Posted on 01/16/2004 4:07:34 AM PST by from occupied ga
Imagine your neighbor throwing a party to show off his brand new high-tech boat – or flower garden or remodeled kitchen. Pick your item and imagine the triumph in your neighbor’s eyes, voice and body language. You would surely be a spoilsport to try to rain on his parade with any kind of negative or derisive comment. What a mean thing that would be! But imagine that you discovered that your neighbor had built his invention by first raiding his other neighbor’s savings account. His fabulous new gizmo no longer looks so fabulous to you and, you conclude, it is quite perverse that it looks fabulous to him. Sure, it is still something of a wonder – what a thing to create, to build. But it cannot be reasonably denied that the means by which the fellow got the thing done, namely, by robbing his other neighbor, cast a very serous cloud over whatever wonderful thing he made that way.
Well, that’s how I see all those fabulous achievements of NASA, including some of the American government’s space exploration. It is actually worse than that. Since most of those who take part in those ventures are completely oblivious to the venality of the means by which their projects get off the ground – how their funding is secured, how it deprives millions of citizens of various amounts of wealth from which they might have produced their own more or less fabulous creations – I am not only appalled at the viciousness of these celebrations but also at the rank moral ignorance of all those who go about the celebration without a clue as to its source.
It would, indeed, be more honest to witness at least some of the folks who come on television to proclaim the wonders of these achievements if they toasted the extortionist scheme that provided them with the funding. At least we would learn that these folks are aware of what they are doing, that they are vicious but not also stupid. Instead, however, they go about their celebrations blithely, as if nothing untoward had been involved in how it all came to be achieved.
I am by no means some kind of Luddite who thinks the great leaps of technology, including space explorations, demonstrate the sin of hubris on part of the human race. No, that ignorant scientists and technologists who can stand and cheer when a brilliant payload lands on Mars and sends back stunning pictures that tell us all kinds of stuff we could make use of. It isn’t even necessary in these cases to produce immediate utilitarian results – the feats in and of themselves, like those of other human adventures, are often sufficient to cause delight for most decent people.
However, when one knows that these feats are produced on the backs of millions of tax payers – folks from whom wealth is confiscated at the point of a gun, ultimately, and who might very well have had vital objectives to pursue with the aid of their wealth and were cruelly deprived of this – there is no way to take part in all the hoopla. In fact, witnessing the morally blind pride exhibited by all those scientists, engineers, and administrators is quite painful. I must deny myself the joy I know I would feel if the accomplishments had not had been fueled by blood money.
But, perhaps I am odd. When I run across the so called marvels of past civilizations in Europe and elsewhere, such as the palaces, cathedrals, pyramids, great walls, and magnificent monuments, I find it difficult not to reflect on the deliberate, utterly avoidable human devastation that it took to get many of these artifacts produced. I always ask myself how things would have gone had all those people who were conscripted to labor on all these wondrous creations had the chance to choose their own projects.
I realize, of course, that they would probably have squandered a good deal of their lives and resources but, then, I recall that their conscripted labor and resources also went to waste a good deal of the time – in the service of wars of conquest, subjugation or confiscation, or of idolatry and frivolity. And then I recall, too, that while perhaps some of these products of forced labor, just as the recent Mars landing of the unmanned space craft, were wonderful and even helpful, we will never know how it would have gone had individuals been left free to determine to what end to devote their own labors and resources.
And, of course, it is also worth keeping in mind that many of the fabulous achievements resulting from conscripted mass labor created environmental destruction, too, which the less grandiose, more modest voluntary projects of individuals and small groups of freely united humans tended to avoid. (Just think of TVA, the Interstate Highway System, the massive canal projects and damns around the globe.)
But, yes, some of these projects are wonderful. They are only made not so by the fact that their creation violated the most elementary principle of civilized human association, freedom of choice.
January 16, 2004
Tibor Machan [send him mail] holds the Freedom Communications Professorship of Free Enterprise and Business Ethics at the Argyros School of Business & Economics, Chapman University, CA. A Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, he is author of 20+ books, most recently, The Passion for Liberty (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003).
And just what do you think this is?
Haa, haa, haa... Rolling on the floor. Dang, you're good. You should take this show on the road. Better yet, really think through your position.
