We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Samizdata quote of the day – debunking egalitarianism edition “If everybody must be equally well-off all the time, there can be no significant movement up or down. That would rule out what might be seen as a natural trajectory from less successful to more successful, or from early struggle to affluent independence, perhaps involving personal resourcefulness or a climb up a professional ladder.”
And:
“Personal achievement and self-improvement are among the greatest satisfactions life has to offer. The possibility of moral agency and the scope for taking individual responsibility are probably the defining attributes of emotional maturity.”
Janet Daley, Sunday Telegraph.
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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Even if you could have total equality of income you still wouldn’t have equality. Some people are just completely hopeless at handling their money and would always be broke while others who spend more carefully would be far better off.
“Harrison Bergeron” is a satirical dystopian science-fiction short story by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in October 1961.
In a world where everyone must be fully equal and not allowed to be smarter, better-looking, or more physically able than anyone else the government handicaps the more able. A Handicapper General ensures that this is rigorously applied.
Although written as satire this story appears to veer towards today’s reality. Is Miliband the energy Handicapper General? Is Reeves the wealth Handicapper General? Is Starmer a mightily effective politician – but weighed down by imposed handicaps?
When everyone ‘must win prizes’ the prizes become meaningless.