GAMMA RATS
Against the backdrop of extreme political polarization, and with the Democratic Convention being held in Boston this week, we thought it would be appropriate to encourage readers to examine the fundamentals of their political leanings.
To that end, here are some useful definitions of political affiliations from Doug Casey's best-selling book "Crisis Investing for the Rest of the '90s".
"The terms liberal (left) and conservative (right) define the conventional political spectrum; the terms are floating abstractions, with meanings that change with every politician.
"In the nineteenth century, a liberal was someone who believed in free speech, social mobility, limited government, and strict property rights. The term has since been appropriated by those who, although sometimes still believing in limited free speech, always support strong government and weak property rights and who see everyone as a member of a class or group.
"Conservatives have always tended to believe in strong government and nationalism. Bismarck and Metternich were archetypes. Today's conservatives are sometimes seen as defenders of economic liberty and free markets, although that is mostly true only when those concepts are perceived to coincide with the interests of big business and economic nationalism.
"Bracketing political beliefs on an illogical scale, running only from left to right, results in constrained thinking. It is as if science were still attempting to define the elements with air, earth, water, and fire.
"Politics is the theory and practice of government. It concerns itself with how force should be applied in controlling people, which is to say, in restricting their freedom. It should be analyzed on that basis. Since freedom is indivisible, it makes little sense to compartmentalize it, but there are two basic types of freedom: social and economic. According to the current usage, liberals tend to allow social freedom but restrict economic freedom, while conservatives tend to restrict social freedom and allow economic freedom. An authoritarian (they now sometimes class themselves as 'middle-of-the-roaders') is one who believes both types of freedom should be restricted.
"But what do you call someone who believes in both types of freedom? Unfortunately, something without a name may get overlooked, or if the name is only known to a few it may be ignored as unimportant. That may explain why so few people know they are libertarians.
"A libertarian believes that individuals have a right to do anything that doesn't impinge on the common-law rights of others, namely force or fraud. Libertarians are the human equivalent of the Gamma rat, which bears a little explanation.
"Some years ago, scientists experimenting with rats categorized the vast majority of their subjects as Beta rats. These are basically followers, who get the Alpha rats' leftovers. The Alpha rats establish territories, claim the choicest mates, and generally lord it over the Betas. This pretty well corresponded with the way the researchers thought the world worked.
"But they were surprised to find a third type of rat as well, the Gamma. This creature staked out a territory and chose the pick of the litter for a mate, like the Alpha, but didn't attempt to dominate the Betas. A go-along-get-along rat. A libertarian rat, if you will.
"My guess, mixed with a dollop of hope, is that as society becomes more repressive, more Gamma people will tune in to the problem and drop out as a solution. No, they won't turn into middle-aged hippies practicing basket weaving and bead stringing in remote communes. Rather, they will structure their lives so that the government--which is to say taxes, regulations, and inflation--is a non-factor. Suppose they gave a war and nobody came? Suppose they gave an election and nobody voted; gave a tax and nobody paid; imposed a regulation and nobody obeyed it?"
So, for those of you who feel the need to fit your WWNK editors into a slot, feel free to call us gamma rats or libertarians--just don't call us after dinner.
--- Doug Casey
InvestorsInsight Publishing, Inc. 14900 Landmark Blvd, Suite #350, Dallas, Texas 75254.
(c) Casey Research, Inc. 2004 |