Conservatism is not a regelion with strick political conformity. I can still be a conservative even if I believe in the human spirit and its need to explore. The esence of human kind is that of an explorer and its need to face insurmountable odds. Do I believe in fisical responsibility, welfare reform, tort reform, lower taxes, stricter abortion laws, etc... yes to all. However, I will not give up SPACE and our need to grow as a race.
how their funding is secured, how it deprives millions of citizens of various amounts of wealth from which they might have produced their own more or less fabulous creations –
There is a certainly a way definitely to put the lie to this pile of steaming dung... Every time I suggest it to a socialist of any party, they blanche. So here it is again...
Let the social losers who get themselves elected set the tax rate to any level they want.
Let the taxpayer (that would be me) choose from a limited list of destinations that my tax would go to fund, including space exploration, and everyone would be happy. I could choose all of my taxes to go to space exploration, and the big mouths could choose theirs to be spent on other losers' notion of what constitutes ... their own more or less fabulous creations –. Democracy writ large. Bring it on.
Nothing here says you shouldn't explore. It's who's paying for it that is in question. By all means let your spirit soar (whatever that means), but do it on your own dime. Ie Make space exploration dependent on voluntary contributions.
I'll bet if you had been President back in 1861 we wouldn't have a lot of the "problems" we have today, eh?
Dat chu chief Moose? Ah, the old liberal ploy - If somone disagrees with you then call them "angry" as in the DC sniper was an "angy white male" Sorry that BS doesn't fly. Try some other BS if you disagree with what I've said, or better yet try logic.
The difference between the space program and many other government programs is that this is worth doing. NASA's budget should be $100 billion a year, not $15 billion. Take the money from the new prescription drug welfare entitlement. They could be sending probes to other stars by now with today's technology.
Please explain what you mean in the context of my complaint about corporate welfare and unconstitutional wealth transfer otherwise known as the space program. I just can't see where you're going with this.
Oh now I understand! It's selfish of me to want to keep my money that I earned, but it's noble of you to want to take what I earned from me and spend it on something you like. I hear similar crap from every liberal tax and spend politician in Moscow Washington.
And you know there is dust and rocks on Mars? How is it that you were able to divine such a proclamation? Remote Viewing? Scrying into your crystal ball?
I'll state it again. How is it that YOU are able to _KNOW_ it's just dust and rocks? Is it just garden variety dust and rocks?
I think the definition of a liberal is a little more omplicated than that. We all (exept Libertarians, I suppose) want to spend tax dollars (someone elses money) on what we consider good. The difference "What we consider good). Government builds roads, dams, tanks, the military, courthouses,arsenals, prisons and countless other items many true conservatives would consider good. The government also spends money on social programs and on transfer payments to people it deems more deserving, entitled or needy.
A more correct definition of a liberal would be one who believes the government should take money from taxpayers and transfer the money to others for the purpose of implementing social change, leveling of the playing field, or some other type of ultimate social justice.
I think a good way to determine if a government program is a liberal program is to determine if it has a social agenda attached to it. For example, government sponsored anti-smoking ads have a substantial social agenda component and as such are supported by liberals. The building of a road has a much smaller social agenda attached to it and is usually supported by conservatives.
You obviously believe the government has no business in space exploration. I do not see a strong presence of a social agenda attached to NASA, so it bothers me less than welfare payments, for example. If you are against all government spending, your'e not a conservative but a Libertarian.
DUH, because the last two landers showed rocks and dust? Because it looks like exactly like rocks and dust? Because we have rocks and dust here, and the whole solar system was made out of the same stuff? Because there isn't any logical reason to think it's green cheese? Because those meteorites that land are rocks?
Because I don't give a flying $hit if rocks and dust on Mars look a little pinker than rocks and dust here and if you care so much why don't you spend all of your money to find out, but let me spend mine on what's important to me. I could have a mighty fine telescope for the money of mine that has been squandered by NASA over the last 20 years.
I see logical discourse isn't your strong point. Now not only are those who disagree with you "angry" but Whiners as well. And if I don't like something I should move. Sorry, that doesn't work either, but by all means since you seem to think that the more government taxation and spend there is the better, why don't you move. I think Cuba would be the perfect place for you.
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