The one thing I would add to that is to LEARN. Learn all the time. Do NOT demonize education or educators. Always be wary of someone who would tell you that education (for instance, a college education) is "not for everyone." Only you can determine that, and only you can determine that by trying it. Above all else, TPTB have sought to enslave you by making you more stupid. Our society idolizes ignorance, focuses on the wealthy and famous, discourages education and intelligence, and it's not at all by accident.

And, as OP said, YOU are in control of all that. You don't need to go to a college and simply regurgitate what they tell you. That's not even what college is. Become a (more) critical thinker. Challenge what they tell you, accept what is acceptable, and reject what is not. But, you need to be able to know the difference.

NEVER stop learning.

This is a great point. Apathy towards one's understanding of the world is a reason why so many people are willfully ignorant.

Just adding another one- cultivate a taste and preference for simple things in life.

You're being slightly semantical but I agree. College education really ISN'T for everyone, and the statement still holds even if you haven't figured it out

Completely agree. Gotta say that the only change that the public has faced has been through the internet and web technologies. This is where the battle will be won. I urge every one of you to learn how to code and build web applications! this is how we can truly do some damage!

I agree totally.

Can I add another thing?

Learn to manage your own consciousness and teach your kids how to manage theirs'. Read Eckhart Tolle, or Sophist literature, or Stoic literature, or read about Taoism. Anything that can assist you in becoming more aware of the present moment and less wrapped up in your ego is the most helpful thing you can do for yourself and for everyone around you.

"TPTB", as OP calls "them", can only have power over you if you are too asleep, unaware, and/or unconscious to see how you are being manipulated to serve someone else's profit motive. The truth is, many people are in an invisible cage and simply gaining the ability to see the bars is freedom in and of itself. Freedom comes from within you. It is within your own consciousness - it is only a matter of shedding off the social programming and cultural conditioning in order to find it. Once you find it, it becomes extremely hard for TPTB to take advantage of you.

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I don't think it's mutually exclusive. I didn't mean to imply that at all.

You can have external freedom, or I can lock you in a cage. In either case, you're still going to have to deal with your consciousness, ego, and thought patterns.

My point is, people who can control their consciousness are less likely to feel the consumer-culture imposed "need" for things. The "need" to buy things, the "need" to follow fashion trends, the "need" for patriotism or nationalism to be accepted, the "need" for your boss's approval, etc. People who can resist these false-needs are less likely to be manipulated by the hierarchical power structures of governments and corporations.

I can't put my finger on it, but something about this post doesn't seem right... It is all good advice and I don't have any arguments against any of the advice given. Still, something is off about it.

In essence, become a prepper and pay your taxes. Bleh.

I wonder how you were convinced to associate being prepared to take care of yourself with negative feelings. I mean, it seems counter intuitive to think the ability to take care of yourself is bad. It seems to go against nature and evolution to think taking care of yourself and having a plan for survival is a bad idea.

Im sure youre a free thinker and came up with the belief that self sufficiency, preparedness and independence are all bad values all on your own and there is just no way someone convinced you to think that.

The op just sounds like another "nothing substantial to do here, move along and smile, citizen".

I don't like speculating as it always seems to lead me into some form of trouble. After re-reading the post I find myself feeling that it is almost like baiting (not saying this is/was your intent). The advice is all pretty general and falls under what I consider to be "common knowledge" (which I know is hardly common anymore). Perhaps your post isn't critical enough of TPTB for my taste or the advice not specific or creative enough. I'm not entirely sure. It is just that the warning bell in my head goes off when I read this.

Please understand that this is not a judgement on you or your views and it is not my intent to de-value or marginalize your views and ideas. If I have managed to insult you, I apologize.

The taint of the libertarian propaganda underway at full throttle, be happy, don't worry, be happy, tune in TED.

Why don't you like the libertarian party? Do you realize that corporations only exist because of government policies? Most libertarians would lift the corporate shield, making the heads of that company liable. Here's a short but sweet piece on it.

I can't speak for him/her, but I think a large part of the problems today are inherent to capitalism itself. Libertarian or Anarcho-Capitalist ideas seem like they would only exacerbate the things that are, in my opinion, hurting society: greed, ecological degradation, hierarchical power structures with monetary and power consolidation at the top, and a lack of efficiency at all levels of production.

But these problems are because the republican and democratic parties made buddies with corporate entities and continuously hand them huge contracts and subsidies through legislation. The corporate shield is another government policy that created monsters who are only liable to the shareholders. Without the corporate shield, corporations would not exist.

I think Marx was correct in his observation that capitalism leads to power consolidation at the top.

What I see happening in the U.S. is that the people at the top of these massive corporations have so much power that they are able to leverage the government to do their bidding. This is the best description I've seen of the current situation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism

If somehow we were able to completely get rid of the government and have a truly "free-market", I don't think it would help the situation. This group of "power-elites" would find a different way to game the system. It wouldn't be called "government", but it would be some type of oligarchy/aristocracy. A system with the underlying value of greed will only perpetuate a society of greedy people.

