The word “Law” – when employed in Physics – with the name of the physicist who “discovered” it prefixed to that Law – indicates that, as with The Eternal Laws of Private Property, Private Contracts, and Private Torts, and equally with the Laws of Economic Science – no one has “MADE” any of these LAWS – and that these have all been DISCOVERED – although by very different “methods.”
Thus, there issues a WARNING – to any who choose to DELIBERATELY VIOLATE these Laws – beginning with the ENGINEER who designs-and-fabricates a MACHINE – let us say, and AIRPLANE – that is violative of the Law of Gravity – which Newton did not “make” – but only “discovered.” Such an airplane will CRASH – for sure! And such a “scientific prediction” does NOT require any “scientific experiment” in order to “prove” its validity – for it can be arrived at by “logic” – that is, this can be predicted with “apodictic certainty.”
LOGIC – it is the very basis of SCIENTIFIC METHOD.
So it is with COLLECTIVISM in ECONOMICS – an ILLOGICAL, hence, UNSCIENTIFIC METHOD – the Perfect Examples of these evident in the noose today being:
First: India’s ANTICOMMERCE Central Minister for International Trade – which he “controls” with INTERVENTIONIST legislation, fiscal levies, bureaus and bureaucRATS - purportedly in the “collective interests” of The Whole – quoted upon a MASTHEAD saying, “Economic Growth is not a ‘priority’; it is a Social Imperative.” Capital thought, dude!
Second: The same noose “reports” – for example – that Tata Motors is “aiming” at “raising its Market Share significantly in 2013-14.”
Which means that Tata Motors is ALSO seeking this very same Economic Growth – for itself – for its Balance Sheet – but the photograph accompanying this report is that of a Tata Nano – and, in the Final Analysis – it MUST be ADMITTED that WHATEVER may be the HONEST EXERTIONS of Tata Motors – the Final Verdict will be delivered by Individual Consumers of Cars – and this, by itself, this Very Small Example, establishes the clear fact that there is NOTHING even remotely COLLECTIVELY ATTAINABLE in anything to do with Economic Outcomes – and that ALL these Market Phenomena are DETERMINED by Individual Choices – and these, in turn, are “guided” by Laws of Thought rooted in the Logical Categories of The Trading Human Mind.
So, as Mr. Leonard Cohen’s POETRY puts it:
You can add up The Parts,
You won’t have The Sum.
You can Strike up The March,
There is No Drum.
In terms both Plain and Simple:
NOTHING that is PLANNED by ANY COERCIVE AUTHORITY in ANY-and-EVERY matter pertaining to ECONOMIC OUTCOMES can EVER SUCCEED:
NOTHING!
And the very same WARNING that applies to all ENGINEERS who choose to deliberately violate The Laws of Physics – it applies even more so to those who PERSIST with their FOLLIES in matters Legal, Constitutional, Economic, and Social.
Why?
Because, just as the scientist in his laboratory must ensure that his Experiment does not EXPLODE-in-his-FACE – the Human Laboratory of Human Society upon which all these EXPERIMENTS IN SOCIAL ENGINEERING are being carried out UNIVERSALLY can also EXPLODE – and there are Many Such Signs in the noose EVERYDAY – from EVERYWHERE.
Now, the notion that humans are “guided” in their economic activities by Laws of Thought rooted in the Logical Categories EMBEDDED Within their Trading Human Minds implies that human beings do NOT respond to market data in the manner of “instinctive” or “stimulus-response” automatism as UNSCIENTIFICALLY theorised by those “psychololgists” who call themselves BEHAVIOURISTS and upon whose ideas all that is contained in “Experimental Psychology” is based.
In other words – words used also by “theologians” – humans are possessed of Free Will – and many are to be found who pursue “vocations” that have NOTHING to do with The Pursuit of Economic Gain – such as Ludwig von Mises, who preferred to “write about money rather than make it for himself” – to many genuine “non-professional” sportspersons, such as mountain climbers – to many a genuine artist – just as there are many who pursue “higher ends” in life such as genuine monks – and many who pursue “lower ends” such as chronic alcoholics and drug addicts who ruin themselves.
Similarly, in the Pursuit of Economic Gain, the majority of scions of the wealthy waste their lives in the pursuit of nothing other than idleness and vice - while precious few of these do actually enlarge and build upon the fortunes they inherit - a FACT also borne out in the History of the Lord Mayors of the Olde City of London, all among the world's wealthiest men then, and ALL - without exception - younger sons who were destined to inherit nothing - and who WORKED their way to the Very Top through nothing other than Hard word, Dedication, Honesty, and Perseverance - the "Work Ethic" later claimed by Protestantism.
