http://www.ponerology.com/

What i have noticed is that the people that are, as you call it, in the ignorance motive, are often acting in their best interests as well.

The ideology motive is, in some cases the ignorance motive as well. They operate on what i call a shared ideology which ends up being a form of plausible deniability.

This same shared ideology is ofcourse passed on to the public through the media. Making them ignorant to the truth.

I see no conflict with libertarianism that a person either has the right to be a full-time drug addict or a full-time parent. Their children have rights too. And as individuals deserve food, clothing, shelter and a somewhat stable home environment free of indoor toxic clouds so that their future isn’t compromised by the recreational activity of their biological parents. There is certainly a private way to fund their foster care or adoption.

Government by definition is corrupt. Government makes the rules but does not live by them. It adjudicates in its own disputes. Government commands ‘Thou shall not steal’ but then taxes, confiscates through eminent domain, and robs via cartelized central banking. Government says ‘Thou shall not kill’ but then conscripts (another term for death sentence), and then decimates innocent foreign peoples.

In casual conversations (and in heated ones, too!!) most people will actually concede that government is harmful–whether by ignorance or malice– yet are unwilling to do anything other than stump for government’s next big role in all our lives.

Government by definition is corrupt. Government makes the rules but does not live by them. It adjudicates in its own disputes. Government commands ‘Thou shall not steal’ but then taxes, confiscates through eminent domain, and robs via cartelized central banking. Government says ‘Thou shall not kill’ but then conscripts (another term for death sentence), and then decimates innocent foreign peoples.

Through that awful mechanism called “democracy” the ability to commit atrocities is hyper-enhanced.
No individual may opt out no matter what her/his conscience says is right.

Government is opposed to the most basic rights of life, liberty and property. Any defense of government makes about as much sense as defending slavery.

The core problem is not that there are evil people in the world. There always have been and always will be evil in this world; that is just a condition of human life. The core problem is that we have an institution, the State, that maintains a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. That institution attracts evil people and gives them opportunities to act that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

Thus the only reliable means of checking and balancing these individuals is to not give them the opportunities in the first place; that is, eliminate the State and replace it with a non-monopolistic form of governance.

Easier said than done, I know. I’m not holding my breath while I wait. You have to keep the goal in mind, though.

Of course there are differentiating varieties of function, and those who exist outside of this symbiotic relationship and hope to exist as unmolested as possible in the cross tensions of ideologies. Unfortunately I see this disappearing soon and we will be pulled in one direction. History has shown when one ideology within this “insanity/superstition multi-function” pulls well ahead, that’s when we get gulags and camps and pyramids of human skulls.

No one has proposed a solution for this. I invite everyone one to address this question further to see how can people in office be checked and balanced for corruption.

No one has proposed a solution for this. I invite everyone one to address this question further to see how can people in office be checked and balanced for corruption.

Regardless of how they arrive at their evil state, whether from incorrect ideology (state is superior to individual), ignorance (lack of knowledge or understanding about the nature of freedom), or corruption (which I would hold also includes the fourth reason of the original post, but the satisfaction derived is not the monetary reward but the pleasure of inflicting misery), the person is indeed behaving evilly. People have a responsibility to understand the consequences of their actions, and the broader the scope of action the greater responsibility borne.

I am also with Hayek on the belief that if the power exists it will by its existance draw the “wrong” or evil people to exercise it. Again, it is implicit in the nature of power.

I think our dear leaders are much more narcissistic and delusional than they are psychopathic. Careers in public service select for people who believe that they can solve the world’s problems if given enough power. So they go to DC, where they’re immediately surrounded by lobbyists and sycophants who constantly tell them how wise and compassionate they are, because the lobbyists and sycophants want something from them. And over time they become convinced that they really are saving the citizenry from themselves (i.e., all those dumb taxpayers who can’t possibly decide for themselves how to conduct their lives). And because of this they start to believe that anything they do to hold onto power is justified by what they believe they’re doing for their country and its citizens.

On second thought, I think I just gave a dictionary definition of “evil”. Forget what I said earlier.

I think our dear leaders are much more narcissistic and delusional than they are psychopathic. Careers in public service select for people who believe that they can solve the world’s problems if given enough power. So they go to DC, where they’re immediately surrounded by lobbyists and sycophants who constantly tell them how wise and compassionate they are, because the lobbyists and sycophants want something from them. And over time they become convinced that they really are saving the citizenry from themselves (i.e., all those dumb taxpayers who can’t possibly decide for themselves how to conduct their lives). And because of this they start to believe that anything they do to hold onto power is justified by what they believe they’re doing for their country and its citizens.

On second thought, I think I just gave a dictionary definition of “evil”. Forget what I said earlier.

The government knows exactly what it is doing and is completely guilty of Murder-1 regarding our wealth, freedoms and well-being.

Cut that “we didn’t know” bullshit. The government completely knows what it’s doing and is 100% guilty.

Case closed !!!

Anyway, the real question is how do you protect yourself from these people who will sacrifice your freedom and devalue all your money for their own selfish needs?