To me, the bottom line is that in capitalism you eventually end up with a power-elite at the top of the social hierarchy. Even if you take government away, this is still a problem. The man at the top of the pyramid looks down to see everyone else climbing up the sides, and therefore operates out of a reaction of fear. We have a fear and greed based society.

Also, I don't see how completely anarcho-capitalist "free markets" would increase production efficiency, stop the environmental crisis, or promote equality, safe working conditions, and everything else progressive movements have had to fight for.

The power greedy elites will always game the system, no matter what type of system we have in play. That is the entire point of limited governance. We have to limit their ability to use violence.

I think Marx was correct in his observation that capitalism leads to power consolidation at the top.

Karl's solution to this problem is to skip the power struggle that occurs through corporatism and place a few key elites in control of it all. The libertarian philosophy (true capitalism) is a small business based economy void of government influence. This method, if it is not corrupted, prevents large organizations and rich assholes from using government (violence) against others.

It's true that a mixed set of repubs, demos, and libertarians would not work as efficiently as all libertarians. However at some point in the near future we will have to replace the current paradigm with something. I think a true free market with very limited, and at the very least decentralized government, is our best choice.

I said Marx was correct in his observation of capitalism, I did not say I agree with his solutions.

As far as solutions go: I know The Zeitgeist Movement has gotten a lot of criticism in the past (and most of it rightly so), but recently they've been putting information together that looks very promising. For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9FDIne7M9o. I'm very impressed that they've been able to absorb the criticism of their ideas and develop solutions to address those shortcomings directly.

The problem I see with the libertarian ideas you present is that it's still essentially free market capitalism, which: will lead to a power-elite, will lead to wealth inequality and structural violence, still does nothing to stop the environmental crisis or put an emphasis on efficiency and sustainability, cuts out all the "good" things a centralized government can provide like healthcare and infrastructure, and still systemically runs on greed, growth, competition, and the profit motive. I see that as a continuation of our current paradigm - not a paradigm shift.

I don't think you can remove human nature, which includes greed and competition in some people. What we can do is limit people's ability to use violence against others. Currently our system allows corporations to bribe politicians to create legislation, allowing the use of violence to further the corporate agenda. To get around this, we must limit the federal government.

The environmental thing is a myth. Libertarians aren't anarchists. Preventing the destruction of the environment is one of the few things that government is necessary for.

I am interested in the Zeitgeist movement though, but I would have to take a refresher course before I can speak intelligently about it. I'll watch the link you provided and get back to you later.

Thanks, man. I used to be into the libertarian ideas more. I read a lot of Ron Paul, listened to Stephan Molyneux a little bit.

However, my viewpoint has shifted as I've watched/read more from Chris Hedges, Cornell West, Chomsky, and R. Buckminster Fuller. The libertarian ideas began to make less and less sense as I learned more about alternatives (Resource-Based Economics, The World Game, Socialist Libertarianism, Anarcho-synidcalism), and the crux of the issue for me is that one of the key assumption in free-market ideology is freedom of information (that we'll know if/when a business is screwing us over and then in turn act rationally to leave that business and go to the competition). However, in the real world information is often hidden and people are not always rational.

Also, free-market ideology lacks things that are moral imperatives to me: the environment, wealth equality, public health and the end of structural violence, efficiency and sustainability, non-hierarchical modes of organizing society, and end to the idea that you have to "earn a living".

I think (though hope may be a better word) as we move into the future we'll have the technology to see the entire earth as one system and realize Fuller's objective to: "make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological damage or disadvantage to anyone"

Yadda yadda, sure turn the billionaire bullies loose.

Billionaire bullies exist because of government policies. I really like you, but hate your stance on the libertarian party.

Libetarian party=the ultimate promoters of exploitation and oppression, let's go back to a system of petty feudal lords, constantly at war with each other.

I am not interested in explaining my self and am not demanding that you do so.

Government= the ultimate promoters of exploitation, oppression, corruption, and violence.

The libertarian party has principles, morals, and a rational approach to governance. I really think you should reconsider and do some open minded research.

As a Libertarian, I am confounded as to why so many people believe or view our philosophy like anarchy on steroids. Our beliefs differ vastly, from individual to individual.

Our commonly shared beliefs like limited government, honest and free (decentralized) money, and the sovereignty of the individual over the collective empowers a person to seek true relevance in life. I don't understand how we support oppression and exploitation?

It makes no sense. Our philosophy is the only one that embraces the individual while providing the collective with the essentials necessary for survival and prosperity. It's a frustrating battle, but it's the only one that I will incessantly and passionately preach till the day I die.

You are arguing with people that have been brainwashed to think the collective is more important than the individual. They have been trained to associate "liberty" with "slavery". There is no way you will ever undo the indoctrination those people have underwent.

I disagree. It's certainly an uphill battle, but I was transformed somehow. I was once a neocon who thought Muslims wanted to take over the world and hated Americans because of our freedoms. Two tours of Operation Enduring Freedom changed my mind.

