Hello Everyone, I am writing from the socialist republic of Venezuela. We here have a group of young people wanting to spread the message of free markets and liberty but we have ran out of ideas. We have used graffitis, pamphlets and documentaries. Does anyone have an idea into spreading the message loud and clear?
thank you
Ricardo D Flores
www.odlv.org
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt is an excellent, fun, and easy to read book. I believe there is a Spanish version, have you considered giving away books to people who seem receptive to your ideas?
As for a general strategy, just try to get into discussions with as many people as you can; try to calmly convince them that socialism is wrong, both morally and pragmatically.
Have any of your current methods shown any promise?
Don't allow leftists to play games with definitions! Some of the libertarian-leaning leftists at this forum will try to redefine "left-wing" back to its original defition (Third Estate, limited government, free-markets, laissez-faire reforms, etc.). Fine! We non-leftists can't stop them from using their own personal definitions; they can use whatever labels they want to describe any concept they want.However, they have the audacity to then use their personal definition of "left-wing" (remember, the original definition, which is no longer valid) to prove that modern leftists are more libertarian than modern rightists! They will say that libertarianism is "inherently leftist" (again, using the original, no longer valid definition), and use that to insist that we should prefer and side with modern leftists over modern rightists.
Question their motives.
Hey thanks for the quick reply.....Yes I have heard and read about Hazlitt's book...but the thing is that is not such an easy way to spread the ideas to the bulk of the people here...who are almost all very poor and illiterate...maybe a documentary or short film adaptation of that book might work...
thank you...visit our page www.odlv.org
Sorry, I edited my post while you were replying. Have any of your current methods shown any promise?
Well yes we have had some success using graffitis....
graffitis: http://www.odlv.org/articulo.php?id=111
http://www.odlv.org/articulo.php?id=102
How do you try to "sell" the idea of free-markets? Do you focus on the wealth-creating aspects or do you focus on the moral aspects?
If I were you, I would take it one issue at a time; for example, explain the negative consequences of price-controls on food. When you look at specific issues, the common sense of capitalism is overwhelming!
We tryu to focus on wealth-creating reasons....
I get what you mean with one issue at a time...something like reason.tv...We have to figure out a way to spreading the message efficiently...fast and for the masses....I will think about your idea and see if I can come up with someway of catching the attention of many people....the internet is not much of an option here because not too many people have internet access...the tv is taken over by the government and some reds....and also money is a problem around here and we have very limited amounts of fund so we also have to think in ways of using cheap efficient mass communication medias
The best of luck to you rflores! I guess the good news is that, now more then ever, you have a shot at spreading "the message" even to really poor people because of improved technology. new ways to communicate in that we couldn't have dreamed of 100 years ago.
The only advise I can give you at the top of my head is to invest in those really cheap computers they send to poor African kids at school.
http://laptop.org/laptop/
Do something that gets the media to notice and talk about you, whether they like you or not.
The fallacies of intellectual communism, a compilation - On the nature of power
Yes thats an idea...but maybe to catch the attention of the partialized media we will have to get either arrested or killed.....but I will think of something to do....bureaucrash style maybe
tahnk you
The stuff with the laptop is a possibility but we have restricted limitations to our acces to foreign currencies...we have 400$ to spend a year on the internet and for traveling is about 3000$ (but you have to show the government the receipts)....
we gladly accept donations..hahaha
thank you for the idea
Make a comic strip. Maybe translate this.
http://mises.org/books/TRTS/
I don't know exactly how the situation is there. I personally feel the way to go in Europe is by giving aways books to highschool kids, or college freshmen, of how to make money, where you'd introduce economic concepts. I wrote a bit about it here.
Anyway, commies here are excited about Venezuela, so I suspect things are getting bad there. I would just move while I could -- as it gets more and more socialist, you'll see more restrictions to get out of the country. Happens every time, as not even leeches want to stay in the end.
