Why It Always Ends in Exasperation

Every tyrannical government in history has ended in a whimper. This includes the first French revolution that ended with Robespierre getting his head chopped off. The violence of this act doesn't alter the fact that people were fed up to the point of being apathetic. Exasperated with the constant stream of edicts emanating from Robespierre's office, his guards finally had enough. Instead of following orders, they pulled him out of his chair and into the guillotine. The guards knew full well that the people at large were as exasperated as they were. There was little real danger in staging their coup.

This same sort of thing happened to Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife in Romania in 1989. They were taken out behind the shed and shot as if they were little more than two sick dogs. However, the end of tyranny is not always accompanied by violence. Soviet Union collapsed without any politicians being executed, and China has made a seamless transition from Maoism to Crony Capitalism. But exasperation was no less of a factor in these cases. People were fed up, and from that fact alone came changes for the better.

The underlying reason for this is that tyranny invariably adds complexity to our lives, and complexity has but one solution, namely a complete disregard for the complexity itself. While tyranny may be exiting to start with due to the tyrants ability to create excitement and commotion, it's tiring in the long run. The complexity of the rules and regulations emanating from the tyrant's office comes in addition to our day to day struggles. They bog us down. They come at a tremendous cost, both economic and mental.

This has all been on full display this year, with much excitement surrounding the flu this spring. There was a sense of urgency and danger. But this excitement has since given way to anger and frustration. We are currently at the stage where some people side with the tyrant, insisting that we must all comply, and others side with liberty, insisting that we must resist. We are caught up in politics, with both sides convinced that the solution is to be found through petitions and demonstrations. However, this is not where it will end. The end comes when people stop caring about politics.

The end to tyranny comes when people no longer care about the rules being issued. This is not the same as defiance, which requires a knowledge and a passion about the rules. It's more like apathy. It involves a vague understanding of the general rules, but no detailed knowledge. Central to this is a desire to make life simple. We long for simplicity and harmony in our lives, and tyranny is incompatible with this, so we ignore it.

The danger in this for the politicians is that the backlash will be severe. Once people realize that they can live their lives freer and more harmonious by disobeying tyrannical rules, they soon discover that they can disobey other rules as well. People will seek to escape the grip of the state altogether. Imagine the great relief it would be to avoid it. I've escaped, and I can assure my readers that it has been a great enhancement to my quality of life. I fill in no forms, I pay no taxes, I have hardly any bills to pay, and I pay very little attention to what the rules are. I live by the golden rule, and that's all I've ever needed.

My hope is that this latest overreach by government will prompt more people to do as I've done, and I'm optimistic about this. Everywhere I look, I see exasperation taking hold. This has not yet translated into the sort of constructive apathy that marks the end of tyranny, but it's on its way. We will soon see people ignore rules completely, to the point where people simply don't know what the rules are, and then we'll see people move farther towards liberty, not necessarily because they love liberty in itself, but because they realize that liberty is the system with the least amount of complexity associated with it. Overburdened by complexity, people will move towards liberty.

Execution of Robespierre

By Unknown author - This image comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID btv1b6950750j, Public Domain, Link

Moronic Behaviour of Epic Proportions

These are truly historic times. Moronic behaviour is on full display, with people eagerly begging to be tortured. They listen non-stop to propaganda, they wear their masks without objection, and if anyone steps out of line, they'll happily stand up and shout at them. It's as if we're willingly embracing in our own lives what we quite recently protested when done to terrorist detainees.

What makes this all the more shocking is the scope of compliance. There's hardly a dissident to be seen. It appears that the overwhelming majority of our fellow men are complete morons, unable to see the flu scare for the scam that it is.

While the flu looked like something to be feared back in February, it was clear from evidence available by early April that this was in fact a pretty harmless flu, not much different from the average seasonal one. With so much more evidence for this available today, there's no excuse for not knowing how harmless this flu is. Anyone still scared by this flu is therefore an unthinking moron, unable to separate propaganda from facts. 

Seeing the vast majority of my fellow men submit so willingly to propaganda is truly saddening. People I once held in esteem for being intelligent and learned have revealed themselves as little more than parroting drones. However, there's also a silver lining. It's now abundantly clear who's a moron and who's not. While some of my friends disappoint, others shine. There's definitely hope.

What's also clear is that those who spend their time out with friends rather than huddled down in front of the TV are by far the most sane and well reflected. This is irrespective of IQ and formal education. The biggest morons are just as likely to be well educated people as so called simpletons. In fact, my impression is that many simpletons are a great deal harder to convince of the supposed existential danger of this flu than are the learned.

Guantanamo Bay detention camp

By Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy - (copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Camp_x-ray_detainees.jpg so that the image can be used on Wikinews.), Public Domain, Link

The Complexity Solution

The solution to complexity is simplicity. However, many people fail to seek simplicity, so they get bogged down in needless complexity, which can in turn lead to all sorts of mental illnesses, as explained in this short YouTube video by Jordan Peterson.

