I decided to move some discussion from this post up to the top level here. Specifically, Watoosh wrote: "Well, if violence is defined as initiation of force (which, of course, presupposes certain property rights), then I think Rockwell is correct..." Well, if we define cats as elephants, then many people keep elephants in their house. More seriously, firstly, violence is not usually defined that way. It's defined as, you know, violence, so that, say, someone may respond violently or non-violently to someone who aggresses against them. Otherwise, it would make no sense to say, for instance, "He punched me, but I did not stoop to violence in response." And, secondly, the libertarian usage of "initiation of force" is very offbeat. If I wander onto someone's meadow, most people would not say I had "initiated force" -- I mean, sure, I used "force" against the earth to push off walking, but that's not force directed against...
Are you sure that this sort of behavior is *caused* by capitalism?
ReplyDeleteI said modern capitalism panders to it. I didn't say it caused it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'd throw my hat emphatically in the "caused it" ring, but it's not entirely absurd to think that baser consumerisms are actually fostered and cultivated in market economies.
ReplyDeleteThat's not an argument against capitalism, of course. Other systems cultivate even baser motives. In the grand scheme of things acting like a dumbass over a waffle maker is still probably better than raping and pillaging.