enterprise Institute® students listened in rapt amazement at the far-reaching scope and magnitude of Galambos' comprehensive blueprint for freedom. Every operational detail was mapped out and explained with the meticulous precision of a true scientist.

This was no philosophy requiring a "leap of faith" or any belief in vague, nebulous principles. Gone, too, were the metaphysical sleight of hand and undefined terms common to philosophical and social discourse.

One of the most unique characteristics of Galambos' work is its entirely positive viewpoint. To understand and embrace his principles is to see man's magnificent rationality as the tool of enduring survival. It is hard to imagine anyone taking the position of being against the protection of all property, against the sovereignty of a man's private thoughts or against the long term survival of the human species.

Students of Galambos attended his lectures under one firm condition. The ideas expressed in the lectures were the property of Galambos and nobody was given the right to explain, publish or otherwise propagate his ideas on Galambos' behalf. The professor was a believer in the words of Victor Hugo who said, "There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come." Graduates of FEI were left to study his theories, apply them to their own lives but not to otherwise profit from them until they were released by Galambos.

Galambos decided to release his ideas into the marketplace in the form of a book that would provide comprehensive detail into his theories. That book is called Sic Itur Ad Astra (This Is The Way To The Stars) and is now being published in several volumes. The first volume contains the entirety of his Course V-50: The Basic Course of the Volitional Sciences. The subsequent volumes will contain his Course V-201: The Nature and Protection of Primary Property.

April 17, 1999 is indeed a day for the history books as it marks the release of the first volume of Sic Itur Ad Astra. Those who truly understand the value and far reaching impact of Volitional Science and its role in the creation of enduring freedom see the publication and release of this volume being ultimately as significant as the publication of Isaac Newton's ideas in 1687.

Bridge to Freedom's role is to assist in and to chronicle the propagation and development of Galambos' magnificent and challenging ideas. Each issue will present elements of his far reaching and fascinating theories and invite comment and discussion.

Peter N. Sisco, Editor

Sic Itur Ad Astra is complete with14 - 8 x 11" pages of Table of Contents, 20 pages of documented references & 50 pages of index, all meticulously compiled

Sic Itur Ad Astra (This is the Way to the Stars)

By Andrew J. Galambos

Andrew J. Galambos is the author of Sic Itur Ad Astra. The first volume of this four volume opus is now available from the publisher, The Universal Scientific Publications Company, Inc.® (TUSPCO®)

The following is taken from the Foreword to Volume One, written by Peter N. Sisco.

This book is based on lectures given by astrophysicist, Professor Andrew J. Galambos in 1968. These lectures introduced Galambos' truly revolutionary ideas on building a durable, stable social structure that will guarantee the greatest possible Freedom for every individual. This book represents the birth of a completely new science in which Galambos, using meticulously well defined terms, builds a conclusive and compelling case that the rigors of the Scientific Method can be applied to human volition. This new, "Volitional Science" is used to construct a societal mechanism that is entirely voluntary and operates without any form of coercion. The author shows how the proven, truth discovering methods of the science of Physics can be used to solve the ultimate problem of human survival: how can coercion, in all its forms, be completely eliminated from all human interaction?

Galambos comprehensively exposes the prevalence of coercion in all civilizations, not just by way of tanks and bombs, but also in subtler and often more damaging forms that permeate every culture. He makes the case that the failure of all previous attempts at an enduring culture, and the decline and fall of every empire, ancient and modern, has been caused by stressing the role of theology, economics, political ideology or military might over the more fundamental and indispensable condition of universal property protection. Galambos clearly and convincingly proves that the absolute protection of all forms of property is the foundation of Freedom and of an enduring social structure.

The history of mankind's ascent from the caves to the moon has been made possible by the application of the Scientific Method in millions of individual minds. Some of those individuals have made such disproportionately large contributions to that ascent that they are remembered for centuries as giants in the progress of the human species. Men like Archimedes, Newton, Maxwell, the Wright Brothers and Einstein have made huge contributions not only to esoteric sciences but also to the quality and security of our everyday lives. Galambos identifies the fact that the debt to the innovators who have created the benefits of our culture has gone largely unrecognized and entirely unpaid. And while they have made technological progress become an expected part of our lives, there has been very little progress in what is commonly called "Social Science." To quote Galambos, "We are still using exactly the same social techniques that were employed by the pharaoh four thousand years ago or by all the tribal chiefs in pre-recorded history. We are still using exactly the same social technology with the added improvement of physical science, so that we're no longer hurling spears but hydrogen bombs."

This rapidly widening abyss between our technological progress and our arrested sociological development is brilliantly addressed by Galambos, using the same potent tools of cognition rationality and the Scientific Method that havecreated the knowledge that drives our understanding of the universe. The author shows how the intellectual property provided to us by Archimedes makes it possible to create durable buildings and powerful machines today. The intellectual property provided to us by Newton makes it possible to better understand the universe and to harness its revealed laws. Indeed, the intellectual property that is provided by Galambos in this book gives mankind the blueprint for a betterment in the human condition that is as significant as the contribution of any man who has ever lived: a structure for a world without war, virtually without crime or any form of coercion; an enduring, productive and peaceful civilization.

The reader of these ideas will be intellectually challenged perhaps as never before. Infinitely more than just another book that laments mankind's inhumanity and violence, Sic Itur Ad Astra provides a detailed explanation of the solution. The reader will see the mind of an innovative genius at work as it invents not merely a light bulb or a steam engine, but a social structure that will provide enduring Freedom for all posterity and permit every person to engage in his most productive pursuit of happiness without suffering the unwanted impingement of others. Once created, such Freedom can no more become obsolete to man than can the need for air or water.

