Day: March 6, 2012

The belief that corporations should serve anything other than the interests of their shareholders, particularly with respect to the interests of the workers or abstract intellectual principles is something you hear from libertarians all the time. That the employees of Cato themselves thought they were anything other than agents engaged in labor in service to their shareholders does come across as pretty hypocritical.

I know a lot of libertarians, and not one of them has ever suggested that employees of a company should not try to get the best deal for themselves if at odds with their employer over pay/working conditions/whatever.

Libertarianism has a fairly strict social hierarchy which makes the role of an employee quite clear. It’s hypocritical for the Cato employees to think that they were somehow exempt from this relationship. The Koch brothers told them what they expect them to do and how to behave. That they think there should be some other arrangement speaks to a hypocritical belief that these Cato employees are somehow “special” in a way that most other employees are not.

“Corporations are people, my friends.” The libertarian ideal is one in which the Cato Institute has no abstract purpose for its existence other than maximizing the value for its shareholders. Cato’s employees are insisting that instead it should, unlike their belief about every other corporate institution, be leveraged to benefit themselves and some abstract ideological service to “libertarianism.”

deanc – http://www.metafilter.com/113584/on-the-flexibility-of-ideals#4225708

It just defies belief, doesn’t it? What was TSA guy expecting – the woman cracks under the pressure and admits: “Yes, officer. My left and right nipples lactate sulphuric acid and acetone respectively, it’s a fair cop, take me away!” The USA taxpayer supports the TSA, which demonstrably serves no useful purpose, but howls blue murder at the concept of ObamaCare ™ that might actually serve to improve the quality of life for you guys. Here in Europe a lot of us are going W.T.F.

The taxation situation in the USA is perverse, “How dare you take my money and use it in a way that could benefit others (Limbaugh / Tea Party / etc)” but conversely, “It’s OK to take my money and spend it in a way that makes other people suffer.”

danegeld

Don’t you dare say anything to him about giving up his dream. You’re not the right person for him. Never ask someone to give up on their dream just so you can feel more stable. It’s his choice and his choice alone, no matter how ridiculous his dream may seem to you, or to society, or even to himself. Dreams make humans into self-realized individuals. Your only responsibility is to love everything about him, including his dreams. The idea of “making this work” sounds more like a way to make his life more boring and predictable. At worst, it’s a genuine sadistic desire to control someone else because your own life feels out of control — or a cruel need to dominate and break someone’s spirit for the sake of your own peace of mind. Look for stability and peace of mind inside yourself, and not in your relationships or the dreams of others.

Andrew WK