What would I even call this?

I'm very tired and will probably question this in the morning, but I want to get this out. Sometimes I just really don't understand my mother.

This probably doesn't seem surprising but I feel (special pleading alert!) that my situation is unusual. We're both INTJs, we're both fairly intelligent, but we completely differ in our approach to living.

In particular, I just can't seem to wrap my head around why she'll suggest one thing and then wonder how anyone could ever do something so stupid as what she suggested! It's like she's completely incapable of seeing how her own behavior prevents the very behavior she wants out of me.

All I want is to just be left alone long enough to get something done. That'll never happen. And then the damn fools will wonder why it never got done.

How anyone has a family and doesn't believe in laissez-faire is utterly beyond me.

Anti-Capitalism and Misanthropy

I've been reprising my summer job at a retail store over the holiday break, and naturally I've been just astounded by the ridiculous sorts and quantities of things that people buy. While I will admit that the store's prices are a lot lower for various reasons, I still don't see the reason why anyone other than a millionaire or newlyweds would buy so many lamps, vases, or plates, not to mention the endless stream of trinkets and doo-daas.

The work doesn't nearly approach occupying my mental capacity at all times, so in my mental meandering I realized something interesting. Hating commercialism is often an alternative to hating people, or more precisely, hating people's vapidity. All too many people think that commercialism causes the vapidity, when in reality, vapidity is what made commercialism possible in the first place!

Following this line of thought, we see that anti-capitalism on both the left and right (colloquially known as socialism and fascism, respectively) is a misanthropically-motivated desire to control people because they're obviously too stupid to run their own lives. Whether or not you believe that's true (I think in a lot of cases it is), that's no proof that you would be any better at the job. It certainly doesn't justify totalitarianism. That's of no consequence to the totalitarian, who believes himself—through the state—perfectly worthy of controlling other people.

The socialist anti-capitalist believes that if we can end capitalism, we can free people of their vapidity. The fascist anti-capitalist is more honest, believing that since people are vapid, we must control them through the state to subdue their vapidity. Europe's history of socialism and fascism in the 20th century should be sufficient evidence that neither approach will work.

Looking at my own political history, I see elements of both viewpoints. I hated industry like a good little ecosocialist, but in other ways could have been described at proto-fascist in my views. Fortunately I came around to see the folly of authoritarianism many years before I could vote, and learned some valuable lessons from it.

Creepertarian Pick Up Lines

For fun a few months ago I made up some "creepertarian"* pick up lines. They went over pretty well when I told people about them, so I thought I'd share.

• I think you just shifted my market equilibrium
• You're stimulating my private sector
• Let's increase aggregate demand by tearing off those clothes
• Looking at you shifts my demand curve
• I'm just thinking about the production possibility frontier if we had a merger
• If I weren't so convinced of the Non-Aggression Principle, I'd consider a hostile takeover
• I'd like to seize your assets.
• Is that bottom on the open market?
• Do you read Rothbard on the first date?
• Do you support private ownership of the means of reproduction?
• I'm usually for fiscal restraint, but I just can't control my outlays around you
• That butt is a positive externality
• If you were the market, I'd like to be equilibrium, so I could lie at the intersection of your curves
• I oppose all regulations that would limit the supply of you.
• I really had a scarcity of you in my life until just now
• Want to go create some market anarchy in the bedroom?
• Buying that outfit did more than just make GDP grow...

*Creepy libertarian, for those of you blessedly ignorant. The fact that we have a portmanteau for this should tell you how many there are.

New Blog

I went ahead with that idea of creating a writing blog. I'll try to populate it a bit over break. Link in my profile.

Datum

I'm thinking about spinning off another blog where I write fiction (both short stories and serials). Having somewhere to publish my stories might give me the added incentive to finish them. Then again, maybe not.

Anyway, it would probably be mostly hard science fiction mixed with some pro-capitalist political fics. Maybe a little fan fiction would show up. I might make some progress on that front over winter break. Two weeks from now I'll be home again. God, that seems soon.

It seems like all I write about on here is b-grade political rants. Maybe I should branch out?