Equality before the law and material equality are not only different but are in conflict with each other; and we can achieve either one or the other, but not both at the same time. -- F. A. Hayek in The Constitution of Liberty
You have no chance of succeeding unless you enlighten people as to the inherent nature of existence. And even then, all that you will accomplish is to save people's souls (which is indeed the greatest of achievement, but one which typical error-laden thought-processes of this world place no value on).
The world's elite have hold of nuclear (and biological and chemical) amaments in which to wipe out a large portion of the human race, as well as underground cities to protect themselves from said. There is no chance in a cold hell that they would ever give up their power without thowing a massive world-wide genocidal hissy-fit, the likes of which the world has never seen before. They would far sooner destroy the Earth than to give up their power. One reason for this is because they know that they would have no place in the world to come. According to their own laws and values, they could not escape being stung up from their necks if the masses ever came into their own. Hence, in such a situation whereby they are facing the loss of power, they have nothing whatsoever to lose by destroying the Earth.
At any rate, ruling elites throughout history adore visiting mass death upon the plebeians. It's their little game which makes them feel self-important. It makes them feel what they imagine to be God Incarnate when they can slaughter whom they wish, and however many they wish. It is their literal religion: hence why we see our modern elites surrounding themselves in the trappings of death in an explicitely religious setting (e.g., Bohemian Grove, and the Order of Skull & Bones).
In a very fundamental sense, ruling elites cannot help themselves from murdering, certainly at least insorfar as they seek the obtainment of more power. For obtainment of more power means the loss of liberty of the masses, which necessarily entails the murder of innocents. Indeed, rulership itself necessarily entails murder, for rulership is the attempt to make the masses submit to one's rule, and hence inherently implies a disregard for the life of the masses.
For the foregoing reasons, libertarianism, if it were to start taking hold in a decisive way, would unavoidably entail the slaughter of most of the world's population: for the ruling elite would never give up their rule without visiting the most horrendous mass-death upon the Earth the world has ever seen.
But the good news is that libertarianism is true. It is true in the most fundamental sense imaginable, i.e.: existence itself would not be possible without it. That is not hyperbole in the slightest, but rather is a quite veridical statement.
It seems hard for most to imagine how existence itself could be predicated upon a "mere" political theory (even a veridical political theory, namely, libertarianism). But nevertheless, reality violates almost everyone's "common sense" understanding of the world. Reality is quite unforgiving in this regard, and it shows respect to no title or institution, unless of course they already happen to be in comformance with it, which is utterly rare.
But what physics demonstrates is that there is an ultimate speed-limit, i.e., the speed of light. Hence, if colonization of the universe is to occur (and it must occur if life is to continue), then this necessarily ensures that decentralization in control of resources cannot be avoided.
That is to say, there cannot even in theory be a centralized "universal governament." Indeed, each relativistic spacecraft (massing no more than a kilogram) will be its own automomous unit with its own society. It will not be possible, even in theory, for any member of the originating society to catch up with it. Only during the collapse phase of the universe, trillions upon trillons of years hence, will all points in the universe proceed to converge.
Thus, each autonomous society (and there will be trillions upon trillions of them) will have trillions upon trillions of years of autonomous existence in which to develop their own societies. Those societies which are the most efficient at taking over recources will be the ones which take control over the universe's resources (and veridical economics demonstrates that this will be the freest of economies[1]).
How that relates to libertarianism being inherenty required by existence itself is thus: the end-state of the universe causally brings about the beginning state, i.e., the Big Bang singularity--since in physics it's just as accurate to say that causation goes from future to past events: viz, the principle of least action; and unitarity.
Hence, Ricardo, what you should do is simply inform people concerning all levels of vital truth.
In the short-term view, you and we will lose. But in the long-term, we cannot avoid winning, if we hold on to truth.
Thus, your task should be to warn people of the horrors which are coming, and elucidate the errors which brought it about. We cannot save people's bodies, but we can save people's souls (i.e., the informational content of their minds).
