0:03 - Introduction to Empires
4:48 - Productivity and Its Consequences
8:56 - The Cycle of Wealth and Tyranny
10:05 - The Emergence of Free-Range Empires
12:09 - Towards a Truly Free Society
"Statism is Dead, Part 4: Free Range Empires and the End of Farming" explores the rise and fall of empires throughout history and unveils a recurring cycle that underpins their trajectory. Molyneux begins by referencing ancient empires, such as the Persian, Assyrian, and Roman, discussing how they established significant technological advancements and economic growth which, over time, gave way to increased taxation and ultimately led to their collapse. He delineates a clear cycle: increased liberties lead to technological progress and wealth, which in turn facilitate higher taxation, expanding the state and, consequentially, increasing tyranny. This cyclical pattern has repeated through history, prompting the reflection on the nature of statism itself.
The lecture juxtaposes the historical context of past empires with modern counterparts, including the Ottoman, British, and American empires. Molyneux argues that as empires grow, they tend to progressively expand their governmental reach, resulting in societal tyranny. He illustrates the stamina and vulnerabilities of historically significant empires such as the Roman Empire, which experienced significant advancements yet fell due to unsustainable tax burdens that drove citizens away from the cities and eroded the empire's economic base. This results in a poignant analysis of the relationship between freedom, productivity, and the eventual taxation that leads to systemic collapse.
Molyneux employs metaphors, such as that of a chicken farmer, to elucidate his point further, detailing how increased productivity does not equate to a reduction in labor or tax burdens but rather serves as collateral for expanding debt and state control. He draws parallels between livestock farming and contemporary governance, arguing that a productive society invariably fosters an environment that results in increased enslavement of its citizens through taxation and state control.
In the latter parts of the lecture, Molyneux addresses the implications of technological advancements in modern society, highlighting how the income and productivity gains associated with the agricultural and industrial revolutions have not translated into benefits for the average citizen since the onset of the technological revolution. Instead, he asserts that governments have monopolized the wealth generated, stymying real wage growth and contributing to escalating national debts. This highlights a critical vision of a state where increased freedoms ironically lead to greater despotic control.
Towards the conclusion, Molyneux introduces the concept of a "free-range empire," characterizing contemporary political structures that enable indirect control and exploitation without direct ownership. He draws a stark distinction between traditional forms of enslavement and the modern complexities of governance that extract tribute through subtle yet omnipresent threats of violence and financial manipulation. Molyneux posits that the American empire operates under principles reminiscent of a free-range narrative, suggesting that while it may seem more benign than previous models, it too is bound to the cycle of collapse due to its statist tendencies.
The lecture concludes with a call to action for the creation of a truly free society, one that breaks free from the destructive cycles of tyranny that have plagued previous empires. Molyneux encourages listeners to explore foundational philosophies of personal and political liberty, advocating for a societal transformation that transcends the limitations of state control. He invites contemplation of fresh paradigms of freedom that could usher in an era devoid of the cyclical violence and oppression associated with historical empires. By inspiring ideological movement toward non-statist structures, he ends on a hopeful note that such transformations are both achievable and necessary.
[0:00] Hello everybody, this is Stefan Molyneux from Free Domain Radio.
[0:03] This is True News, Current Events Clarified, Statism is Dead, Part 4, Free Range Empires, and the End of Farming.
[0:17] We all know the names of the ancient empires these are the bc empires the persian the assyrian the babylonian the sumerian and so on all rise and fall in more modern times we have of course the macedonian roman byzantine parthian the uh mongols the ming dynasties the guptas and so on these are all empires which rise and fall. And at the end of this video, you will know why.
[0:46] Modern empires from the Middle Ages onwards, the late Middle Ages, the Ottoman, the British, the Romanov, and so on, the American empire, lasting from a little under 500 to a little over five years. These empires rise, and then they fall. What is a cycle of empire? It's relatively simple, actually. Certain liberties are either purposefully or inadvertently granted to citizens. As a result, technological and economic efficiencies increase the general wealth of society. This increased wealth results in increased taxation, not just proportionately, but progressively. Increased taxation swells the size and power of the state resulting in increased tyranny, both domestically and overseas, Increased tyranny destroys the economic progress which was its original foundation, Rinse and repeat over and over again throughout history until we discover and achieve something different.
[2:01] For example, the Roman Empire, a highly successful taxed livestock farming methodology, lasted for hundreds of years, spread throughout large sections of the known world. The spread of Roman law and economic progress, they made a desert and called it peace. These are quotes from Wiki. The Roman Empire had the most advanced set of technology of their time. The apparent period in which technological progress was fastest and greatest was during the 2nd century and 1st century BC. Which was the period in which Roman political and economic power greatly increased. Emphasis added, freedom equals productivity equals tyranny.
[2:45] Rome increased taxes and enslaved the population through conscription, the young men in particular, of course. Because of the communications and technology of the time, they could really only tax in cities. and this, of course, drove the young out into the country to escape conscription and increased taxes. What this did, of course, is that the Roman leaders, the Roman ruling class, had to substitute paid mercenaries for warrior slaves at the same time as their tax base was diminishing as people fled the cities. So the taxes diminished, the costs increase, and you can only debase the currency to a certain degree and borrow money to a certain degree as we are seeing in the U.S. now. So, eventually, you run out of money, you can't pay your mercenaries and they come and collect their bills by sacking your empire. And that is the cycle. Freedom equals productivity equals taxation equals collapse.
