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Giuliano Taverna

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The notion of determinism
« on: May 18, 2009, 07:40:28 pm »
The notion of determinism

Understanding the world view of libertarians, socialists, and republicans

By Giuliano Theodore Taverna

The notion of determinism, or that the actions and life of individuals are governed by forces beyond their control is incompatible with the belief in liberty. If the natural state of humanity is that of willing obedience to the whims of fate or the actions of society, we must conclude that representative government is incompatible with human nature. Thus if determinism is the mode of existence, the best form of government would be totalitarianism. As the people are but the slaves of fate, it follows that their government should mirror the natural system.  A government which does not follow natural law will be overcome, just as if one were to charge up a swiftly flowing stream, and be overcome by the force of the current.

Determinism is the basis of progressivism. The idea that people are not in their current position as a result of their own actions, but rather as a function of the hand fate deemed to deal them. Therefore we must conclude that the best progressive is a dictator. Indeed all progressive regimes have had strong centralized governments. Mussolini’s Italy, FDR’s America, Hitler’s Germany, and Stalin’s Russia were all the epitome of centralized nations, lead by a charismatic leader, who strove for their own version of progress. These régimes are characterized by the creations of scapegoats, enemies responsible for the determining of the path that progressivism seeks to alter. To Mussolini it was the barbarians who oppress the roman people, to FDR it was the robber barons and the failure of unfettered capitalism, to Hitler it was the contamination of German society by nationless ethnic groups, Jews, slaves, gypsies, and people deemed not worthy of life, homosexuals, mental patients, and those who did not adhere to the Aryan racial profile.  All these régimes came to an end, with varying degrees of time and abruptness. Italy and Germany ended suddenly and violently. America and Russia however slowly evolved away from their form of progressive totalitarianism but never quite abandoned it as a concept or as an underlying principle of their governments. Hence while the specter of fascism has been eliminated, that of socialism remains and threatens resurgence.

All of this goes against the concept of humanism or free will. The idea that one’s destiny is in their hands, and that everyone will be awarded the place in society that they chose for themselves. The natural extension of this world view in regards to government would be libertarian. These libertarian ideals of individual liberty, social mobility, and justice are based on the notion that men are naturally free, and a government ought to protect these, god given inalienable rights. Furthermore that a government based on this will be best capable of surviving and prospering as it conforms to the way in which nature governs people.

Based on this concept I surmise that a determinist must be a totalitarian, and a humanist must be a libertarian.  However anyone who believes actions are based on a mixture of things beyond ones control, and of things within ones control should favor a mixture of central government, and individual liberties, or to put it in political terms, favor a federal system of republican government. It should go without saying, that I am a republican federalist. Not a libertarian and not a progressive. The extremist positions are as always right about something’s, and wrong about others. In general these things have more than one cause. Social injustice in my view is both a function of fate, and of personal responsibility. Thus limited social safety nets with strong property rights should be applied in place of a radical collectivist view, or a radical individualist view. The world is neither totally humanist, nor totally determinist, thus the world should neither be totally libertarian nor totally socialist.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2009, 06:28:42 pm by Giuliano Taverna »
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