September 8th, 2009

Dear Alarmist Fools; an open letter

I address those who are up in arms about our children hearing a speech from our president; especially those who have used their power to restrict others from hearing it. I address the false capitalists.

Let us assume for the purpose of this letter that the speech in question was a blatant and obvious pro-communist extravaganza. Of course, it's now coming out that the speech wasn't really like that at all (congratulations on making yourselves look like idiots), but nevertheless I will take all your worst fears as true, in order to better expose your hypocrisy.

You, false capitalist, pretend to advocate a free market, yet your actions only serve to insult it.

It is the great marketplace of ideas, property, and laws. Here, only the best earn the highest value. Only the market decides which are worthy. Free speech. Free market. Democratic governance. The trifecta of great civilization and perhaps the greatest combination of principles that society will ever know. It is fair, just, self-correcting, and self-improving. It thrives irrespective of the good or evil of its people or its leaders because it is above mere good and evil. It taps into the most fundamental and immutable core of the human condition and, from that, creates human productivity at its finest. Only through this rigor can we have the best ideas, the best products, and the best laws.

The great marketplace has its opponents, true: communism, totalitarianism, despotism. But the great marketplace does not fear them. It need not fear them. The superiority of the great market ensures its own survival. In the long run, a citizen will not choose to have his voice squelched and the truth hidden from him. A citizen will not choose to have his property arbitrarily controlled by another. A citizen will not choose to be fettered by unjust laws. Such things are only possible in a tyranny.

Tyranny and the forceful elimination of choice is the only true enemy of the great marketplace.

So let the communists and fascists spew their nonsense. A true advocate of the great marketplace does not fear this, no matter how loud or how frequent. They can scream at the top of their lungs for eternity if they like—the market will decide their worth no differently.

Let all ideas be heard. Only then can we be assured that we have true freedom of choice; true freedom in knowing that the spread of our potential choices are comprehensive. Only then can we be sure that the market has chosen appropriately; otherwise, one might doubt that the best choice had already been eliminated before the market even got a chance to look.

The best ideas are chosen because the market knows no other way than to choose the best. The worst ideas fall by the wayside all on their own. There is no need to waste one's effort on artificially shutting them out because these ideas, by their very nature and the nature of the market, shut themselves out. Yet there are individuals who attempt manipulate the marketplace anyway, because they fear ideas and, consequently, fear the truth. These are the tyrants.

The marketplace does not fear any idea: its very nature is to distinguish and evaluate all of them, no matter how good or bad or evil. The tyrant fears ideas because he fears that he is wrong. Or perhaps he knows that he is wrong and fears the truth will rob him of his power.

Why do you fear ideas, false capitalist? Why do you impose your power to prevent us, the market, from hearing ideas that you disagree with? Do you presume to know better than the market? Do you think the market needs your personal protection? Are you so afraid that the market might subscribe to an idea different from your own?

You insult the great marketplace in more ways than one, false capitalist.

You fear that merely hearing a speech will cause the consumers of the marketplace to abandon the market in favor of a communist economy. Do you really think us that naïve? Your underestimation of the judgment of the market is the first insult. Only a denier of the market could question it in this way; thus, you brand yourself a false capitalist.

Or perhaps you think that communism actually has merit. That perhaps the idea of communism is actually so good that it would naturally be picked as the best choice by the market. If that is the case, then how dare you call yourself a capitalist. You have no confidence in your own system and, worse, dismiss an opposing idea on the off-chance that it might even be better than yours. This is the second insult. If you're that insecure about capitalism being able to stand up for itself, then perhaps you're a communist after all. Defensible beliefs are the only ones able to withstand market competition. Defensible beliefs are the only beliefs worth having.

You take it upon yourself to decide whether an idea can be heard in the marketplace. You certainly have the arrogance of a tyrant. Rest assured, however: the market can decide what it wants without your help. And it will undoubtedly make better decisions than you ever will. Your attempt to blind the market with your own so-called wisdom is the third insult. Your use of force to eliminate choice from the market is the hallmark of a dictator. Of authoritarianism. Thus, you brand yourself a tyrant.

Furthermore, while you think that you defend capitalism by suppressing communism, you undermine the capitalist system. The market can be assured of making the best decisions because it allows all ideas to compete with one another. We know that even the losing ideas had their chance and failed. However, if it were discovered that one idea never had the opportunity to compete, the entire result is called into question. What if that one restricted idea was actually the best one? We can't know because it did not get tested by the market. A great man once said that we only chose democracy because we tried every other form of government and they were worse. We can only be assured of our current position if we know that it has prevailed against all other candidates, on their merits, and without handicaps. How meaningful is a foot race victory if you cripple one of your opponents before starting? Your misguided "defense" of capitalism only serves to weaken its foundation and cheapen its success. This is the fourth insult.

Lastly, you seek to manipulate the market through the use of force, rather than competition. A true capitalist revels in competition, seeking to earnestly convince others that his position is the most superior. At the same time, the true capitalist understands that the market's ultimate choice, while it might not be his own, is indeed the optimal choice for the market, given that competition was truly free. In contrast, one who forces others into a particular viewpoint, or obstructs them from evaluating other viewpoints, cannot be a true capitalist. Rather, this behavior is that of communists and fascists. This is the fifth insult. You think yourself capitalist by acting against a communist speech, yet all you've done is act the part of a tyrant. You are more communist than any speech could ever be.

A true capitalist is confident in his viewpoint. He knows that the great marketplace will prevail against all opposition, without any need for manipulation. After all, what good is the market and its decisions if both are fundamentally tainted? You, false capitalist, have been blinded by labels to the point where you forget what the market really means. You forsake the market in order to gain your petty "victory" over another idea and you only do this to satisfy your pathetic insecurity. The free market and free exchange of information will trample you. Your hypocrisy is already exposed for everyone to see. Do not insult the market, false capitalist. Do not fear ideas, for they are nothing so damaging as your attempts at tyranny. Do not "fight communism" by acting like a communist yourself.