The magnitude of change from our present system of state controlled coercion to the "Natural Republic" envisioned by Galambos is even more profound and far reaching than the principal idea of the American Revolution, which proposed the towering ideal that a country could govern itself without the divine leadership of a King or any other potentate; an idea which had never before existed in human history. Galambos' work takes the American Revolution's concept of self government to it's logical conclusion with the construction of a social structure so comprehensive that it will create true, enduring Freedom for the first time in history. It does all of this within the framework of an entirely voluntary association between all parties and without the compulsion inherent in political or religious ideology. The diverse ramifications of such a liberating structure are difficult to comprehend, but there is every reason to think that it will be as significant as the development of Newtonian physics has been over the last three centuries.

A brief foreword cannot begin to foreshadow the comprehensive examination of the human condition that is provided in this book. Galambos uses his encyclopedic knowledge of world history, his brilliant scientific mind and his piercing insight to recast longstanding dilemmas of politics and social science into one magnificently integrated subject. To read and understand this book is to learn to see the world from a different point of view. This new perspective will bring the reader a clarity of thought that has heretofore only been experienced by the few who have heard and understood Galambos' lectures. This change in perspective is akin to the difference between a comet being viewed by a terrified caveman and a fascinated astronomer. It will change the reader's view of the world and of his own role in it, for not since Galileo was the only man with a telescope trained on the sky, has the world contained a man of such superior and far reaching vision as Andrew J. Galambos.

Peter N. Sisco, Editor

Galambos' work centers on Freedom, which he defines meticulously and precisely, as he does, as a true scientist, with every term he uses. In the case of freedom, the definition depends on a precise definition of "Property" which is a bit different from our common use of that word. He defines Property as individual man's life and all non-procreative derivatives of his life. ŒProperty' is the supreme subject of volition, just as Œenergy' is the supreme subject of physics." Based on that, Freedom is "the societal condition that exists when every individual has full (i.e. 100%) control over his own property."


The Natural Republic

That social system is the
Natural Republic, "A contractual society, one where coercion is inapplicable, and the whole social structure is open to the general use of all on a proprietary, contractual basis. The Natural Republic is the maintenance mechanism for the product called Freedom." I believe the purpose of Galambos' work is creation of the "Natural Republic", which he & I believe will save the earth, the universe & ultimate the most noble, exciting & interesting experiment in that universe: humanity. Anyhow, my long-term goal is to contribute to that happening & this site is an effort in that direction.

The last sentence of his "Sic Itur Ad Astra" is
"Possibly, even probably, your efforts could lead to man's first and only durable civilization, which, when attained, will be indestructible, and will last for the duration of the cosmos."
Click here for more words precisely defined by Galambos"



The Volitional Science Lexicon

The work of Professor Galambos is distinguished by his ability to define his terms and to ensure that all of his definitions have compatibility and logical validity. Galambos created hundreds of definitions but one need only read a few to recognize the precision of his mind and the depth of his thought. Here are a few quotes taken from Sic Itur Ad Astra Volume One, by Andrew J. Galambos. The reader should bear in mind that Volume One consists only of Courses V-50 and V-50X and that Professor Galambos created over one hundred courses in Volitional Science for The Free Enterprise Institute®.

Absolute

"Independent of arbitrary standards of determination."

Action, negative

"Volitional behavior that is patterned upon opposition to someone else's products or behavior.

Action, positive

"Volitional behavior that is initiating the generation of new property."

"Only positive action can produce something useful."

Authority

"Moral power."

Bureaucracy

"Any legal organization that controls the property of individuals without their consent."

Capital

"Production of property in excess of consumption requirements and also used for further production."

Capitalism

"Capitalism is that societal structure whose mechanism is capable of protecting all forms of property completely."

Coercion

"Coercion is an attempted, intentional interference with property."

Conservatism

"The tendency to preserve what is established."

"Conservatives run all countries; they're conserving the state."

Contract

"A voluntary agreement between two or more people who have property which they are desirous of exchanging the use and control thereof."

Control

"The ability to make volitional decisions concerning the disposition of property."

Crime

"Crime is an act of successful coercion."

Definition

"An assigned meaning that is attributed to a word or a phrase or a concept, from which you never deviate."

Freedom

"Freedom is the societal condition that exists when every individual has full (i.e. 100%) control over his own property."

Good

"The subjective evaluation of a preferred action, or a preferred transition from one state to another."

Good, absolute

"A subjective good to at least one person which is not imposed on any other volitional being. The absoluteness is in the fact that, independently of who defines the good, coercion is absent on a universal basis."

Government

"Any person or organization that sells products or services to protect property to which the owner of the property may voluntarily subscribe."

Happiness

"Happiness is the totality of all the goods' and bads' (or goods and ungoods) that an individual has experienced from his birth to the moment of evaluation, suitably weighted for remoteness.*"

(* See: Law of Logarithmic Stimulation)

"Happiness can be pursued successfully only by free men that is, those who control, in full, their own property."

"The concept of happiness is completely subjective and has no maximum. This is very important because if it were not for the fact that it has no maximum, then human motivation would have an end."

History

"There are those who create and those who destroy, and all of history is simply interplay between these two opposite directions with respect to property. One direction adds to property, and the other direction subtracts from property; one is positive, the other is negative."

Hypothesis

"An organized connection of various facts which are derived from observation and which provide an attempt at an explanation."

"A hypothesis is not necessarily a correct explanation; it's just an attempt at an explanation."

Importance, Absolute

"The measure of the total amount of property affected."

Impossible

"That which would violate a law of nature."

Injustice

"Injustice is a crime to which no recourse [restitution] exists."

Intellectual

"A person who arrives at conclusions completely by the use of the Scientific Method."

Justice

"Justice is the elimination of injustice."

[Therefor] Justice is the elimination of crimes to which there is no recourse. (See: Injustice)

"Justice, in a positive sense, is simply the natural, rational and moral not artificial or coercive consequence of any act."

"Restitution of property is the mechanism of justice."

Knowledge

"The interaction between the observer and the observed"

Law of Logarithmic Stimulation

"More recent experiences will weigh disproportionately on your mind."

Liberal

"Pertaining to Freedom."

Liberalism

"True liberalism is Capitalism."

Liberty

"Ownership of your actions."

