Greenfield: The Art of Building Things

Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog ^ | Monday, June 10, 2013 | Daniel Greenfield

[Louis Foxwell]

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[Louis Foxwell]

But, of course, the entrepreneur DID build his invention, frequently with opposition from neighbors, industry and, especially, government.
The child king is wrong, as usual. He does not so much need to be thrown out as taught a lesson. This nation is about personal freedom and the dignity of individual effort, not mass hysteria and lining up to get a handout.

[MestaMachine]

How anout we build some guts? How about we create a backnone? How about we stop allowing ourselves to be walked over and our dreams to be shattered by those who would steal for themselves what we have spent over two hundred years building already?

[MestaMachine]

Forgive the typos. I woke up in a VERY bad mood.

[Big Red Badger]

Typos are Creative,,,

[Ray76]

Outstanding post.

[Squantos]

A righteous set of tools is key..... Material and mental. Good read.....

[No One Special]

…the myth of socialism is far stronger than the reality of capitalism. That is because capitalism is not really an ism at all. It is what people do if you leave them alone.

–Arnold Beichmen

[T-Bird45]

While the Beichmen quote makes an excellent point, I’d recommend we stop using the term “capitalism” and its derivatives because it is a product of Marxist thinking and philosophy. The final sentence of the quote makes the point on why we should really use the term “free enterprise” to describe the desired state and the activities of wealth creation arising from the condition of being free in the way God intended.

[upchuck]

Amen!

Bump.

[wita]

Hey, you woke up. Very positive indicator.

[wita]

“describe the desired state and the activities of wealth creation arising from the condition of being free in the way God intended.”

It is called the United States of America.

[MestaMachine]

In my case, very true. Got to count every blessing.

[Albion Wilde]

I posted an essay on FR in 2004 in the run-up to the Bush-Kerry election that discussed Greenfield's point about innovation. One of the most critical issues of that election (and any presidential election) was who would get appointed to the Supreme Court; since rule by the political elitists favored by Democrats instead of constitutionally limited jurists favored by Republicans would damage our freedom to innovate. Here is an excerpt:

Americans traditionally hate arbitrary sources of power and authority. Yet our our system of checks and balances, coupled with our historic faith in an Absolute truth and our contemporary faith in the discovery of scientific truths, is so efficient that is has been no barrier to social and economic innovations that stand the test of time. Thus, American pursuit of truth has led to more political freedom and more scientific, medical and technological discoveries than any other political philosophy in recorded history.

Having strict constructionists among the Justices would not rule out innovations in society and technology; in fact, it may ensure that our historic formula survives and continues its generous, inclusive productivity — the American Dream that permits anyone to aspire to own property, patent or trademark inventions or run for public office.

Most importantly, a panel containing strict constructionists would redress the power of radical individualists to achieve the covert political overthrow of Western civilization through an aggregated coup d’etat of smaller, less obvious legal coups. It would force civil revolutionaries to use the front door, not sneak in through the back door by justice-rigging.

Posted nearly ten years ago, the essay was eerily far-sighted about what is happening today. Read the whole thing here.

[MV=PY]

Thanks for the ping. Mr. Greenfield nails it again.

This one’s a keeper.

[left that other site]

As an artist, I find it VERY disturbing that the biggest shills for communism are ofter those who are successful in their field of creative endeavor.

The Rock Stars, Actors, Architects, Movie Producers, and Visual Artists will be the FIRST to be subjugated and oppressed, and used to create propaganda for the State in a communist regime.

The list is endless of artists co-opted into the propaganda machine. A few examples would be Prokofiev, Shostakovitch, Filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, and all the thousands of sculptors and architects whose creativity was buried under huge, massive, ugly, statues of Lenin and Stalin.

For a laugh, just google “Bad Communist art”.

[left that other site]

Amen! Take control of the language! :-)

[GOPJ]

The Soviet Union, China, North Korea and Vietnam all won their engagements with enemies in the same way; by throwing so many men at the problem that the enemy would become bogged down and eventually forced to retreat. Their military victories did not emerge from strategy or heroism, but the mechanical willingness to sacrifice numberless individuals for the goals of the collective.

Interesting..

[No One Special]

Before Marx the word basically did not even exist. That info used to be on wikiquote a few years ago but when last I looked it was gone. I figured I wouldn’t fight it so much considering that Milton Friedman often used the term. But I take your point as I have made it myself.

[Tainan]

Amen! Take control of the language!

Bears repeating...with emphasis. He who controls the language controls the argument/discussion and the outcome.