Having gone through a deep depression myself back in the winter of 2016/17, I could immediately relate to Jordan Peterson's explanation. I had arranged my affairs in such a convoluted manner that it seemed close to impossible to sort it all out.

A big part of this complexity was due to the state and its demand on me as a tax donkey. I had constructed a complex scheme to subvert it. However, things started to unravel, and it was clear that I had to do something drastic in order to get out of the mess. This sent me into my depression at the precise moment I needed to concentrate fully on a permanent fix to my situation.

Luckily for me, I realized intuitively that the fix had to be simple. I gave up on my initial plan to add further complexity to stay out of the taxman's way. Instead, I decided to stand up to him by quickly moving all my assets into the hands of my children. Once this was achieved, my depression lifted, and things have become better ever since.

This experience, while specific to me, has some points to it that can be used by anyone suffering under too much complexity. One thing I realized early was that success could only be achieved through a fearless approach to the problem at hand. I had to play by my own rules, not the rules of others. If that provoked the ire of my adversaries, so be it. Toss me in jail if you have to, but I can't let you have your way with my assets and my life. I'd rather sit locked up a few months than comply.

This approach is not the same as standing up in defiance. The goal was not to provoke a conflict, which would only serve to further complicate my situation. The goal was to save my assets while simultaneously making things simpler for myself.

As it turned out, no negative consequences emerged. The taxman didn't come knocking on my door. What transpired was a radically more simple life.

The lesson from this is that the solution to complexity problems related to government mandates can be found in a quiet subversion of the system, especially in times of tyranny. Don't let others define our daily routines. Live life simply and with little direct conflict, but always in harmony with our desires. Don't add complexity to our lives in order to comply, and don't resist in a way that makes life more difficult. Be the fearless Stoic that lives and let live. If someone comes knocking on our door, let them do so. Never give up on life out of fear. The worst they can do is rarely more than a few weeks in jail, and the chances that they will in fact do this are slim.

Mask of the beast

Why Stocks are Unlikely to Hold Current Gains

The Dow hit 30,000 this week, which I interpret as a sell signal, because there's nothing healthy about the world economy. There's nothing holding this stock market up except money printing by the Fed. The current enthusiasm for stocks look very similar to what we've been seeing in Bitcoin, which appears unable to hold its recent highs, as predicted.

What makes the stock marked particularly vulnerable at this point is the great number of short term speculators currently in stocks. These are people who've been rushing into the market with the intention to make a quick buck on their stimulus checks. However, time is running out for these people. The money will have to be taken out of stocks to pay for more pressing matters, such as food and rent.

Another bad omen for stocks is that it has of late been trailing Bitcoin, making Bitcoin a leading indicator for stocks. What happens to Bitcoin will soon happen in stocks, and Bitcoin is down 15% from its highs a few days back. The reason for this link between Bitcoin and stocks is that Bitcoin and stocks are both risk assets, with Bitcoin being more risky than stocks. When the appetite for risk increases, this is first seen in Bitcoin and then in stocks, and the same happens when risk becomes less attractive. Bitcoin takes a dive before stocks.

There is also a perversity in the current market. Bad news have become good news to such an extent that things have to get even worse in order for stocks to keep their current gains. This is because the Fed's money printing has been driven by bad news. However, money printing results in price inflation if done in parallel with consumer confidence, so it has to stop if things get better. With 2020 being one of the worst years on record for the world economy, 2021 is unlikely to be even worse. Things are as good as they get for stocks at the moment. There's little room on the upside, and plenty of room on the downside, which makes now a good time to take profits.

Train wreck

By Photo credited to the firm Levy & fils by this site. (It is credited to a photographer "Kuhn" by another publisher [1].) - the source was not disclosed by its uploader., Public Domain, Link

An Irrational Fear of Death

Nobody wants to die, not even the suicidal or terminally ill. What everybody wants is life. So much is clear, and it may from this seem reasonable that we should all fear death, that the great scare that we are witnessing is a sign of emotional health, and that all of this is quite natural. However, life is not the opposite of death. It is quite possible to be alive but without life, because a life paralyzed by fear is not a life at all. This insight can be found in all great religions, past and present, and was particularly strong in old Norse mythology. In this mythology, an entire realm was dedicated to the spirits of people who never dared to live. This realm was called Hellheim, or simply Hell, a gloomy place with no joy and no laughter.

Norse mythology is full of fun and adventure, so much so that many react with disbelief when confronted with accurate translations. Where's the stern severity? Where's the gloom and doom? It's nowhere to be found, except in Hell and at the end of time when all Hell breaks loose and there's no alternative but to go out and fight as best we can.

This world view captures the spirit of the Vikings. They lived with adventure, which is in fact the only way to live life fully. But very few people live this way. Most people live in fear. They fear the taxman, they fear the police, they fear job loss, and they fear disease. The result of this is that many people don't actually live. Life is something that they plan to experience on the golf course when they retire. Life is in the future, and this is why so many fear the virus. They are petrified at the thought that they might die before they have lived. But with life always something kept for the future, none of these people will ever live, regardless of what happens, and that means that Hellheim is going to swell its ranks of graceless dead no matter what the virus brings.