Moral

"Absence of coercion."

Natural Republic

"A contractual society."

"A Natural Republic is one where coercion is inapplicable, and the whole social structure is open to the general use of all on a proprietary, contractual basis."

"The Natural Republic is the maintenance mechanism for the product called Freedom."

Observation

"Observation is the ability to get inputs through our five senses."

Occam's Razor

Named for William of Occam (1285-1349) "Essentials must not be multiplied beyond necessity."

"Translated into modern terminology and applied it to physical science, it means: if you have two or more hypotheses which are competing with one another, choose the one with fewer unproven assertions."

Ownership

"The total, permanent and moral control of property until voluntarily transferred by the owner, where possible."

Note: Ownership of Primary Property can not be transferred from its creator.

Plunder

"Any increase in happiness acquired by immoral means, that is, by the employment of coercion."

Politics

"Politics and ideology are two entirely different things; one involves coercion and the other involves ideas."

[Note: This is not a definition. It is, however, a very important distinction.]

Postulate

"A postulate is a proposition with a truth content which you did not derive from any earlier set of propositions by logical reasoning, but whose validity you accept as an input into the subject that you are developing."

"To be a successful postulate, one must have not only a true proposition, but also one with universal application."

Postulate of Volitional Science, First

"All volitional beings live to pursue happiness."

First Corollary: "Morally acting volitional beings seek to profit; immorally acting volitional beings to seek plunder."

Second Corollary: " All volitional beings live to acquire property."

Postulate of Volitional Science, Second

"All concepts of happiness pursued through moral action are equally valid."

Power

"Control over action."

Profit

"Profit is any increase in happiness acquired by moral means."

Progress

"A change which increases a man's over-all happiness and betters his over-all condition as an individual."

Property

"Property is individual man's life and all non-procreative derivatives of his life."

"ŒProperty' is the supreme subject of volition, just as Œenergy' is the supreme subject of physics."

Rational (in volition)

"True and valid."

Right (in physics)

"True and valid."

Right (in volition)

"Rational and moral." Or "True, valid and moral."

Science

"Organized knowledge."

"A search for absolutes in a world of relative observation."

Scientific Method

1. Observation (for gathering data)

2. Hypothesis formulation

3. Extrapolation

4. Observation (for corroboration)

Plus Occam's Razor

"The Scientific Method is the only known reliable path to new knowledge."

"The major utility and beauty of the Scientific Method is that it makes an infallible system apply to fallible men. And every time fallible men make mistakes through the application of the Scientific Method, they learn what the mistakes are and learn how to correct them."

"The Scientific Method is the full, total substitute and alternative for coercion and, when properly understood and applied, will make it completely unnecessary to have violent and destructive and socially harmful practices."

State

"A State is any person or organization that claims to protect property by coercing the owner of the property to use and pay for its Œservices,' claiming Œlegality' as its justification."

Theory

"A corroborated hypothesis."

Traffic Jam

"A traffic jam is a collision between free enterprise and socialism. Free enterprise produces automobiles faster than socialism can build roads and road capacity."

Treason

"Treason is a violation of your principles, whatever they may be. If you believe one thing and then act contrary to them, that is both hypocrisy and treason. It is hypocrisy from the philosophical standpoint and treason from the operational standpoint."

True Democracy

"True Democracy is the free, unhampered market economy."

True Revolution

"In the domain of volitional experience, the only true revolution is Capitalism the Liberal Revolution."

"I would define the only possible revolution in volition as the one that turns man's social structure around so that Freedom is a reality; wherein everyone is one hundred percent in control over his own property. That is the revolution. Not Œa' revolution; that is Œthe' revolution!"

Truth

"Truth is that which is observationally known to be corroborable and is common to all observers."

Universal Fallacy

"The universal fallacy is that a non-proprietary administration of property is more efficient, more just, and, in general, is better for the individual people in the world than a proprietary administration of property."

Volition

"Act of choosing."


What Can I Possibly Do to help create the Natural Republic & save the universe & humanity?

1/10/03's quote from Future of Freedom Foundation is surely true, but we DO have a solution ... & you & I can implement it now:

Either some Caesar or Napoleon will seize the reins of government with a strong hand; or your republic will be as fearfully plundered and laid waste by barbarians in the twentieth century as the Roman Empire was in the fifth; -- with this difference, that the Huns and Vandals who ravaged the Roman Empire came from without, and that your Huns and Vandals will have been engendered within your own country by your own institutions.
-- Thomas Babington Macaulay

The solution? Volitional Science & the work of Andrew J. Galambos.

Having completed the introductory "Thrust for Freedom" having begun "Sic Itur Ad Astra", I am indeed excited at the possibilities for the future of humanity and the power each of have to INDIVIDUALLY change the course of history. Here are ten things we can each do, from 10 Things You Can Do To Build Freedom

by Pete Sisco



Volume One of Sic Itur Ad Astra was released in April of 1999. That means we may build upon Galambos' Theory of Volition. While we all eagerly await the release of Galambos' Theory of Primary Property in future volumes, it would be a huge mistake to think we cannot move Volitional Science forward in the meantime. [Galambos' books can be ordered at here.

The Theory of Volition defined the nature of all property (primordial, primary and secondary) and proved that when property is protected from all forms of coercion Freedom will exist for the first time. That is a very simple and powerful concept you can help propagate. And you should help propagate it.

Here are some ways you can participate in furthering Volitional Science and building Freedom. Some of these ideas are very easy, some less so, but I daresay every reader could do at least one or two of them.

1. Talk to people about Volitional Science.

You have the full moral authority to disclose and discuss every word in the 940 pages of Volume One as long as you mention who wrote the book. So do it! It is quite easy to state some of the basic elements of Volitional Science:

a. Ideas are a form of property.

b. People benefit from having property protected.

c. When all property is protected, true Freedom will exist.

d. Andrew Galambos figured out how to protect all property.

e. The full story is in his book, Sic Itur Ad Astra.

