Mr. Clean

I hear the argument alot that without Government civilization is done, either drug cartels or Corporations will take over. It's a question I think deserves a thought out response. This article basically sums up the argument against the libertarian argument of no government. "But what is the flawed ideology masking the misapplication of democratic ideals? Let’s bring it out by exploring the most cherished US democratic ideal, the ideal of freedom – popularly embodied in attacks on ‘big government’. Voters are repeatedly told that ‘big government’ is the primary source of coercion that limits freedom, which it certainly sometimes does, as the Patriot Act reminds us. But corporations also limit civic freedom in significant ways. For example, corporations are leading direct attacks on the freedom to collectively bargain. Via outsourcing, free trade agreements allow corporations to move jobs to countries where labour is cheap; meanwhile, as a result of pressure from the conservative non-profit Citizens United, corporations can fund political candidates, thereby increasing corporate control of government. The weaker a government is, the more power corporations have over it. Across the political spectrum, there is anger that government is too influenced by industry lobbyists. Voters concerned about government – as opposed to corporate – constraints on freedom are under the grip of what I will call a free market ideology. According to that ideology, the world of capital is by its nature free. All other substantial freedoms, including political freedom and personal freedom, are made possible by the freedom of markets. Why do citizens who cherish freedom as an ideal vote to constrain their own freedoms by increasing the power of corporations? It’s because free market ideology masks the ways in which corporations deploy undemocratic modes of coercion. When a corporation bans employees from expressing, outside of work, opinions it disapproves of, this is seen as a legitimate protection of its economic interests. If workers have to sign non-disclosure contracts that silence them after they are employed elsewhere, it’s accepted as the cost of doing business. The contradictions here are telling. If our most basic freedoms are self-expression and choiceful action, then corporations frequently limit our most basic freedoms. In liberal democratic theory, it is government that is regarded as the protector of such rights. But it’s precisely because government is attacked in the name of freedom that corporations have vastly greater power to constrain and shape it."(Prof Jason Stanley, 2015) Right off the bat: Nothing in the world is free, not even freedom. Everything has a cost (Ideas require time that could be spent elsewhere, Farming requires land, Products require materials to build, freedom requires the participation of the individual to fight off aggression ex.someone orders you to pick it up, you tell them to go to hell, if they throw a punch you can either throw a punch or walk away) So corporations limit an individual's freedoms with contracts, lobbyists, banning or firing those that have dissenting opinions. Well if we were to put a corporation inside the sandbox of entirely of nothing but the free market (other businesses, consumers, etc, no government) what can they do to you? How can the wrong you? Answer, they can't really unless you let them. Corporations exert power through the 'tool' that is government. Lobbyists only have a job if the government exists. Secondly it's entirely your own choice, free-will to go to work for a corporation, (hopefully read) and sign contracts where you GIVE away your rights in exchange for monetary profit. No one forces you to go to work for a big nasty corporation. If you want to keep your rights to be able to say anything you please you can either form your own business or work for another business that you find yourself better off in. And another case is if workers don't like how they're being treated they work for a competitor, or go on strike. They CANT make you do anything without tools of force. Drug Cartels and crime now. How to stop them from taking over? Answer: Don't give them power! It's so simple. If you don't want drug cartels ruling over you don't buy their products. IF THEY AINT GOT NO PESO THEY AINT GOT NO INFLUENCIA B-but they got all the guns man! First off they can't get guns if they can't afford them. And that goes back to not buying their products. B-B-But what if they steal them!? Then they got power through force (guns) (Lets talk about force real quick. Using Force basically means imposing your will against someone or something without their consent. An example is big government. As a citizen of that government you gotta pay your taxes. If you don't pay your taxes men with guns will come into your home and kidnap you. In irrational terms the police arrest you and take you to prison for tax evasion. You never since the time you were born got a say on that. But wait..if you say we had no choice that's wrong. We have a choice to move elsewhere or vote for less Government. I suppose you could live on 6 yard island in the Pacific to leave government influence currently, but you might not like the level of development there and you could vote for less or no more government and in that case why are you against the libertarian argument again?) Then dish out justice. If someone raises their hand to you it's entirely justified to meet the same measure of FORCE on them. Are people so cowardly, so lazy, or so inept that they can't get off the couch and do something about a problem in their neighborhood. Are people that terrified of personal responsibility that they give it away to a centralized tool of FORCE in order to solve their problems for them. Look at it this way, if you feel weak and helpless, open your eyes. Drug Cartels were not always born powerful. Governments did not always exist. Buildings didn't always exist. How did they come into being? Answer: People came together and made all of that. If you want to fight big business, government, crime, or any force you have the same power that they have, you just haven't used it yet. No one can make you do anything unless you let them.