The “ends” humans pursue can and do differ – but the Laws of Thought that “guide” humans in their “trading actions” are broadly applicable to the whole, though in an entirely “general” or “qualitative” way, such that their “scientific predictions” – while being “apodictically certain” as they are True to Logic – consist only of “patterns” or “tendencies” that will EMERGE WITH CERTAINTY – and among the innumerable such apodictically certain predictions of the Science of Economics, one that is particularly relevant in our current times is this:
The Deliberate Policy of InflationISM Will Inevitably Lead To Complete and Total Economic Collapse, to the End of Money itself, and also to the End of Civilisation.
At the ROOT of this Deliberate Policy of InflationISM is the very same ERROR – that “central monetary planning” can be successfully conducted by a COLLECTIVE for the pursuit of COLLECTIVE ENDS – such as the precise, “quantitative” - but only "purported" - targeting of growth, employment and other such ECONOMIC OUTCOMES.
Such Economic Experiments – VIOLATIVE of the Laws of Economic Science - are FOREDOOMED to UTTER FAILURE.
FOREDOOMED to UTTER FAILURE.
Let me now proceed to WAR and REPUBLICANISM – and their LOGIC – as REVEALED in the Annals of History – which is also “understood” in the INDIVIDUALISTIC sense – with each-and-every “historic personality” as a UNIQUE and NON-REPEATABLE human being – and as for the Historical Events surrounding ANY such historical personality – these are ALL of those INDIVIDUALS who were “guided” in their Individual Minds by such personalities – towards “ends” sometimes fortuitous – from which we “learn” – or towards ends “disastrous” – from which we learn MUCH MORE!
The LOGIC of WAR & REPUBLICANISM:
The Stark Evidence all over the planet of Ancient WALLED Cities enables us to “understand” the LOGIC of both WAR as well as REPUBLICANISM – the latter, wherever it did “fortuitously” occur – as in “Nations STUMBLE upon ESTABLISHMENTS” – a term from the Philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment who DEMOLISHED the Myth of Legislators as the Founding Fathers of Republics. And they did so LONG BEFORE either David Hume or Adam Smith were born!
WARS, thus – in the Very Precise Sense of CIVIC – or even “JUST” Wars – refer to nothing much more than the inhabitants of a Walled City “combining” in order to REPULSE “barbarians at the gates.”
And, if this “combined force” of the CITIZENRY is successful – then, it is back to “business-as-usual” – and CIVILISATION Progresses – the JUST WAR being an “interruption” caused by Barbarian Hordes – of the UNCIVILISED.
NOTE #1: Almost ALL the wandering tribes of nomadic herdsmen – from ages past to our current times – have NOT been “barbarians” – but have also been CIVILISED TRADERS – and even the History of the City-States of Ancient Greece reveals that THOUSANDS of “artisans” in these city-states SURVIVED on the custom of these wandering nomads – from leatherworkers to makers of jewelry.
NOTE #2: If we leave aside the very occasional “sacking” of entire cities – then, whatever MILITARY CONQUESTS of cities that ever occurred in History have only involved a Change of Rulers – with No Other Effect upon the Citizenry than that – for even the New Ruler – the Military Conqueror – “required” the CITY MARKET to be SUCCESSFUL for his very own “economic gains.”
NOTE #3: No “national borderLINEs” have EVER been DEFENDED by STANDING ARMIES in History – and all those Empires and Emperors who employed such Standing Armies for CONQUEST ultimately PERISHED – simply because this is UNECONOMICAL – or, in plain terms, such policies cause LOSSES – thereby PROVING the RELEVANCE of the WARNING above – that ALL Deliberate Violations of LAWS of Any Kind lead towards only The Inevitable Disaster.
The Logic Of REPUBLICANISM – or, Civic Independence – follows from the Logic of Just War and Civilisation – of which History provides Three Excellent Examples:
First: In the year 1066AD, when the Norman Conqueror, William, defeated the King of the Anglo-Saxons, Harold, at the Battle of Hastings – and then LOOKED upon the Wealthy, Walled City of London – as his TROPHY – as a “source” of those very SPOILS that “go-to-the-victor” – he was CONFRONTED with a FIERCE CITIZENRY – and “backed off” – to a CASTLE OUTSIDE those walls – and, from this, everything else these FIERCE Citizens of a Trading City “stumbled upon” followed – beginning with their “choosing” of a Civic Head to bear their Civic Sword – meant for the Sole Purpose of Keeping-the-King-OUT-of-their-City – proceeding to the Magna Carta – which “logically followed” not much later, to keep the Sovereign always UNDER The Law – and from there to “becoming” The EpiCentre of Global Capitalism” was their Inevitable Achievement – as they had fortuitously stumbled upon The Rule of Law – and had thereby “discovered” Liberty and Property – thus, they kept on Accumulating Private Capital by AVOIDING LOSSES while PURSUING PROFITS employing the Logical Categories of their Trading Human Minds – for generations since.