There is no need to go into the subjective nature of knowledge, definitions of truth, validity and morality and all of the other elements of the foundation of the science. Advertising states conclusions. "Volitional Science is about protecting all property by non-coercive, voluntary methods." When people have heard that a thousand times they will believe and accept it.

2. Quote Galambos whenever you can.

Just pick three or four favorite quotes and use them at appropriate times. Also, when someone tells you a good idea, remind him, "That's a good idea and you should protect it. That idea is your property." Soon people will accept the fact that ideas really are property and they'll begin to wonder if there is a better way to protect them. That creates a market for Primary Property protection.

You also can put a quote on your personal stationery, mailing labels, e-mail signature or some other place people will see it. I'm amazed at how much e-mail I receive from FEI graduates that doesn't contain a signature line quoting Galambos. Why not? It won't cost you a dime.

3. Buy copies of Sic Itur Ad Astra, Thrust for Freedom, and the soon-to-be-released The Nature of the Free World to give as gratitude payments.

This might sound self-serving, coming from the editor of all the above, but these publications were made for the purpose of getting the word out! When you send one to a friend or colleague simply include a note that says something along the lines of, "I want you to know how much I appreciate your friendship. I am sending you something that is of great value to me: the ideas of Andrew Galambos." Such an expression demonstrates the principle of gratitude to both the recipient and to Professor Galambos, who wanted his ideas to proliferate. Don't wait for birthdays or holidays, do it today and distinguish yourself from the mob that slavishly adheres to gift-giving convention.

4. If you can't be a Halley, be a Voltaire.

Professor Galambos frequently referred to the fact that Edmund Halley used Isaac Newton's Theory of Gravitation to calculate exactly when a prominent comet would again be visible from earth. The successful application of Newton's theory to a practical problem led to the popularization of Newton's work and, indeed, of science itself. However, the "Halley model" of popularizing someone's work is only one of several possible and it is comparatively rare in science. Voltaire did at least as much to popularize Newton. He wrote The Elements of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy in 1728, a full 30 years before Halley's predicted comet actually returned to view from earth. Voltaire went on to decry superstition and champion science in several other writings. Like Voltaire, every one of us can be a finger pointing to the moon. We need not feel inferior because our personal contributions to mankind are small compared to the giants. Each of us can contribute to maximizing the effect of the giants by pointing to their achievements and drawing others to observe and recognize their value.

5. Think Long Term in the Short Term.

When the Theory of Primary Property is released (with the publication of the final volume of Sic Itur Ad Astra) anyone who understands the theory will be able to build massive property protection mechanisms. However, it will not be possible to have these enterprises spring up overnight. They will take time to refine and develop. Over the long term they will become extremely durable yet creatively adaptable. With this in mind, imagine what enterprises you could begin if all Galambos' theories were released then try to creatively innovate ways to start those enterprises in a very simple form that would not in any way whatsoever violate the nondisclosure provisions of Galambos' ideas. Use the short term to get these enterprises operationally ready for the long term.

6. Read The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell.

The specificity of this suggestion might surprise you, but this is one of the most insightful books I have ever read. This book talks about the nature of epidemics. The author makes the case that phenomena such as crime waves, Hush Puppy® usage, teen smoking and word of mouth are "epidemics" that behave according to certain laws. Who cares? Well, the awareness and acceptance of Volitional Science will spread by the same dynamics as these other epidemics. As I read The Tipping Point it seemed as though every page gave insight as to how each element of the Natural Republic would take hold in the market. This is a very hopeful message because the nature of tipping points is that small amounts of leverage create enormous effects. (The Tipping Point How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown and Company, 2000.)

7. Reach young people.

This is the best (but not the only) target demographic for Volitional Science. A university student studying physics, sociology, philosophy, law or political science is a perfect candidate to take an interest in Volitional Science. Why? All of these subjects (and several others) attract bright, idealistic people who want to "make a better world." I know at least 90% of them have been conditioned by a procollectivist, anti-individual education and social system, but some have determined on their own that capitalism and individual sovereignty have a superior record of achievement. Imagine the intellectual oasis they will find in Volitional Science! This is the generation that will actually live in the Natural Republic. Reach them. Educate them. Most of you reading this know someone in the target age group a son or daughter, a grandson or granddaughter, a niece or nephew or a friend who has one or more of the above. They have the fire and you have the fuel. Create the symbiosis.

8. Be supportive, not destructive.

This is something of a pet peeve of mine because I have seen it firsthand. Creating freedom is a positive endeavor. It requires positive inputs. Negative inputs only serve to slow down the creative process. Here is an example. Suppose I edit a book on Volitional Science and two people notice the same typographical error. Reader "A" writes me saying, "On page 500 it says "they" when it should say "them." Such errors are a disgrace to you and an insult to the legacy of Andrew Galambos. He must be spinning in his grave! You're a terrible editor." Reader "B" writes me saying, "Thanks for the hard work on the book. It's full of such wonderful information and it reminds me of the days I listened to the live lectures. By the way, I noticed on page 500 it says "they" when it should say "them." I know you'll want to fix that in the next edition. Let me know if you want some help proofreading." Both readers let me know about a typo but one was encouraging and one tried to suck the life out of me.

Maybe you can't invest money in freedom enterprises, create new products or start building an enterprise yourself. Fine. You can certainly encourage those who are trying to do something positive. It's actually very easy. (Just reread the points in this article.) But whatever you do, don't become a malefactor by dragging down those who are trying to move Volitional Science forward.

9. Don't succumb to the "fear factor."

I have spoken to many students of The Free Enterprise Institute® who say they have wanted to do something but are afraid of being labeled negatively. This is a very unfortunate legacy of the institute, which causes its own graduates to fear being called a "universal blabforth," "unauthorized discloser" or fear creating a "misapplication" of the Theory of Volition.

