About this Episode
Prominent anarchist activist and author Larken Rose joins Craig for a lively discussion on deprogramming people from the cult of statism. People are mostly inherently good at heart but have been indoctrinated from a young age to believe that government is a legitimate authority. Larken Rose makes a clear case for the immorality of government. Larken and Craig discuss how to engage statists using methods designed to combat their cognitive biases and awaken their inner anarchist.
Government preys on people's fears to keep them voting for corrupt politicians' forcible domination of their neighbors. To keep the rules, the ruling class (politicians) have enforcers (police) empowered to engage in acts of violence that most voters would bulk at committing against another human beings. Thus, when Christians vote, they are unwittingly breaking Jesus' golden rule and doing to others the exact opposite of what they want to have done to themselves.
Christians should be the most suspicious of the state as it is a competing religious entity with all the rituals, fancy buildings and pomp. But unfortunately, some Christians strongly believe in the state and its illegitimate rulers even more than they believe in Jesus. These Christians need to be gently shown the contradictions in their beliefs and that when they advocate for a human ruler, they advocate for the subjugation of themselves and their neighbors. True followers of Jesus should see that Christianity and the cult of statism oppose each other, but Christianity and anarchy are not mutually exclusive.
Larken Rose:
Episode Timestamps:
4:17 – About Larken Rose:
Taught to doubt and debate ideas from a young age
Began trying to decide what a legitimate or moral government looks like
Accidentally fell off the political spectrum
Realized that 'legitimate government' is an oxymoron
Government has no special power to rob or legislate
Assumes people have consciences and can distinguish right from wrong
That's why he's an anarchist
Doesn't care what people say they believe about religion
How they treat other people matters
Do they abide by the non-aggression principle?
If the government disappeared suddenly, Larken would prefer to be around Christian Statists than some atheist anarchists
They are nicer people without the political monstrosity
The quality of people matters most
16:09 – What currently ails the world?
People have been taught to believe that when evil is committed by government authorities, it is no longer evil
Individuals are tricked into cheering for evil
Even Hitler, Stalin and Mao
They fall for the false god
Because their fears are played on
Christians gloss over Matthew 20:25-28
24:33 – How to awaken someone else's inner anarchist
People know the corruption of government but try not to know at the same time
Larken Rose asks others to be personal, literal and specific while asking questions about why they need the government
If they respond, "protect the innocent"
Larken asks, "If I found a more efficient way to protect the innocent and refuse to pay for police. What should happen to me?"
They get uncomfortable as Larken asks them to be specific about what should happen.
They don't want to blurt out the violence of government
No arguing is required
Because if they advocate for a government they are advocating violence against peaceful citizens
Wanting to "help the poor" is no longer fluffy-sounding goodness
Should only the state have all the guns?
No one wants to admit the violence they condone
They don't dare look at the conflicts in their beliefs
We need to lead them to the cognitive dissonance
41:36 – Don't do unto others what you don't want them to do unto you
Literally every voter does exactly what they don't want the other side to do to them
Democracy is the best trick tyrants ever came up with
It makes people mad at each other
It makes people consent and vote for evil
Politicians are all feasting together and laughing at your fears
Did you just enable evil?
The other bad guy option is irrelevant
You cheer for your own subjugation
You victimize everybody when you vote
Jesus advocated serving others not lording it over them
The Soviet Union, China and North Korea are all Constitutional Republics and have their own Bill of Rights
It's wrong to ask someone else to commit evil for you
Everyone who votes is a hypocrite without knowing it
They vote for others to do things they know would be wrong if they did it themselves
They are not going to go door-to-door to rob people to give to the poor
54:39 – Statism is a religion
It has rituals, ceremonies, grandiose halls, pomp and tradition
Voting is just choosing your new god
The pieces of paper are religious texts
Government authority is not a real thing
Pledging allegiance in churches doesn't happen in other nations
Vaccines in churches
It's frustrating to try to talk people out of their programming
Need to use cult deprogramming tactics
Belief in government is a cult
They don't realize they hold a faith
If people were living in a free society and someone came along and suggested we give them the power to forcibly rob and dominate we would say, 'no'
But every election comes down to, 'give me power over you and everyone you know'
People become violent if you dare bash the pledge of allegiance or trample on the flag
Belief in government is a faith; not practical or logical
People are trained to pledge loyalty to the authoritarian rulers of the US
People are horrified if you admit to being unpatriotic
Some Christians will become more upset when they hear, "I don't believe in government"
then when they hear, "I don't believe in God"Government is what they really believe in
Sometimes you need to offend people to shake them out of their indoctrination
1:08:28 – Government: The largest gang
Without government, there would still be bad actors, but they would not be able to marshal the firepower that governments have
People feel morally obliged to give them their extortion fees
All of the governmental power comes from the people they duped
Taxpayers and enforcers
Congressmen will not come to try to take your money personally
They use it to make nuclear warheads and tanks
Corporations cannot make us buy their products; if they tried, people would wipe them out
No gang can enslave the population of the US
Larken Rose is optimistic
If people start ignoring the government and human rulers, the government is done
The evil people are way outnumbered by good
Rulers are just people
1:18:07 - Religion and anarchism are not mutually exclusive
People can use gods to justify violence against others or as a standard to live by
Government can never be legitimate, but belief in god is not automatically bad
Not automatically authoritarian
Religion has been used in the past to create authoritarian rulers too
If society's standard is not initiating violence against others, that will allow peaceful co-existence
It allows friendly discussions on all sorts of topics
Christians have a reason to identify as anarchists: Jesus Christ
Christian, who do you pay tribute to? Whom do you ask to save you from your enemies? If its people in Washington, you need to consider who your god is
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