For more on what I spoke of in the above, see:
"God Proven to Exist According to Mainline Physics," TetrahedronOmega, May 5, 2008 http://www.armleg.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=122&mforum=libertyandtruth
-----
Note:
1. One may protest that colonial occupiers have had great success in taking over a great deal of the Earth's landmass. That is true. But that ignores the physics of interstellar colonization. The colonial invaders upon the Earth were able to keep in contact with their home base (even given what we presently regard as great distances). Such cannot be possible with relativistic spacecraft--or indeed any colonizing interstellar spacecraft.
It may be protested further that the interstellar colonizers maintain their expansion at a rate in which to allow communication with each other. But then there exists no enforcement mechanism for this, for those spacecraft which choose to travel faster would be impune. No member of the originating society would be able to catch up with it.
One may object by positing that said spacecraft are intentionally built to have an upper speed limit enough to allow non-crippled spacecraft to catch up with them. But if such spacecraft are to actually colonize, then they must have on board universal constructors, i.e., they must be von Neumann machines, capable of assembling whatever is capable of being assebled (i.e., given that point in universal history).
(Humans, by the way, are universal constructors. That is to say, we are able to construct anything which is capable of being constructed. More accurately: we are able to construct machines which are able to contruct what we desire, of which machines are in turn able to construct the machines in which to construct what we desire even more, and so on, literally ad infinitum. In Austrian economics [i.e., veridical economics], this is called lengthening the structure of production.)
Hence, any such spacecraft must already have the means in which to build a better spacecraft (up to the point of what is physically possible), otherwise they could not be actual colonizers, and hence would be useless for interstellar colonization.
"Jesus Is an Anarchist", Dec. 4, 2011 http://ssrn.com/abstract=1337761
Theophysics http://theophysics.host56.com
James, thanks for the lengthy comment. ;) I personally wouldn't want to attack the establishment or whatever in such a book. We could and should go through topics like intervention and socialism, and we have to because those are present in every business enterprise, but the idea is to erode some of the misconceptions, try to get a friendly face to business, and then it has to be the reader to do the next step towards libertarianism.
Libertas est Veritas:The best way to reach people is through personal contact. As to how this is implemented depends on regional customs. For example an education tour, where you go from town to town engaging people (holding political discussions, meetings, etc), might work well.
Yeah. I think a more local investment company that motivates people into putting their savings into building local projects -- retailers, recreational facilities, etc -- could be successful, and at the same time, would get people interested in free market economics. ;)
I may get some flak for this suggestion, but I think it is worthwhile, as it was what brought me to libertarian thought.
Find an individual like Ron Paul who know his/her stuff and can rationally defend him/herself. Play the game of your government, just like Ron Paul played the game in the US government. Although Ron Paul has been in congress for 10+ years, I have not heard of him, nor his ideas until the presidential election. Get them into office, and perhaps even get them to run for President. Even if the run is not successful, the following generated by exposure will be the foundation for the long run. IMHO, libertarianism was dormant, though slowly progressing in the US for the past 30 years. Sure you have LvMI and the Libertarian Party, but none has had resounding success that Ron Paul has in getting libertarian thought out. It was Ron Paul who brought it to the mainstream, although it has yet to be accepted by the mainstream.
Either find a Ron Paul, or find a charmer like Barack Obama who can talk good politics and make people feel good. Just kidding on the Obama part.
One on one. From experience, it seems that a way to get folks to understand is by having continued conversations with individuals. Make friends, not enemies. Talk and share ideas, but do not hold them as absolute, as people hate to be compeled. Point them to the right direction though. For example, one of my friends thought we needed a Dept of Education in order to have education, however, after conversations and facts to back up my stance against the Dept of Edu, she was swayed to thinking that it was unnecessary as well.
Although we want instant gratification when it comes to "converting" (i hate the term converting) individuals, it does not happen over night. Be patient and hang in there.
I would say the best way (in your slogans) to spread the message would be to reframe the notion of socialism. Instead of socialism being a way to help people, it's a way to enslave them by taking their money and forcing various different laws, programs, etc on them. Socialism assumes you do not possess yourself. When looked at that way, it's clearly less desirable than libertarianism, in which you are the sole owner of yourself and your property.