First of all, Volume One is released, so go out and be a "blabforth!" As for misapplications, they are bound to happen. When they do, it won't hurt the Theory of Volition in the slightest. For example, the Wright Brothers discovered aerodynamic theories that led to successful human flight. Soon curious and creative people all over the world tried to apply their theories. Many of them made misapplications and either crashed or did not get off the ground at all. Did that damage the theory? No. Like all other theories of natural laws, when successfully applied it works and when unsuccessfully applied it fails. Moreover, even the successes are only partial successes. Improvements and refinements are being made constantly. In a way, every automobile on the road today is a rolling misapplication of many theories. Every year improvements are made and the product gets better. The first applications of the Theory of Volition will be crude, as was the Model T Ford, compared to a modern Lincoln Mark VIII.

Secondly, most FEI graduates have the benefit of dozens of courses, not just Course V-5O, so they are much less likely to make a misapplication. Future readers of the complete Sic Itur Ad Astra will have the benefit of only two courses! (Plus the brief extension of Course V-50.) Most of the FEI graduates reading this article have an enormous advantage that should be leveraged immediately.

Expecting applications of Volitional Theory without mistakes is ridiculous and irrational. Such has never happened in the history of the world. Progress is only made by making mistakes, corrections and new attempts. Which leads me to my last suggestion...

10. Start building!

There is too much that can be done right now for any of us to just sit on the sidelines and wait for "Halley" to build Freedom for us. To even suggest we can only wait for "Halley" is an avowal of helplessness and ineptitude.

For a start, look at the above nine items and ask yourself how many you could do this year. Then think about starting a business that protects property, encourages safe disclosure of ideas, pays people for Primary Property, fosters voluntary agreements or otherwise moves toward the model of the Natural Republic. Every one of those concepts is being done right now in the Internet economy. Every one of them could be done better.

Write a book, pamphlet, white paper or letter to the editor on the value of protecting Primary Property, contractual agreements or voluntary association. Produce a video documentary about Andrew Galambos. Write a memoir on how Volitional Science changed your life for the better. If you can't write it, hire a ghostwriter. Get on the Internet and tell Libertarians, Objectivists and rational people of every stripe where to learn more about Volitional Science.

Perhaps most important, make yourself visible to those who are doing something positive. Make sure as many people as possible know that you are interested in working to move Volitional Science forward. Opportunity will only find you if you are visible! You could start by letting me know you are interested. editor@bridgetofreedom.com

Thank you,

Pete Sisco


Progress is happening NOW:


For 20 years, I believed that our only chance for freedom in our lifetimes was a bloody revolution to overthrow our tyrannical & oppressive government & due to the ignorance of our people, that would likely result in an even worse dictator & a subsequent bloody coup to eliminate her/him & you & I would probably not live thru that process.

In the last five years, my belief has become that a combination of InterNet technology plus the establishment of a New Economy based on creation rather than competition, a static universe & infinite wealth rather than static universe & fixed amount of wealth, win-win rather than win-lose (which is really always lose-lose) will make the present forced-based economy and the governments that enforce them totally obsolete & they'll crumble like the Berlin Wall ... in our lifetimes. Organizations like Nikken are leading the creation of that New Network Economy.

Here are signs that the Internet part of the solution are building momentum

Signposts Along the Road to Freedom

By Peter N. Sisco

The seeds of Volitional Science are being planted in the richest technological soil in history. Talk about an idea whose time has come! I am consistently amazed at how many aspects of the Natural Republic's operating mechanism are already in existence and waiting to be exploited to eliminate coercion.

One of my favorite television documentaries is James Burke's series called, "The Day the Universe Changed." One of the themes of the series is how technological change can follow a fairly predictable course because a major agent of change lies in the role of consolidation of disparate ideas.

Burke uses the example of Carl Benz, who is generally credited as making the first practical automobile, as a person who brought together different ideas and created a new technology. His internal combustion engine used a carburetor that applied principles from Daniel Bernoulli and Giovanni Venturi to accelerate the flow of gas and air in a way that would atomize the mixture, as was being done in perfume spray bottles. The electrical spark was created from an apparatus that applied principles from Michael Faraday and Henrik Hertz. The vehicle itself was adapted from a horse carriage. The product of this great consolidation was the automobile. That transformed the world.

I think about that when I surf the Internet and examine the raw materials of Freedom that are being multiplied every day. Let's take a look at some of them with an eye toward how they could be consolidated into the Natural Republic.

For example, firstuse.com is a company that registers intellectual (primary) property so that its owner can establish a crude form of protection. Tradenable.com protects simple contractual agreements by holding money until all conditions have been satisfied. It's a crude online clearinghouse for contractual agreements.

InfoRocket.com is a marketplace of Primary Property. Want to find out what European radio stations play the blues or what community colleges are near Tucson? InfoRocket conducts a reverse auction wherein you can post your query and the amount of money you are willing to pay ($3 each in the two examples I cited). Individuals bid on your query and provide their qualifications. So the good folks at InfoRocket are encouraging primary disclosure by compensating people for their Primary Property. They are removing the disclosure barrier of the ideological program.

Disappearing.com has developed a new technology to increase privacy. Why? To quote ABC World News Tonight's Peter Jennings "As many chagrined executives have discovered, e-mail is not really deleted, even when we think it is. But new software promises to change all that." As evidenced in the Microsoft anti-trust suit, the government can subpoena and make public private documents that companies and individuals never intended for public disclosure.

Disappearing Inc. makes no secret of the fact that its service protects against such coercion. Basically the software allows documents to be encrypted so they can only be viewed by authorized users. Moreover, the documents expire at a preset time in a way that permanently and irrevocably destroys them.

Napster.com has been in the news lately because it innovated a way to share files...without paying for them. Behind the obvious issue of stealing property lies a very powerful concept. In the old days of computing say five years ago individual users had to rely on powerful servers that had enough memory and computing power to interconnect our meager computers and provide stored information to them. These servers were owned by someone else and not located on your property. Today, vastly more powerful individual computers can use Napster software to share information between other individual computers on a strictly authorized basis. That means an individual no longer needs to entrust his Primary Property to the safekeeping of a third party's server. Using Napster-like software, an authorized group of people (an island of people?) could interact with each other's property on a prearranged, contractual basis with no intermediary.