[3:45] Here's a metaphor for you. Hopefully this will help make it clearer. A chicken farmer. I apologize for not knowing much about chicken farming, but if you'll forgive me for the numbers, let's go through them. A chicken farmer, let's say, has a thousand chickens producing five eggs a week. So he gets 5,000 eggs per week. Ah, he discovers one day, if he gives them more room, his chickens will produce three times as many eggs. He gets 15,000 eggs per week with the same number of chicken. Does he say, oh great, now I can set two-thirds of my chickens free because I only need 5,000 eggs per week. Well, of course not. He simply increases his spending and he can also use the increased productivity of his chickens as collateral for borrowing money. Same is true with car production. When Henry Ford flips over to the assembly line Model T production, he's able to double the wages, produce far more cars. Does he say, well, I can produce four times as many cars, so I'm going to shut down 75% of my factories? Of course not.
[4:49] The same is true with car production, chicken farmers, and governments.
[4:59] The greater the productivity of the livestock, the greater the productivity of the citizens, the greater your productivity, the greater the loans that can be taken out. Livestock productivity is collateral for debt this is why the richer the country is the more likely it is to be in debt, productivity equals enslavement, The taxed livestock farmer. The parasitical classes states, through the use of violence against adults and religions, through the use of fearful propaganda to children, so the parasitical classes and their beneficiaries either accidentally or purposefully provide certain economic liberties for their livestock. Property rights, freedom of association and mobility, breaking up of medieval guilds, the granting of the rights of usury, or lending for interest, and so on. The resulting economic boom provides some material benefits to the livestock to be sure but provides enormous profits for the parasitical classes which grow exponentially. Thus freedom always fuels tyranny. This is the foundational problem with statism.
[6:25] Sustained growth you see is impossible in a statist society. Economic growth inevitably funds massive increases in the size, power, and violence of states. The American empire results from American capitalism in the 19th century. The British empire resulted from the agricultural and industrial revolutions, in particular, cotton from the colonies processed in the northwest of England. The British empire was founded on cotton. And, of course, cultures or countries are always very keen on free trade, as long as it is in areas that they are already dominant in. So they spread free trade in certain areas, but not in others. The Egyptian empire, if we go back in time, resulted from the efficiency of written language, what they invented, and agricultural innovations. This is the paradox or the problem of statism. State-based societies. Additional productivity always further enslaves the livestock.
[7:27] Closer to home, or more recently, what about the computer revolution? The most recent revolution has been the technological revolution, which provides jaw-dropping benefits. Business and engineering modeling, CAD, CAM, spreadsheets, business plans. Instantaneous and free worldwide communication, unthinkable. Vastly reduced bureaucratic or paper-shuffling costs for private businesses. Just think of Walmart every time you check something out, an order goes to a manufacturer to replace it. Amazing. Reduced need for secretarial and support staff, photocopying, on-screen video and text editing, email attachments, digital media, the list goes on and on.
[8:04] Show us the money. All prior revolutions resulted in huge wealth. The agricultural revolution, five to ten times more crops. The industrial revolution, income for workers doubled in 32 years, real wages. The assembly line revolution, Ford doubled the wages of people within a year or two. Large income increases. So why has real income stagnated and declined since the onset of the technological revolution? Because the size and power of governments has soaked it all up, has increased so dramatically. Why have debts increased so enormously, government debts, since the technological revolution? because governments have soaked it all up. Productivity equals tyranny.
[8:56] Freedom always feeds tyrannies in a state of society.
[9:04] If you want to understand the violence of the 20th century in a nutshell, it goes like this. The vast increases in social wealth that resulted from the agricultural and industrial revolutions created massive governments armed with terrible weapons. Freedom equals wealth equals tyranny. The world wars, not genocides, but democides, death by government, of the 20th century, Hundreds and hundreds of millions slaughtered were only possible because of the economic productivity of the 17th to 19th century. Cannot have world wars without economic productivity. Freedom leads to tyranny. Citizens fund their own slaughterhouses. The productivity of the private citizen funds the size and power and terrifying weapons of the state. Citizens fund their own slaughterhouses just like cattle do.
[10:06] In state of societies, additional freedoms always lead to greater tyrannies.
[10:15] There is a new kind of empire which really arose at the end of the 19th century, the free-range empire. In my last video, leading on the matrix could have, well, been called the state-tricks, I argued that free-range tax livestock is far more productive than slaves or serfs directly owned. livestock. The American empire runs along the same principles, which is exactly what you would expect. It is a free-range empire which avoids direct ownership in the British and French model, but rather exacts tribute and obedience through the omnipresent threat of violence and financial manipulation.
[10:55] This is like the Mafia charging protection money rather than taking over local businesses. Free-range empire. Cheaper to run, more productive. The United States empire will collapse, because that is the endless cycle of statist societies. Freedom equals wealth equals war, internal or external to the country, equals collapse. With this knowledge, this certain knowledge, and hundreds of empires with which we can see this cycle repeating over and over, we can begin to design a truly free society. A non-statist, a state-free society. Yes, I know it seems hard. I understand. It seems crazy. But such revolutions have been achieved before. We now have very few countries which allow for direct slave ownership. We have free-range livestock, not directly owned livestock. That's progress. Now we go from free-range to free. If you want to know, at least my thoughts on how this can be achieved, free books on my website, PDF and audiobooks, Everyday Anarchy and Practical Anarchy, freedomainradio.com forward slash free.
[12:09] I'm telling you, we can avoid this endless, violent and destructive cycle of liberties leading lambs to slaughter.
[12:23] Thank you so much for watching. As always, for more on the philosophy of personal and political liberty, please visit freedomainradio.com. All the free goodies on the planet, thriving online community of people taking on the challenge of pursuing philosophical freedom in their own lives, spreading the truth and reason through example and argument. Thank you so much for watching. I will talk to you soon.
Support the show, using a variety of donation methods
Support the show
