Freedomain Radio - Stefan Molyneux - The State as Family
Aired: 2019-07-13
Duration: 06:10


=== Obedience or Exit (04:44) ===

[00:00:01]  Most kids want stuff.
[00:00:04]  Toys, candy, electronics.
[00:00:06]  And of course they want their parents to pay for it.
[00:00:10]  They have the idea that daddy and mommy just sort of have money.
[00:00:17]  If you ask most little kids where that money comes from they will say daddy works or mommy works but they don't really get it.
[00:00:24]  They don't really think about the future or deferring gratification.
[00:00:29]  And they really don't understand what it means in the long run if their parents go into debt.
[00:00:38]  Most voters want stuff.
[00:00:40]  Pensions, health care, welfare.
[00:00:43]  And of course they want the government to pay for it.
[00:00:46]  They have the idea that politicians just sort of have money.
[00:00:52]  If you ask most voters where that money comes from they will say uh... my taxes but they don't really get it.
[00:00:59]  They don't really think about the future or deferring gratification and they really don't understand what it means in the long run if their government goes into debt.
[00:01:12]  Parents often say that their kids should obey them because they pay the bills and in particular own the house.
[00:01:19]  As long as you live under my roof, you'll live by my rules.
[00:01:23]  If you don't like it here, feel free to leave.
[00:01:26]  Of course, it's very hard for children or teenagers to leave home, so the threat is fairly empty, but it seems to squelch debate anyway.
[00:01:35]  Patriots often say that citizens should obey the government because it provides services and, in particular, because it runs the country.
[00:01:42]  If you live in this country, you obey the rules.
[00:01:45]  America, love it or leave it.
[00:01:49]  Of course, it's very hard for people to leave a country and go where?
[00:01:53]  To another tax cage?
[00:01:56]  So the threat is fairly empty, but seems to squelch debate anyway.
[00:02:02]  In general, parents will take feedback from their children, but kids don't get any kind of binding vote.
[00:02:10]  Parents also often bribe children to comply and punish them if they disobey, neither of which is any kind of rational argument.
[00:02:21]  Governments will take feedback from their citizens, but citizens don't get any kind of binding vote.
[00:02:27]  Governments also bribe citizens to comply and punish them if they disobey, neither of which is any kind of rational argument.
[00:02:37]  Children who are spoiled with appeasement and unrealistic expectations will throw temper tantrums whenever their bribes are limited in any way.
[00:02:48]  Government dependents who are spoiled with appeasement and unrealistic expectations will throw temper tantrums whenever their bribes are limited in any way.
[00:02:59]  Patriotic propaganda explicitly references the family and uses parental metaphors all the time.
[00:03:08]  The Founding Fathers.
[00:03:12]  The Department of Home Land Security.
[00:03:16]  The Fatherland in Germany.
[00:03:19]  Mother Russia.
[00:03:21]  The Strict Father Republican and the Caring Mother Democrat.
[00:03:27]  Uncle Sam and Home Rule.
[00:03:31]  Soldiers are Brothers in Arms.
[00:03:36]  Stalin was father of the country.
[00:03:38]  Mao was the father of the Chinese Revolution.
[00:03:42]  And what's more American than mom and apple pie?
[00:03:47]  Just look at the parallels.
[00:03:50]  My country, right or wrong.
[00:03:52]  And blood is thicker than water.
[00:03:57]  The arguments are almost identical.
[00:04:01]  If you receive government services, you owe obedience to the government.
[00:04:05]  Just as if you take food and shelter from your parents, you owe obedience to your parents.
[00:04:11]  Your parents own the house, so you have to obey them or leave.
[00:04:16]  The government owns the country, and so you have to obey it or leave.
[00:04:23]  These arguments make no sense!
[00:04:26]  But we all hear them a thousand times from our parents, so when politicians repeat this crap, it's almost impossible to resist because it's been so deeply ingrained in our brains.
[00:04:38]  This is why people take politics so personally, because they're really talking about their families.

=== People's Political Lens (01:23) ===

[00:04:46]  Numerous studies show that political biases tend to occur at the unconscious level, in patterns formed during early childhood.
[00:04:56]  Don't you see the pattern?
[00:04:59]  The government is an effect of the family.
[00:05:06]  People try to change governments all the time, from the top down, using politics and laws and lobbying and voting, and it never really works.
[00:05:15]  If you want to change the government, change the family.
[00:05:21]  If you want a more peaceful society, have more peaceful families.
[00:05:28]  Very, very few people can view politics outside the lens of their own family histories.
[00:05:40]  Children eventually grow up and understand working, salaries, income and debt.
[00:05:48]  Most voters never do.
[00:05:53]  Most voters view government finances the way a five-year-old views his parents' money.
[00:06:01]  And the reason for that is simple.
[00:06:06]  Government schooling starts around the age of five.