How would they get paid?

Companies like PayPal.com and Cybercash.com specialize in so-called "microtransactions" that allow the purchase of any form of property for as little as a penny to thousands of dollars. Transactions of fractional pennies are easily possible. And pennies and dollars aren't the only currency. And pennies and dollars aren't the only currency. e-gold.com offers electronic accounts denominated in gold, silver, platinum or palladium. Account holders can conduct all of their contractual business in fractional measurements of these metals. Flooz.com and Beenz.com offer proprietary currency with which to buy thousands of products online. Lest we forget, airline frequent flier miles are the second largest currency in the United States. Trillions of "miles" are issued and in circulation. e-gold, Flooz and frequent flier miles all spend just like "real" money. The Internet will continue to minimize the perceived differences between all these currencies as the utility of the alternatives grows.

Advancing computer technology is permitting encryption to reach unprecedented levels of personal security. E-mail, files and business transactions can be encrypted in ways that make them virtually impregnable to unauthorized users. Couple encryption with the ability to shunt digital information to every corner of the globe at the speed of light and that file becomes almost impossible for a coercer to even find, let alone open.

Is the obvious now taking shape before your eyes? Could not a modern-day Carl Benz consolidate these technologies into a contractual property protection mechanism? See if you can follow this. Gather a group of productive individuals and companies interacting through Napster-like networks containing InfoRocket-type property which encourages disclosure by paying Firstuse-like registered owners in digital proprietary currencies after contractual conditions are cleared through a Tradenable-type mechanism. All transactions are digitally encrypted and use Disappearing Inc.-like security to ensure there is no paper trail for coercers of any sort.

Would not all this give the group of productive individuals a considerable competitive advantage over the poor slobs who are victimized by all types of coercers? Would it not encourage more producers to participate in the group?

I told all of this to an FEI graduate friend of mine and he said, - "Why put all that in the newsletter? You'll be giving everyone else the benefit of your insight." I told him I created this website to gain leverage for Volitional Science. The whole idea behind it is to have enthusiastic people read it, see the merits and the feasibility of building the Natural Republic and have them say, "Hey, Pete, how can I help?"

My e-mail address is editor@bridgetofreedom.com

For more inspiration, hope, information, visit these sites:

The Universal Scientific Publications Company, Inc.®(TUSPCO®) - Official publisher of the work of Andrew J. Galambos. www.tuspco.com
This site most definitely IS devoted to Volitional Science as it is operated by the estate of the late Andrew J. Galambos, founder of the science.
tes:

The Atlas Economic Research Foundation works with think tanks and individuals around the world to advance a vision of a society of free and responsible individuals, based upon private property rights, limited government under the rule of law and the market order.

Buildfreedom.com/ We aim to provide you with the most advanced and widest range of practical freedom information available -- not only the freedom information on our site, but also links to thousands of the best freedom sites on the web. Deeper knowledge of freedom can be applied to improve many areas of your life and the world in general.

The Advocates for Self-Government is a non-profit educational organization. Our purpose is to present the freedom philosophy honestly and persuasively to opinion-makers so that they can encounter, evaluate, and when ready, embrace the ideals of self-government.

Learn how to open offshore bank accounts, invest and do business offshore and how to protect your privacy online.

The purpose of the Free Nation Foundation is to advance the day when coercive institutions of government can be replaced by voluntary institutions of civil mutual consent, by developing clear and believable descriptions of those voluntary institutions, and by building a community of people who share confidence in these descriptions.

Laissez Faire City calls itself "the fountainhead of open source digital capitalism."

The Laissez Faire City Times is a private newspaper. Although it is published by a corporation domiciled within the sovereign domain of Laissez Faire City , it is not an "official organ" of the city or its founding trust. Just as the New York Times is unaffiliated with the city of New York, the City Times is only one of what may be several news publications located in, or domiciled at, Laissez Faire City proper.

FREE-MARKET.NET is the libertarian portal. We are the world's most comprehensive source for information on liberty.

International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) / is an association of individuals and organizations with members in over 80 countries dedicated to building a free and peaceful world, respect for individual rights and liberties, and an open and competitive economic system based on voluntary exchange and free trade.

The Future of Freedom Foundation / is an educational foundation that advances the libertarian philosophy by providing an uncompromising moral and economic case for individual liberty, free markets, private property, and limited government.

Free Enterprise Institute graduate, Michele Fry, operates a web page intended to offer public primary credit to Andrew J. Galambos from those seeking to honor his memory. It was conceived at the Professor's passing but saw little support for fear of participating in a "violation" of Volitional Theory. It is no violation to give praise to Galambos' contribution to mankind although in many cases it would be a violation NOT to do so. Remember, V-50 and the Theory of Volition have been released. The web page is located at http://www.ajgalambosmemorial.net


Libertarian Links...Enjoy

Libertarian Party

Laissez-Faire Books
Laissez-Faire Books

Free Market.com
Free-Market.com

Canto Institute
The Cato Institute 
Vomitoxin.com
Vomitoxin 
Against Censorship
Region 7 of the Libertarian Party


Lou & I have been members of the International Society for Individual Liberty, ISIL. Here's a feature for your friends who might not understand how their government's benevolent post 9-11 police state can affect THEM, NOW ... & what they can do about it:

"DICTATORSHIP AT YOUR DOORSTEP"
Why "Anti-Terrorism" Laws Threaten You
by James R. Elwood & Jarret B. Wollstein
May 2002

James R. Elwood is the executive vice-president of ISIL.
Jarret B. Wollstein is a director of ISIL, a prolific writer, and the author of 25 books including "Surviving Terrorism, Protecting yourself, your business and your community from terrorism and martial law."

This pamphlet is part of ISIL's educational pamphlet series. Click here for the full index of pamphlets online.

All ISIL educational pamphlets are available in hard copy for 5¢ each. Click here for the ISIL Store.



