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The Circular Drain of Vagueness that is the Phrase, "Private Property is Theft"

nathanweisserMar 30, 2018, 6:00:42 PM
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A lot of people who follow the ideology of Marxism believe that the root of all evil can be boiled down the exploitative nature of private property. Their idea has merit, because we face a problem on Earth: that there is a finite amount of resources, specifically land, and a potentially infinite amount of people to take up those resources. Therefore, by owning a stake in some of those finite resources, you are exercising exploitative practices over that infinite amount of people that need those resources and then must labor to get them from you.

So, a problem as been defined: finite resources, infinite populace.


The problem with Marxism, which I am using as a synonym for both Socialism and Communism, is that they try to solve this problem with bending the very fabric of nature around the fact that the problem exists, and seek to abolish the entire natural relationships of trade, voluntary labor, and currency to atone for the problem, instead of trying to solve the problem within the means of our reality.

Here's the memeable TL;DR of the point I'm trying to make:

"Private Property is Theft" is a paradox. The word "Theft", according to Marriam-Webster means, "the act of stealing; specifically : the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it". So, by merely using the word "theft" in your language, you have to cede to the reality that private (or personal) property is a fundamental right of the individual that is being stolen from.

I debate a lot on r/CapitalismVSocialism, (can't wait to not be on Reddit anymore) and you'll find that Marxists do take this belief to be the very center of their worldview. As a result of their entire worldview being boiled down to a paradox, they are forced into going into extreme vagueries every time they are confronted with an opposing view. It would be funny if it weren't so frustrating, because their vaguries are successful from time to time. Their step-by-step process to making progress goes like this:

1. Identify a problem inherit to reality

2. Staple that problem not on to reality itself, but on to people more successful than they

3. Get the whole world to recognize the problem

4. Say "it's this guy's fault", and watch the public feed.

Upon intense examination, you'll find this is also the method of progress taken upon in politics, on both sides. Shocker: it does whatever the opposite of progress is. When people see problems that are baked into reality, and instead blame them on individuals, the people collectively punish themselves and hinder progress.

So, the problem remains: finite resources; potentially infinite populace. How do we solve this with Capitalism?

Well, let's look at the problem objectively first. If you live in a big city, you might legitimately believe that we are running out of space. I live in Oklahoma, and I can tell you first hand that this is not the truth. All of the land is owned (if you include state-owned), but once that land is in demand for residential use, it becomes immediately available for that purpose, thanks to the immense profits that can be earned from developing non-developed land.

So, what happens when the only land left is land owned by the state? Now there's a problem we can fix. As cryptocurrency gains prominence, libertarian policies continue to be forwarded, and the size of government is shrunk, the government is going to have no choice but to sell that land to private owners to be able to continue operating. There's problem one fixed.

Next problem. What happens when there's no more land on Earth that isn't being used for essential purposes, or already has people living on it? Seasteading will become prominent, underground housing will become more prominent, and by that point efforts to colonize on other planets will have been far underway, if not already successful.

These advances are beautiful innovations of the future, but they will only happen if the people driving the innovations feel that they will be adequately compensated, necessitating the need for currency, trade and private property in a finite world. As soon as we step off this world, however, we begin to see a new frontier in the argument of private property: resources are no longer finite.

The universe is expanding constantly, showing us that there IS an infite amount of resources in the world. (or universe) The only thing that limits us from being able to take advantage of these unlimited resources is our own lack of innovation. So it's time to innovate, and make mad bank in the process.

So, I say to the Marxists, do you want to live in a defeatist world, where we have to deal with population control, scarce portions, and vague definitions? Perhaps it might interest you to take a serious look at my worldview: look with me at the nature of reality, and see it as a mountain you can begin to conquer. Fight self-defeating pessimism and look up.

Join me in making Earth as it is in Heaven.

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Thanks for reading. This is my first post on Minds, and I'm happy to be here and get involved. It's a great platform, and I'm excited to be a small part of the decentralization of speech. God bless.