ViennaSausage:Although Ron Paul has been in congress for 10+ years, I have not heard of him, nor his ideas until the presidential election. Get them into office, and perhaps even get them to run for President.
Sure. I know a bunch of guys from a liberal party here, so I know a political party has more chances to get resources and exposure than some other organization. The problem is that at least here, and I think this applies to the rest of Europe as well, there isn't a tradition for small government (much less self government ;)). People consider that someone's gain is their loss. You need to have people aware of how economics work, and I think it's also important to have young people excited about being productive, and self responsible. A political party may provide the ignition, but you need powder to in order to be successful. ;)
Yes, personal contact is definetly a must in this endeavour. We have already made a short documentary depicting the benefits of capitalism and we have done a massive graffiti propaganda campaign with our webpage and short messages. We are still very young but we are highly motivated to keep on working even if it means to stand alone and wait years and years.....
If any of you wants to help o visit Venezuela, fell free to contact me, with our high inflation you could come with a few bucks and feel like a rich pimp...and this is a sincere invitation to all.
Sounds great...we will have to adapt the Road to serfdom comic strip to our context...but yes it sounds great...thank you for the idea
Everything is getting more difficult everyday. Adn restrictions are adding each day to the list....reagarding money..passport...property. But a plus here is taht we dont live in an Island and that most of the military is corruptible, so just hand him some money or whisky and that should be enough.
Sure. Consider naming a hero in your comic strip, make it the sort of thing you can distribute to adults/kids. Give them some young fella with a libertarian outlook to cheer for and follow.
Not being a Randian myself, I think Ayn Rand opened a lot of minds up with her books. We have lots of academics today, and guys like BrainPolice who make robust intellectual arguments, but not enough catering to the rank and file, man on the street by giving him an introduction that is digestible.
In this regard, Ron Paul has been tremendously successful. And his hero status (deserved or not) is a large part of that.
Consider regular media as a vector you can use to reach people, in a way that is meaningful to them. Video, comic strips, plays, songs etc.
Sorry, I am rambling...
The comic strip is a good idea, especially if it can make some sense to the illiterate.
"The plans differ; the planners are all alike"
-Bastiat
Most comics can - they rely a lot on visual cues to convey information, and words sortof just complete the picture (with some exceptions, obviously.) And I agree, it's a great idea. Just come up with some good characters someone can identify with and set the story so that they're the good guys and the gov is bad...it can be hard to think of philosophy when you're caught up in a story, all the thinking tends to come later.
If you feel like it, rflores, I think you should start a blog on mises and keep people up to date about whats going on in Venezuela. I know at least that I would be interested in reading it. Overall, my knowledge of Latin America is shamefully low!
Im going to take your advice and start one as soon as possible. Thank you for everything
Byzantine: Here is how a man named Jack Chick spreads the message of fundamentalist, end-times, anti-Catholic Christianity in the US: http://www.chick.com/default.asp
Here is how a man named Jack Chick spreads the message of fundamentalist, end-times, anti-Catholic Christianity in the US:
http://www.chick.com/default.asp
ohh....So thats the guy who publishes the tracts I have been seeing all around the churches over here....they are really heavy and so no love-your-neighbor....BUt yes I completely forgot about this kind of comic strip....Thank you
liberty student:In this regard, Ron Paul has been tremendously successful. And his hero status (deserved or not) is a large part of that.
The thing that all the libertarians here are all intellectual and not at all political, with out charm or popularity...So we will have to either convert some of the opposition leaders into our ideology or just wait until someone catches on and becomes a true leader...There is another problem going around here and is that we have some libertarians but all of them want to lead the movement and no one wants to be lead...so at the end we turn out like trotskites, that is 5 people and 300 organizations...
rflores:The thing that all the libertarians here are all intellectual and not at all political, with out charm or popularity...So we will have to either convert some of the opposition leaders into our ideology or just wait until someone catches on and becomes a true leader...
Honesty is intoxicating. People are starved for honesty. And most of us, even the plainest of us, are capable of honesty. :)
rflores:There is another problem going around here and is that we have some libertarians but all of them want to lead the movement and no one wants to be lead...so at the end we turn out like trotskites, that is 5 people and 300 organizations...
