The Best Way to Manage Slaves (And How to Avoid Becoming One)
WakingTimes
10-12 minutes
Gary Z McGee, Contributor
Waking Times
“If you wish to keep slaves, you must have all kinds of guards. The cheapest way to have guards is to have the slaves pay taxes to finance their own guards. To fool the slaves, you tell them that they are not slaves and that they have Freedom. You tell them they need Law and Order to protect them against bad slaves. Then you tell them to elect a Government. Give them Freedom to vote and they will vote for their own guards and pay their salary. They will then believe they are Free persons. Then give them money to earn, count and spend and they will be too busy to notice the slavery they are in.” ~Alexander Warbucks
Who the hell is Alexander Warbucks? Nobody knows. He wrote this article, How I Manage My Slaves, back in 1978, and nothing before or since. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to break down his opening quote and discover ways to avoid slavery.
Basically, the best way to manage slaves is to convince them that they are free so that they don’t rebel against a corrupt system, and so that they diligently work for the system no matter how sick it makes them. This is one of those rare occasions where it is easier done than said.
And it’s being done, en masse, the world over. It takes the seemingly benign form of statism. But it is most definitely malignant in that it tricks people into slavery by lording comfort, security, safety and the illusion of freedom over their heads, and by being irresponsible with its overreaching power.
In short: the best way to manage slaves is to erect a state, and to declare that state almighty by forcing people to consent to its law and order no matter how unreasonable, unjust, or violent that law and order may be.
Statism creates massive societies made up of people who are mostly ignorant, lazy, cowardly and indifferent to political underhandedness. As long as they are comfortable, safe, and secure in their immoderate bliss they don’t care about policy. Because of such ignorance, laziness, and cowardice, statists (soft slaves) prefer the certitude of psychological chains over the ambiguity and tension of real freedom. Hence the proclivity toward soft-slave statism rather than the hard work of maintaining freedom.
Here are five ways to avoid becoming (or remaining) a soft salve…
Don’t ask for permission to be free:
“I must create a system or be enslaved by another Man’s.” ~William Blake
Become a free-range human. The path from soft-slave statist to free-range human is difficult, but, as Spinoza stated, “All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.”
A soft-slave statist is anyone who believes they need a ruler to rule over them, who thinks they need permission to be free, who blindly worships a flag, and who believes violence is the answer to solving problems.
A free-range human, on the other hand, rules over him/herself, does not need permission to be free, does not worship a flag, and thinks that violence is only necessary when used in self-defense or in defense of those not capable of defending themselves.
Besides that, free-range humans practice the following core principles: the golden rule, the nonaggression principle, the art of fighting without fighting, radical forgiveness, and radical interconnectedness (interdependence over independence over codependence).
Don’t pay for the guards to guard you:
“I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” ~Robert A. Heinlein
The only time you should pay the guards to guard you is if you are incapable of guarding yourself.
If, as Stefan Molyneux said, “The law is an opinion with a gun,” then it stands to reason that we should check untenable opinions with a tenable solution. Privatized defense-minded policing is that solution.
It is based upon the reasonable precept that for any free human who is unable to protect themselves or their property –whether due to lack of skills, an ailment, age, or even cowardice– they (or their loved ones) are free to hire a defense-minded police force to help protect them and their property.
Important caveat: Defense is primary. Defense is key.
As long as the hired police force remains defense-minded and does not become offense-minded by forcing their values, ideals, rules, or laws onto others, then it can be a morally tenable means of policing.
Simply put: Healthy policing is an extension of healthy self-defense. Defense turned violent and overreaching is no longer about self-preservation. Similarly, policing turned violent and overreaching is no longer about protecting and serving. Physical violence should only ever be used in self-defense and never as a means toward enforcing one’s values, rules, or laws onto others, no matter how popular they are.
Learn self-defense and honor the nonaggression principle:
“Too much of the animal distorts the civilized man, too much civilization makes sick animals.” ~Jung
Don’t be a sick animal. Also, don’t become so distorted that you lose your humanity.
Read more articles by Gary ‘Z’ McGee.
About the Author
Gary Z McGee, a former Navy Intelligence Specialist turned philosopher, is the author of Birthday Suit of God and The Looking Glass Man. His works are inspired by the great philosophers of the ages and his wide awake view of the modern world.
This article (The Best Way to Manage Slaves (And How to Avoid Becoming One)) was originally created for The Mind Unleashed and is published here with permission. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution and author bio.