From: Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 15:08:52 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: bloodlust or game-theory? (was Re: Alex le Heux)
In-Reply-To: <199708181919.VAA19973@xs2.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <19970819234915.63274@bywater.songbird.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



On Tue, Aug 19, 1997 at 12:26:57AM +0100, Adam Back wrote:
> 
[...]
> On AP/betting pools etc., politics and governments are all about
> force.  Why should governments have a monopoly on force?

By a reasonable definition whoever has a monopoly on force *is* the
government.  A rather significant body of history indicates that 
force monopolies arise spontaneously in any society.

[...]

> If you find your own government not extreme enough to feel comfortable
> evaluating net benefits to human happiness in removal of corrupt
> government officials, perhaps you would be happier evaluating societal
> benefits of theoretically removing some 3rd world countries more
> corrupt officials.
> 
> It's not bloodlust, it's game theory...

It's actually closer to a cult -- a small group with it's own shared
reality -- a reality quite at variance with societal norms.  The cult
has its own terminology, and an underlying dogma to which these code
words refer.  The cult has "special knowledge" that has been revealed
to them concerning massive changes that will happen to society --
changes that will usher in a new world order.  These changes may 
involve the world going through a cleansing fire of war of war and 
destruction. 

The members constantly reinforce each other's beliefs with stroking
messages -- eg:

    > >Congress was indeed a horrid idea.  We need no laws other that
    > > "do what you will as long as you don't physically injure, 
    > > or steal."  All else is congressional bullshit paid in 
    > > bloody tax money.
    >
    >Amen, brother.         

Certain of the members sport a messiah or a martyr complex.  It is 
also quite common for cults to call for arming the brethren against 
the coming struggle -- even the Heaven's Gate group apparently had 
stashes of weapons.

It's all so predictable.

-- 
Kent Crispin				"No reason to get excited",
kent@songbird.com			the thief he kindly spoke...
PGP fingerprint:   B1 8B 72 ED 55 21 5E 44  61 F4 58 0F 72 10 65 55
http://songbird.com/kent/pgp_key.html