I notice the same thing as well. Which is why I think it is more important to recruit people who are willing to perform "role duties". They are much rarer than people who desire to lead.
Yes, the comic/tract idea is good. If you've got some folks with creativity in the performing arts, music can be remarkably persuasive - the folksong tradition in the USA was tremendously effective in gathering support for the collectivist, populist message it carried.
I've got a teenager distributing copies of Bastiat's _The Law_ to her friends - working on a much smaller scale than you're dealing with, but it's a remarkably persuasive little book. You may find more useful ideas in Heinlein's _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_, a novel about a revolution on the moon, or in most of the books by Claire Wolfe, such as _The Freedom Outlaw's Handbook: 179 Things to do 'till the Revolution_ or _Don't Shoot the Bastards (yet): 101 More Ways to Salvage Freedom_, which have many suggestions for convincing other locals that freedom can be theirs.
Best of luck to you, and I'll add my vote - do please keep us informed on how it's going.
Danno
The avatar graphic text:
"Are you coming to bed?"
"No, this is important"
"What?"
"Someone is wrong on the internet."
emdoub:I've got a teenager distributing copies of Bastiat's _The Law_ to her friends - working on a much smaller scale than you're dealing with, but it's a remarkably persuasive little book.
I think adapting that to a shorter version or to separate it in short pamphlets can also be an option. Also, what do you think of using videos? I mean like the Drew Carey Project at reason.tv http://reason.tv/featuredvids/ (just scroll down to see the other vids). I know many of you are not fans of reason (I am not a fan either) but maybe take a look and tell me you opinions.
I am asking all this sorts of questions because we have limited resources and the more ideas we have here the better decisions we can take about the use we give to those resources (economics!!)
Thank you again, and sorry for any mistakes in my english
RDF
emdoub: You may find more useful ideas in Heinlein's _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_, a novel about a revolution on the moon, or in most of the books by Claire Wolfe, such as _The Freedom Outlaw's Handbook: 179 Things to do 'till the Revolution_ or _Don't Shoot the Bastards (yet): 101 More Ways to Salvage Freedom_
I'll be sure to get those books as soon as possible.
There is also another author related to Mrs Wolfe, he goes by the name of "Boston T. Party" are any of his books any good?
Interesting that this is brought up, the idea of a comic, as a friend & I have been trying to start our own webcomic for months now (his 9to5's usually get in the way of most progress). Although I originally made one of the 'rules' of not pandering to political jokes (everyone does that & it's for lack of a better word...flaccid, writing-wise), I might be tempted to give some subtle nods to the apolitical schools of thought, however. That's assuming of course we ever get this thing off the ground D:
"Look at me, I'm quoting another user to show how wrong I think they are, out of arrogance of my own position. Wait, this is my own quote, oh shi-" ~ Nitroadict
rflores: There is also another author related to Mrs Wolfe, he goes by the name of "Boston T. Party" are any of his books any good?
What I've seen of his writing is largely "how to work around the system" stuff - which may or may not be relevant to your situation, and the loopholes he finds do get closed by enlarging states - but they're fairly solid when written.
Do be careful - your government may be keeping an eye on people who order such books. I'm fairly certain that mine is.
If you have a group, it's probably best if only one or two members do the 'easily tracked' things, like posting on the internet or buying books via credit card or mail. When governments get oppressive, they're usually a bit more oppressive than the public is generally aware of - by the time the people learn how bad it is, it's gotten even worse.
I may be just paranoid - but I've always considered that to be a survival trait, anyway.
Danno, taking comfort in being a very small fish.
Motivated by your requests, I have started a blog right here at mises.org, the url is:
http://mises.org/Community/blogs/smallwindow/
Perhaps something like this would work..
http://littledemocrats.net/samples.html
Actually, I find this version quite scary!!!
Given the first half's focus on "state-as-mommy", I originally thought this was anti-democrat! Just goes to show, one person's scary thought is another's comfort.