And here's some brief notes prepared by my friend Jacob Hornberger for a Challenge to a group of high school students. Let it serve as a simple intro 'til we create a more complete section."

It’s followed by a suggestion for solutions written by Jacob Hornberger, respected friend and mentor & president of Future of Freedom Foundation, which I strongly recommend to anyone who cares about the freedom to enjoy our Five Pillars of Health ... join & support. Enjoy!

We believe you are going to be pleased with the intellectual and moral battle for liberty that we intend to wage during the coming year. Thank you for helping us wage it. We shall continue doing our very best to earn your vote of confidence.

Onward toward the achievement of liberty!

Jacob G. Hornberger
President
The Future of Freedom Foundation

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Here are a few comments from one of my favorite observers of the planet, Bill Bonner. Enjoy:


Democracy, like other forms of entertainment, requires "a willing suspension of disbelief." And like most modern movies and stage productions, lots of make-up and special effects make up for a very weak plot.

In fact, the story line is as improbable as "Mission Impossible II." To be more specific, the system rests on two big frauds and one grand illusion.

The first fraud is that democracy is a less murderous form of government than the alternatives, and hence preferable to all others. And yet, of the millions of people killed in all the world's wars, most would have been eligible voters. The most deadly wars - by far - occurred after voting boxes had been installed in public buildings all over Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Almost all the combatants in WWII had some form of voting to justify their regimes. Both Hitler and Mussolini were elected - as were Roosevelt and Churchill, though I am not sure in what manner or when the English leader was selected. Stalin was also elected, more or less, receiving by far the strongest popular mandate of any of them, since few people dared to vote against him. And America's most deadly war was fought between two of the world's most Democratic governments of the time - the South and the North.

By contrast, the death toll in pre-Democracy centuries was comparatively light.

The second fraud is that the will of the majority is the closest we humans can come to a just order of society. But what majority? By what justice or logic does a tiny majority of barely compos mentis voters in Palm Beach, Fla., get to tell all the citizens of Texas how to run their lives? And yet, their ballots will decide how much of their own money Texans will be allowed to keep, what medicines they can put into their bodies, how their children will be taught and how many gallons of water will be used to flush their toilets.

It is also presumed that whatever the majority wants sits on some high moral ground, like the gods on Mount Olympus. But in fact, anyone with eyes can see that the mob acts more like swine than gods -- sloughing around in turpitude, fantasy and self-seeking like pigs in a trough of swill.

Why should a majority of voters in urban areas get to boss around those in rural areas? Why should a majority of Protestants get to tell a minority of Catholics, Jews and Rosicrucians what to do? Why should the plumbers and TV repairmen - voting with the majority - get to lord it over the framing carpenters? How come the teetotalers of one county get to force the drinkers into the next state to quench their thirst? The majority voter gets to demonstrate his compassion at someone else's expense. He gets to tell others what to do, based on his own shabby principles. And he gets to profit from the efforts of others like an atheistic bum at a church supper.

It is all nonsense, of course. But democracy is supposed to be the best form of government by default; all other forms are even worse. Whether that is true or not, I cannot say. I have not lived under other forms. And the evidence is mixed. Certainly, taxes and the death toll were lower under the Hohenzollerns, Hanovers, Capetians and Hapsburgs. Whether they were as entertaining or not, I cannot say. But the uniforms and headdresses provided a relief from the plainness of modern rulers. Before democracy, rulers pretended to be superior to the great mass of mankind. Now they pretend to be the same.

But the monarchs deprived people of the electoral process... the entertaining illusion of choosing the man or woman who will be our national ringmaster for the next four years. And what a spectacle that is.

"Based on the results of the 2000 election," says an e-mail message attributed to the "Jewish World Review," "it's clear many voters are so deeply disturbed that -- for their own good as well as the national welfare -- they should be confined to an institution."

"Missouri voters elected a corpse -- Gov. Mel Carnahan, who died in a plane crash weeks before the balloting." The funny thing about this was that prior to his death, Carnahan was trailing Sen. John Ashcroft. Voters seemed to like him better dead than alive. Dying turned out to be good for his career.

The "Jewish World Review" also cited the New Jersey race, where voters who say they don't want money involved in politics elected the biggest candidate ever - Jon Corzine, who spent $50 million of his own money to win a seat in the Senate.

Among the other peculiar trends mentioned were the votes for Ralph Nader, which should be grounds for institutionalization on its own, and Hillary Clinton's win in New York.

Hillary Clinton deserves a special mention in the history of mass illusion. Here is a woman whose democratic pretenses do seem to reach almost Olympian levels. As she put it in her ode to democratic folderol, "It Takes a Village,"... "the government is all of us."

Unlike monarchs or their subjects, democrats are prone to mass murder, mass suicide, mass larceny and mass fantasy. Trapped by the theory of Democracy, they must suspend their disbelief of the most preposterous and most easily disproven propositions, but are unable to open their eyes and see what actually goes on around them. Thus they are encouraged to think that they play an important role in guiding the ship of state and doing something really important with their lives. Just by reading the editorial pages, watching boring political talk shows and casting a ballot once every two years qualifies Democratic Man for a kind of good citizenship award which he grants to himself. This alone makes him feel very superior to all the rest of us who just want to be left alone.

But what is most appealing about American democracy is simply the baroque exuberance of it all, like the rest of American culture. The candidates are often idiotic, deadly boring or sometimes merely dead. The voters are foolish or apathetic. And the whole process can be as puzzling as the stock market... or as exciting as a street fight between two fat women. Either way, you want to stick around just to see what happens next.

Writing to you from the Eurostar, and returning to financial topics tomorrow (I promise!)...

