Theme: Responsibility

ALTRUISM IS NOT POSSIBLE AS A GENERAL RULE – IT CAN ONLY BE PRACTICED AS A HAND-CRAFT

(choice words)(great paragraphs)

—“Altruism is not a mindless general rule to be obeyed as an act of faith independent of measurement – it is a hand-craft to be mastered by individuals, and put to wise use – it is a local activity, limited to personal experience, that must be personally judged, and can never be centralized in the state, or church. It must always be limited to the individual and his voluntary decisions. The only thing that we can centralize is war, and the only certainty we can depend upon is truth-telling and a jury’s judgement of that truth, and the ruthless punishment of liars, obscurers and deceivers, and the careful cautious demand for restitution from those who merely err.”—

–“Redistribution of dividends from the respect for property rights, and contributions to the normative and physical commons that make the voluntary organization of production we call capitalism possible – is not a matter of altruism. It’s merely a matter of COMPENSATION. Yes we compensate each other in exchange when engaged in investment, production, distribution and trade. But for investment, production, distribution and trade to be possible we must possess property rights, and we possess property rights only because they are paid for by the forgone opportunities of all of us whether we are engaged in production or not. So what is the cost of constructing the voluntary structure of production we call capitalism, then? It is the difference in wealth between anarchy (no respect for property) and the respect for property, minus the wealth created by those engaged in production. The consequence of this logic is quite obvious: taking care of those who respect all norms necessary for the formation of property via dividends is merely just compensation for service performed. Conversely, those who do not, deserve nothing – and those who do not conform to the full spectrum of norms that reduce transaction costs in all walks of life, necessary for the formation of that voluntary organization of production, are not contributing ‘diversity’ but merely thieves. Race is irrelevant to the degree that one’s impulses are marginally indifferent. But norms are not. If you do not adopt the norms you are seeking rents, and are not due dividends.”–

Curt Doolittle

The Propertarian Institute

Kiev, Ukraine.