The problem really is crime, isn't it? It doesn't matter whether it's legal crime, as committed by government agents, or whether it's crimes committed by communal garden scumbags. Before we can enjoy the truly peaceful state I know is possible, criminals have got to stop committing crime. This means one of two things. Either they stop voluntarily (don't hold your breath) or they have to be forcefully stopped. If anybody out there can provide a different solution, I'll do their washing and ironing for a month. Let's not kid ourselves that we will ever seamlessly converge with the ideal. So there you have it. Once we are rational enough to have defined what it is to violate another person, it's a physical battle. Anybody who wants a beautiful world must declare war on criminals. Pacifists are no good to anybody.
The present political systems are not sustainable
The next question is, 'how much force should be used?' The minimum amount should be used, but how much is this? Well, putting criminals in prison is all well and good, but as capitalists, we don't believe that anybody should be forced to pay for that. So if somebody wrongs us, and we want to keep them locked up, then it is going to cost us rather a lot of time or money. Even if we have some sort of insurance, it's going to be a costly affair. So if we can't afford that option, keeping criminals in prison is another punishment for the victim. Even if we can afford it, we may not want to do that. We may prefer to spend our money on things like shoes. Sometimes, just threatening a criminal may be enough to stop them. If not, you have to kill them, even for the most relatively minor of crimes. If someone steals a penny from you, and they are determined to keep it, and you are determined to get it back, there has to come a point where you either say, 'ok mate, I'll let you off with it', or you have to kill them. Conflicts regularly precipitate over small things, and escalate into fatal consequences.
If you are unable to see crime and punishment in as absolute a way as this, you're not really a capitalist. You're not really an honest person. It's unlikely that you will survive the ructions to come. The present political systems are not sustainable, and there will come a time within 20 years when we will not be able to rely on our governments for protection. That is why we all need to be mentally and physically prepared. If you have any altruistic tendencies whatsoever, this will be enough to prevent you from protecting yourself at a time when there will be virtually no room for error.
All this said, if you are ruthlessly moral enough to survive this struggle, you will enter into a golden age. A time of unprecedented peace, prosperity and love. When you get there, look me up. I'll have the kettle on.
DISCUSS!
Original posting by RobTheRockStar on May 19, 2010 at http://www.braincrave.com/viewblog.php?id=35
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