its ok if you're in charge

ITS OK IF YOU’RE IN CHARGE


I love the moral high ground being taken recently. The scramble up to the top of Mount Righteous is so severe that those of us on the bottom are being showered with debris. Naturally this pisses us off so there is bound to be a bit of response. The issue is looting and resource theft. The crucifix brigade has taken the lead in denouncing this of course. Unless there is a 99% die-off, we are to assume that anything nailed down or loose belongs to someone else and thus off limits. Beware those with a lot of gun and no food stores. It isn’t that I disagree with this. I don’t steal other peoples crap and I don’t expect them to steal mine. But the question turns from black and white into grey when you go from a micro to a macro perspective. When individuals steal or murder it is wrong and unjust. When the government does it it is taxes and defense.

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So my central question here is, when is it wrong for a person or group to steal and when does it fall under a government being created? There will never be a lack of government, only its form will change. I think it would really be cool to have an anarchist society, either now or post-apocalypse, but I think the odds of its success are slim to none. There might have been historic examples of anarchist societies in embryonic form, sharing many characteristics of the utopian ideal, but I don’t think it was ever a true reality. A tribal leader holding power only through unanimous consent is still a form of government since there is no reason to have one if it doesn’t hold some form of monopoly on force. When the Oil Age top down centralized governments start to collapse under resource scarcity, medieval forms of rule will reemerge. Government will shrink in geological area but not in scope. So, how do these new forms of government emerge? Do the old rulers wave their righteous wand of governance and degree that henceforth Bobbi Lee and his band of Merry Men will rule their fellow man? Of course not. Individuals and small groups will fight amongst each other for the right to rule. For the right to be the next king or prince or baron.

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In the very messy business of government metamorphosis there is bound to be two groups joining battle and each one of them is engaged in such nasty business as looting, kidnapping, theft, murder, shake-downs, bribery, etc. Criminal gangs do all of these things to survive and thrive. Even freedom fighters are bound to take what they need if it isn’t offered. When the dust settles and a victor emerges, they are the new government and rather than stealing they are taxing. Rather than murdering they are executing or defending the homeland. Rather than kidnapping for ransom they are incarcerating a non-taxpayer. But the losers are the ones looting and killing and stealing. This isn’t an amusing case of semantics. This is literally the legitimization of bad behavior by the victims. Why? Because in most cases the benefits outweigh the costs. The twenty percent paid to the government is much better than the 100% paid to the raider, with loss of life thrown in for good (bad ) measure. Victimization is excused and condoned as the lesser of evils. The price you pay to grow turnips.

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How can the same group that are criminals turn into saviors overnight? Victory. Everyone loves a winner and the two criminal gangs fighting decides who will be good and who will be evil. Or, more pragmatically, once a group has proven it is strong enough to protect you then you have no problem that it will exploit you. For the winning team this is a very sweet deal. Your victims not only condone your behavior they cherish it and think it is right, proper and just. So you see, I’m not disagreeing with the moral majority on looters and thieves. I will be right there with them hanging horse thieves and executing rapists. Unless of course I am on one of the two teams that is fighting to be that populations next government. I won’t know if I’m a criminal or a savior until the contest is over and I’ve won or lost. The odds aren’t bad, fifty percent either way. Which might explain why there is never a shortage of candidates. But think about it. You in the crowd, cheering on the execution of a band of desperados. That group could have been the very people you are gladly paying taxes to. And keep all this in mind when you are fighting criminals. Some will simply be thieves and are doing what they are doing out of simple survival or greed. But others will genuinely believe they are destined to be the next ruling class and they actually think they hold the moral high ground. You see them as murderers, they see themselves as trying to keep the peace. That distinction might be an important point to remember. You should know the motivation of your enemies.

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It is all well and good to recall the truism that the victors write history. But are you thinking on small enough terms with that? Are you applying it to the bandits attacking you? Or are you just thinking that the winner of a war changes the text books to reflect favorable on themselves? Think smaller. It might behoove you in your fight for survival.

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