Second: Whereas the first example is meant to “understand” WAR, and to “understand” Military Conquest as well as Military Might – while illustrating the Significance of Civic Independence from such INTRUSIONS – a Valuable Lesson on How & Why certain Civilisations PROGRESS – this cannot be termed REPUBLICANISM – of which the Best Example in our times is that of the City of Geneva – also a Walled City once – with carefully preserved Ancient Cannons still to be seen on the ramparts of these walls that bear the Insignia of the City-as-a-Republic.
From the History of the City of Geneva “evolving” as a Flourishing Market Town for the mountain-dwellers all around it – to its Conquest by Julius Caesar – who else! – to the continued success of Republican Geneva – while looking back at the Fall of the Roman Empire! – and then, to the Conquest of the Republic of Geneva by Napoleon – who else! – and then, to the continued success of the Republic of Geneva – and the Fall of Napoleonic France and of its “little corporal” himself! – we can also “understand” something about the “nature” of Swiss “political institutions” – their “direct democracy” at the local level – their “confederacy” – with each “canton” Flying-its-Own-Flag – to their STANDING MILITIA that ensured even Hitler STAYED OUT – and the Swiss managed to successfully avoid being dragged into either EUROPEAN “World War” – thereby AVOIDING those very same LOSSES that dragged down even the so-called “Victorious Allies” – for the “funny money” they had to SPEND on these POINTLESS WARS are precisely what has brought upon THEM the Very Same Fate that befell the Roman Empire that marched joyous Victory Parades to “Hail Caesar” – exactly what then befell the Conquering French under Napoleon – and it is BEFITTING now, to look at the Hansastadt of the Port City of Hamburg as the Third Example of such Civic Independence – for it remains an Independent STATE of the German Federation – what they call a Länder.
CIVIC FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE is REPUBLICANISM – and it is this Political Institution that CAUSED the Phenomenal Success of Western Civilisation – and we have already noted that they “stumbled upon” this institution most fortuitously – thereby “discovering” Liberty, Property, and hence, LAW.
As to how they disastrously LOST what they had themselves discovered – that’s another story, one that a recent post has outlined to some extent – but the crux of the matter today is that the DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES of this GHASTLY ERROR on their own part are clearly evident TODAY – even as they PERSIST with these FOLLIES.
Thus, just as CHRONIC ALCOHOLICS are Good Teachers of the Youth, actually – who can LEARN MUCH from their FOLLIES – so, too, MUST wee the most fucked-up poorest-of-the-poorest sheeple on the planet LEARN MUCH from the Follies of those who APPEAR to be So Very Rich, so Very Magnificent, possessed of Splendour and Grandeur beyond our imaginations – of the Inevitable, Grave Consequences of Persisting with Deliberately Chosen FOLLIES – such as this Chronic Addiction to Debt of the Modern West – an addiction far, far worse than alcoholism, and far more debilitating – not for those who practice it themselves in the “physical” sense, but for EVERYONE ELSE, EVERYWHERE ELSE.
So, while ALL the wee the most fucked-up poorest-of-the-poorest of the sheeple on the planet THINK THROUGH these Valuable Lessons above – from History – lessons that ALSO instruct as to WHAT is History – I conclude with the rest of that Song of Mr. Leonard Cohen I quoted above:
Every heart, every heart,
To LOVE will COME – but
Like a REFUGEE.
Replace LOVE with KNOWLEDGE – or, better still – The Love of Knowledge – which is WISDOM – and the Greek word Philosophy means “The Love of Wisdom” – to which ADD that in any Market Society or Cattalaxy we do NOT have to LOVE EVERYONE – we ONLY have to “serve our customers” faithfully and to the best of our capabilities and NOTHING MORE than that – which brings ME to the REFRAIN of this truly LOVELY song, “Anthem” – from Mr. Leonard Cohen’s fairly recent album, The Future:
There is a Crack – a CRACK!
In EVERYTHING.
That’s how the LIGHT gets in,
That’s how the LIGHT gets in.
I now make a SCIENTIFIC PREDICTION with APODICTIC CERTAINTY that there is a Big, Gaping CRACK in YOUR SKULL!
LOGIC – in – ACTION –
as in Very Hard Rock –
Hard Words that Keep on Rockin’ Inside Your Head.
Just as DRUMS KEEP POUNDING RHYTHM IN YOUR BRAIN.
Oh ! How “I” Love My Vocation!
The Baba Pagal Nath Charsi signing off.
