The most insidious form of servitude is that where the slave is kept unaware of the weight of his own chains. Ours is a democratic republic and such a system can devolve into tyranny if the citizens aren't constantly alert. Remember, one form of democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.

I get it. However, we give them our production and that is what keeps them in power with the ability to decide the winners and losers instead of the free market. It won't stop until we stop it.

You play the game with the cards you have in your hand. Big government is an unfortunate reality and exists because people with a thirst for power see to it that they are in charge. I would like to see a fully private space industrial society with no desire or need for government support. Something along Heinlein's vision would be nice. Maybe, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance are steps in that direction. There is lots of money to be made in space industrialization and keeping government out of it will be a constant battle.

So your client "company" agrees to benefit from Musk's looting. Not admirable.

Federal banks have been looting in this way since 1913.

When you build something that only works when you rob others to sustain your failing idea then everyone suffers the disappointment of supporting a failed idea. It is not a matter of being perfect and promoting something you are excited about by plundering others does not make it moral or a good idea.

That was exactly my own thought when I saw the topic line; Stadler is the closest archetype I could envision.

anarchy has its problems securing human rights, but I am impressed by the argument that "authority" is so easily morphed into oppression that private solutions to protecting human rights might in fact be more effective than what we have now or what has existed in the past in the world run by "governments"

I am re-reading Heinlein's Starman Jones, and it has frequent references to the conditions of near anarchy in colonies on planets in far away star systems. Distance from authority makes freedom more likely.

Thanks for the suggestion. I am not in the market for speakers at present tho, so I will pass.

Jim

True statement! Musk can only make his money by taking money from the government, hence, a classical definition of a "Crony-capitalist" (you know, like GM, GE, etc.)....

Off topic, term, I was surfing craigslist and see a pair of used DCF Timeframe speakers in Vegas if you have any interest. I'd buy em if I was in Vegas, but your tastes may differ from mine;^)
https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/ele/d...

THE WEST on Netflix goes into the story of how our govt Went on a relentless push to expand our borders with little regard for the constitution. Just like any other aggressive statist country. Pretty sordid past actually

You asked, " Could we ever write a constitution that didnt morph into a statist document like ours has?" Lysander Spooner would say no: Spooner was a very interesting and colorful lawyer in the 1800s who developed a successful, cheaper mail service before the government shut him down: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysande...
You can read Spooner's No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority here https://www.lewrockwell.com/1970/01/l... or watch a video of it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G82sz...

True

No, he is James Taggert.

I will read it. Thanks.
To answer your question, if people ignore the reasons behind the limits of the original constitution and make changes without knowledge of the issues that create the need for the limits, then there is little hope for constitutional limits being retained. People are convinced that "its different this time", but it rarely is different. Power corrupts. Always has. Likely that it always will.

If he had Galt-style technology and Galt-style genius and Galt-style ethics and integrity, he wouldn't be Elon Musk. He'd be a producer, not a looter. ;^)

I just finished 'THE MOST DANGEROUS SUPERSTITION" Have you read that? He promotes anarchism, which has really got me thinking. Could we ever write a constitution that didnt morph into a statist document like ours has?

There are some good mining stocks in south america that looked good in AS too. Once his government favors run out, his companies will be in trouble

he is smart, adventurous, takes chances, and lives off government favors. But in a statist environment like we have now, what can we expect. Its unlikely there would ever be a TESLA car given all the regulations, required permissions, and financial dealings that go on today if he tried to do it GALT-style completely on his own.

I can see how those "many" find it disappointing. But let's not continue and end up justifying the Clinton Foundation by accident.

In our current world civilization is driven by politics. We put our faith in people that claim to want to make the world a better place but whose real goal is the acquisition of power. Political power is insidious because the only talent necessary to achieve it is the ability to deceive. A capitalist knows how to profit from circumstances even when those circumstances are the product of a flawed or corrupt system. Such people may have ethical shortcomings but they are the people that make the world work.That is disappointing to many.

As a capitalist I view the space program as belonging to whomever is willing to put their money where their mouth is. Then it moves on from being a "program" to an enterprise. Space industrialization holds the promise of an economic revolution that will make the industrial revolution look like a child's toy.

Belongs to the person who invents warp drive and controls force of gravity so star ships don't pulverize the people in them. Lets go!