Mask of the Beast

How to Retire Early

The problem with retirement is that most of us have no idea what to do with the free time that's suddenly available. This is true whether we retire early or not. However, it quickly becomes an existential issue for those of us who retire early. There's after all an alternative available to us. We can go back to work.

Without a plan for what to do with our time, we end up spending our days watching TV and surfing the net. But this is so mind-numbingly irritating that we quickly long back to the office where conversations were slightly less stupid. The urge to go back to work becomes strong. However, the office was no haven either. There was a reason why we longed for retirement in the first place. The problem was that we never reflected much on what to do once we finally had enough capital to retire.

This is why we should not only make a plan for how to reach retirement early, we need to have a vision of what we'll do once we're there. To help my readers come up with such a plan, I'd like to relay my own experiences, and what I've ended up doing as an early retiree.

When I first retired at the age of 47, I had the idea that I should learn a new trade. In my particular case, I saw myself writing novels. However, that proved much more difficult and tiring than I imagined. In the end, it proved a gigantic waste of time. I started instead to focus on things that truly interested me, and that proved much more fruitful. One thing led to another, and pretty soon I had a whole range of things to focus on. But the great break-through came when I discovered the pleasures of gardening.

Growing stuff, even if it's only on a balcony, can be fascinating. This I found especially true once I started experimenting with micro-composts. Suddenly, I was dealing not only with plants, but with an entire eco-system. The wellbeing of our plants became an integral part of our household.

Another thing that brings meaning to our lives is family and friends. Home-schooling our boy is an interesting activity. Talking to family and friends, thinking about their lives, and sometimes suggesting things that can be done, are all things that add meaning. The key word being love.

It's love that gives meaning to our lives, and love is closely connected to life. This s why we love gardening, we love being with people, and we love going for walks. There is also love in following a passion of some kind, discussing things with an intention to learn, and not merely to come across as noble and wise.

My life has greatly improved since I retired, and the way to this newfound happiness has been through love of the kind described above. Every day is a small adventure of little pleasures and experiences. We have pleasant little routines where we come together to have breakfast, lunch and dinner. We find ways to make the perfect meal, the perfect cup of tea, and the perfect cup of coffee.

I have my plants and micro-composts to tend to. There's always something interesting to learn related to science. There's home-schooling, trips to the beach, walks in the park, and all sorts of other little things. None of them very important, but all of them interesting and full of love. My life may seem insignificant to the casual observer, but it has an important place in the life of my nearest and dearest. Some of my stepdaughter's recent success has no doubt been due in part to my support.

There is happiness and love everywhere around me, and that is in the end all that matters. Focus on love, and everything else will follow. Life will be pleasant and full of success stories. The more we focus on love, the better things get.

It follows from this that it's a good idea to keep politics at a distance. Politics is mainly about ego and the will to subjugate others. It's the opposite of love and a sure way to become a grumpy old guy rather than the happy go lucky one that we all want to be. Focus on love, and everything will follow. Even ego will get its treat, because no success is greater than the sort of happiness and freedom that can be found through love.

Early retirement

Don't Organize into Groups

Freedom is a network. It follows from this that anyone interested in being free should pay careful attention to their network. We need to know who our friends and relatives are, and the best way to find out about that is by being our friendly old selves. The more healthy our network, the freer we can be, and the healthier everything becomes.

Another important, but less obvious, conclusion we can draw is that we should not organize into groups. We should tend our network, and leave it at that. The reason for this is that groups are hierarchical structures, easily targeted by those who might want to limit our freedoms. They also require a great deal of conformity, which goes contrary to the idea of freedom.

One of the great strengths of a network is that every node has its own qualities. There is no conformity and hence no simple template to use in order to identify nodes of a special kind. We are all different as individuals. This is the strength of the network.

I'm personally equipped with a quirky sense of humour and a rebellious contrarian view of the world. That's part of my uniqueness. It's my strength precisely because it's unusual and a little eccentric. For me to give up on this in order to conform to a group would reduce my personal sense of liberty while doing nothing to increase the strength of my network. It would likewise be a mistake to encourage people to do exactly as I'm doing. My style is personal to me. It should only be emulated by those who like to do so, and there's no point in me promoting this in any way. Far better is a situation where people are triggered into doing their own little thing to enhance their own autonomy and uniqueness.

Rather than organizing into groups, we should encourage everyone to be as true to themselves as possible, and the best way to do this is to lead by example. It's not our job to give everyone a template to fill in. It's our job to live our lives in liberty, and when this is picked up by others, freedom spreads through the network. If every liberty loving person manages to help two people in their network find liberty in their own lives, and each of these people manage to help two more, the network effect kicks in with autonomy and liberty popping up all over the place. The idea of liberty will spread without us ever organizing into any formal group.

The wonderful thing about this is that we don't have to sacrifice anything in order to spread liberty. The network does the job for us while we live our lives as freely as we possibly can.

Café de Flore

By Arnaud 25 - Own work, Public Domain, Link