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The Prosperity of Equality
Send to Kindleby Randy Gage
Today is the day in the United States when we honor slain civil rights leader, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Which makes it a good time to look at where we are at with human rights, and the role they play in prosperity.
There is a lot of mislabeling and misdirection going on in the debate. You hear talk about “Gay rights,” but there is no such thing. There are only human rights (although technically you could say individual rights). Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender people are not asking for “Gay” rights or any special rights. They are simply demanding the same rights that other people are getting.
When women in Taliban-controlled areas desire to get an education, they are not seeking “women’s” rights or special rights, simply the same basic rights provided by the other half of society.
Any law that discriminates against someone for any reason – sexuality, race, religion, age, etc. – is actually anti-humanity, and thus anti-prosperity. True prosperity is always based on people having freedom and being able to benefit from the fruits of their labor.
Likewise, collectivist philosophies such as Communism and Socialism are also anti-humanity, and thus anti-prosperity. When you take away the fruit of people’s labor by force for redistribution, it destroys innovation, free enterprise and the work ethic. While these governments are sometimes well-meaning, in actuality, collectivist policies actually hurt the poor the most, as productive people flee these economies for ones that reward incentive and work.
One of the reasons I state that the Libertarian party is the only one with a philosophy congruent with the principles of prosperity is because of its respect for human rights. The Libertarian philosophy holds that you have the right to do anything you want – provided it does not infringe on the rights of others.
All true prosperity is based on a value-for-value exchange. You create prosperity by adding value and solving problems, and a free enterprise structure best allows that to happen. This can only work however, if all members of a society are free, and have the same rights as every other citizen.
Suggesting that someone does not qualify for rights because of their sex, sexuality, religion, age, ethnicity or other label is nothing more than hate, judgment or intolerance – and these things have no place in a prosperous world.
Today we honor Dr. King and celebrate the progress we have made. Let us also focus on the progress still needed to be made, for all to live in a world of prosperity.
-RG
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9 comments
Very Well Said and Agree Completely... We ALL Want BASIC HUMAN Rights to Speak, Get education, Health Care, no matter what our Gender is or Sexuality is or where we Live....
The productive are actually discriminated against with these incremental tax systems. They pay a higher percentage on their income the more they make. Their rights are violated.
I have a dream...that one day the world will recognize with a Nobel prize award, those who teach and lead thousands of people around the world to achieving their dream lifestyle. My No.1 nomination for this award is...Randy Gage
Martin Luther King Jr. is my ultimate hero. I gave my son his middle name after him. I agree with your words about human rights, I agree with the Libertarians about peace and their anti war sentiments. I do however, feel sad Randy that you used a day like this to demagogue. I hope you listened to Obama's inaugural speech. I think he beautifully expressed the need for our socialist polices today. Not "Socialism" but our socialist policies such as social security and medicaid. He also indicated this may not be the way it will always be, but for now we need these socialist policies.
I agree the Communist countries and Socialist countries of today are largely bereft of human rights, but not entirely, and we the "USA" definitely have a way to go on the human rights front as well.
I hope we can all work together, and occasionally give value without an immediate expectation of return. You of all people Randy, you are one of the most giving people I know, and usually you never ask for anything in return. How do you reason that out? Don't you have cognitive dissonance on that subject? Anyway, value is a subjective matter, and I think it is difficult for us to even find the language to express certain kinds of value like love and grace.
Anyway, happy Martin Luther King Jr. day!
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@Annieb Working together is great. Giving without expecting immediate return is great. Turning up at someone's house with weapons demanding up to 8 months of their annual income not so great. What is immoral for a citizen to do does not become moral because they wear a badge. Would you personally go to a persons house in a "so called free country" with guns and use force or the threat of force to confiscate 8 months of their labour? I hope not! Putting a piece of paper in magic box also does make it moral either. In a free country people have the right to join together voluntarily an help each other and they also have the right to be left alone and not be looted or forced to work like the slaves for 8 months of the year. Slavery is when 12 months of income is confiscated and I hope we all agree that slavery is pure evil. 8 months slavery every year with 4 months freedom is not much better.
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Wonderful post! When we try to restrict the freedom of another, we restrict our own as well. My wish is to live to see a world jn congruence with that philosophy, and contribute to it in kind. Much love rocksta - xoxo
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Well, said, Randy! Rights are for the individual, not a clump of people that have been lumped together because they happen to share some feature (race, skin color, sexual orientation, etc.). You are right. Every person deserves to be able to live their life in the way they see best, without the initiation of coercion from others.
On this day when we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and the great legacy he left for us, we are reminded that the work is not completed yet. On some fronts, we are making progress, but we have a long way to go. Each individual needs to be treated with equal opportunity, not taking from anyone by force, and allowing all to live their own way, in their own style, as long as they don't interfere with the rights of others.
I think we call that "Live and let live."
Thank you for sharing this, Randy!
Terry Brock
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