Bill Bonner"

--Whichever statist bureaurat becomes our next president, it's not my fault, I've been voting Libertairian since '72 & have realized for a while that Democracy is two wolves & a rabbit voting on who's for breakfast. The US was created as a Constitutionally limited Republic & we may have a better chance of regaining our liberty thru a combination of Internet technology & the New Economy our company is facilitating than thru the political process or even bloody revolution ... and it's a lot more fun than either of those two alternatives!--bob


"Doug Casey has been a hero of ours for years ... & a very savvy & successful financial advisor & adventurer & this piece is brilliant & concise. Enjoy:

Click here for a printer friendly version of this text.

Thursday, September 6, 2001

Imagine a world without government

By Doug Casey

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© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com


Many people who are sympathetic to the notion of minimizing
institutionalized coercion are still skeptical about how, or even
if, the world would work without government. Who, they ask,
would build the roads and run the schools? Who would keep
order in society and protect it from predators?

Some of these questions reflect beliefs as quaint and silly as
those of inner-city children who believe that milk naturally comes
from cartons. But since much of all news concerns the doings
of government, and since various levels of government control
close to half the economy, it's understandable how Americans
have come to see the state as a permanent fixture in the cosmic
firmament, "naturally" and "necessarily" responsible for almost
everything. Americans have become almost as myopic as the
Soviets were in that regard. Some believe that if the government
didn't build the roads, we would still have no industrialization
or infrastructure. Similarly, some Soviets had a hard time
figuring out who would build cars, if not their government.

Actually, an inability to understand how the world would work
without government shows an inability to understand how it works
right now. What holds society together isn't the coercive power
of the state - it's peer pressure, social opprobrium, moral approbation,
and, especially, self interest. Few people would argue that the reason
diners pay their restaurant checks is fear of the police, just as few
would argue that the only reason diners do not stand on table tops,
disrobe and create a scene is because of some ordinance prohibiting
it. The coercive power of the state has almost no part in forming the
glue holding society together.

Does government have any rightful place in society? One argument
is that, since the state holds a monopoly on the legal use of force,
its logical function is to protect individuals from force. That implies
a defensive military to protect you from force originating outside the
government's jurisdiction - a police force to protect you from inside
its jurisdiction and a court system to allow you to adjudicate disputes
without resorting to force.

But only a small and decreasing fraction of government resources
actually go toward these legitimate goals, and it is spent with pathetic
inefficiency. The military is a gigantic pork-barrel program, the police
harass as much as they protect and, even if you can afford it, it is
nearly impossible to get into court and equally difficult to get out
once you are in.

In fact, an excellent case can be made that defense, police and courts
are far too critical to the smooth functioning of society to be left to
the
type of person predisposed to working for the government. When it
comes to the police, I'd prefer a Mike Hammer or Thomas Magnum
trying to solve a crime rather than the typical cop, whose main skill
is writing his quota of traffic tickets.

Private arbitration agencies, who would have to compete based on
the fairness and cost-effectiveness of their decisions, would be a big
improvement over often corrupt, glacier-like and politically-motivated
courts, who must decide cases based on arbitrary statute law.

How would criminals be tried in the absence of statute law and
punished without government prisons? For one thing, there would
be a lot less illegal activity if victimless crime were abolished. For
another, the first concern of a justice system should be making
the victim whole, not arbitrarily punishing the miscreant. Sentences
should therefore, be meted out in terms of monetary damages to the
victim - plus the costs of apprehension, trial and supervision on
whatever level appropriate. Felons would have an incentive to
become productive, in order to regain their freedom. And victims
would not be doubly penalized by having to pay taxes to incarcerate
those who had already harmed them.

In general, government judicial systems are far more concerned
about crimes against the state than crimes against the individual.
In China, as the Tiananmen Square revolt demonstrated, the gravest
crime consists of agitation for democracy - in the United States, it
consists of nonsupport of the government by refusing to pay taxes
or obey regulations. And in all cases, a show of humility, a respectful
attitude and the renunciation of politically-incorrect ideas are
required.

The sentencing of the Chinese students who incited the Tiananmen
riots in 1989 was based mainly on their attitudes. One leader, Ren
Wanding, was given the longest sentence because he hung tough,
refused to apologize and showed no regret. Others, guilty of more
serious "crimes," received shorter sentences because they played
the game of "self and mutual criticism."

Everyone in the United States claimed to be outraged at what
happened to the students, especially Ren. But few acknowledged
the extent to which punishment disproportionate to the crime
committed is routinely imposed here in the United States. Tax
protesters regularly get more hard time than violent criminals.

Some would say that a few abuses are a small price to pay for
having a national defense. That, too, is questionable. The U.S.
government actually created much of the danger the USSR once
presented. As pathological as it was, the USSR would have had
no reason to attack North America if it were just a grouping of 250
million individuals, entirely apart from the fact it would have been
1,000 times more costly than their ill-fated adventure in Afghanistan.
How could they possibly invade a country where they would have
to conquer each citizen as an individual? It is a different matter
entirely if they need only force another government to surrender.
In any event, the Soviets would have collapsed long before they
did, had not the U.S. government funneled billions in aid and loans
to them.

Although even these "natural monopolies" of government do not
really exist, it might be acceptable if government was strictly limited
to ensuring national and domestic safety and to adjudicating disputes.
Without a legislature, regulatory agencies and the taxes it takes to
enforce their dictates, the economy would really blossom. In a decade,
the U.S. would be as far ahead of, say, Japan, as Japan is ahead of
Romania. Anything that needs to be done can and would be done more
efficiently by entrepreneurs - at a profit.

In the perverse "real world" of today, however, the police, courts and
the military are among the least significant parts of government -
moreover,
government fails to produce quality products in any other worthwhile area
it pursues, such as education. Indeed, its main products are taxation,
regulation, inflation and wealth redistribution, which all eventually
destroy their supposed beneficiaries as surely as they do those who
are taxed overtly.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Legendary speculator Doug Casey logs 150,000 miles a year, trekking
through jungles, deserts and high mountain passes, while his readers
sit home and collect returns of 400 percent, 4,170 percent, even 10,060
percent. He is the author of the best-selling "Crisis Investing" and "The
International Man." He also edits the newsletter International
Speculator."

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