I hope you are right and I am wrong.

libertarian billionaires who are the only libertarians with any power and influence have none of characteristics you mention and are driven by personal agendas of greed and power only.

How many libertarians advocate war? How many libertarians demonize homosexuals or other races? How many libertarians want to limit speech or religion? How many libertarians want to cage people for using drugs, prostitution, or other harmless practices? Zero. If they did, they wouldn't be libertarians.

If we're going to judge an entire philosophy based on a few bad apples, lets use Pol Pot, Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Mussolini, Tojo, Bush, and Obama as examples. None of these psychopaths wanted to limit their government, and all of them make the Koch brothers look like teddy bears.

I know you're skeptical, and I know you are tired of the argument. But I can't sit idly by while a good reasonable person like yourself maintains this opinion. I just can't, it makes my heart ache.

I am not reasonable, have never been, have never claimed to be.

I think you're just in a bad mood today or something.

Well now what a mouthful when in fact the leaders of the libertarian movement in the U.S. have participated in and or backed all of the above as needed for their own power.

That's a complete fallacy.

I can make unsubstantiated statements as well, defaming people I don't even know.

I won't, but I can.

What person(s) did I defame, you? You don't even know what a libertarian is.

Damn, well I guess you got me. Shucks.

So, what's the solution?

Why not share your own.

Read above. ^

You expect someone to share when you are so stingy, you must be libertarian.

As a LIBERTARIAN, I am confounded as to why so many people believe or view our philosophy like anarchy on steroids. Our beliefs differ vastly, from individual to individual.

Our commonly shared beliefs like limited government, honest and free (decentralized) money, and the sovereignty of the individual over the collective empowers a person to seek true relevance in life. I don't understand how we support oppression and exploitation?

Free lance thinking is not libertarian.

There is an official Libertarian Party Platform, (not much power in that group.) There are the Ron Paul libertarians, (considered racist and very single issue, monetary policy.)

The founders long ago abandoned that road (separate party) and simply began taking over the Republican party, hiding for a few years behind the Conservative Christians, needed for voters.

Now the big move is dumping the bible thumpers and going after young, misinformed young people and new, immigrant citizens.

The organizations that reflect the influential libertarian thought.

CATO, AEI, and now a long list of propaganda outlets posing as news and many formerly merely conservative.

For informing yourself:
Libertarian Party webpage: http://www.lp.org/

www.cato.org

www.aei.org

And a kind of summary of the most famous and influential libertarians in the U.S.A. If this is what you admire, I find no agreement.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/01/06/mapping-the-koch-brothers-massive-political-network/

Well aware of those sites and institutions. Thanks, I guess?

As a Libertarian, I never said I support the "party" agenda 100% of the time. Still upset over the whole Bob Barr thing.

I still want to hear your solution.

No, you don't want to hear my solution, you want to feel superior.

Bob Barr? The Republican pushing to impeach Clinton, then becoming Libertarian Presidential candidate in 2008. Ew, say I, not that the Libertarian Party has anything worth representing.

Dear God, calling the Koch brothers Libertarian in some circles is fightin words. The Koch brothers are elitist attempting to control their opposition though infiltration.

Our earliest libertarians, and David Koch was the Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate in 1980.

They will align with any group willing to go along with their ideas, and that is the essence of a true libertarian.

So, you claim there is a "libertarian philosophy," but it is different for every believer.

How can you have both common shared beliefs and beliefs that vary from individual to individual? Can you take that scramble of nonsense to the ballot box? Evidence says no.

Ya, that is a perfect description of libertarians in the U.S.

Fact: The only libertarians in the U.S. with any influence are the ones on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. There is nothing attractive or appealing to me about their ideas, plans, methods or actions.

OK, I hear you, and I think I understand your concerns, but what are you really trying to accomplish?

I think we are both in pursuit of a social structure that is just, free, open, and prosperous for all. I hope I am correct in this assumption, but if I am not just let me know.

Libertarian philosophy, in my opinion, is based on the Golden Ratio. It's about the Spontaneous Order structures/organisms/ecosystems create naturally.

So, "Can you take that scramble of nonsense to the ballot box?"

Evidence says? Most likely yes.

Well I guess you are your very own libertarian party of one.

Everyone has to have a boogey man to blame everything on. Might as well be libertarians. I mean there are soooooooo many of them and they have sooooooo much more power than any other political ideology that how can we not all band together to fight the 1% of the voting public!

You poor widdle victim. What have I blamed on you libertarians?

Um, exploitation and oppression? You know, like you said in your post.

Serious question here, are you retarded?

It depends entirely on where you set the bar. -wink-

Im glad I don't know any of the libertarians you know because they sound like they have no idea what libertarianism is and are probably kind of dumb.

Translation:
ZapPowerz is a tool for the libertarians with power as the Christian Conservatives have been for Republicans.

Aren't you special!

Well I would be special I guess if there were actually any libertarians with any power.

There are the Kochs and their friends and there are the new billionaire tech libertarians, the google boys,Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, (now owns the Washington Post, other notables. Red Sox owner John Henry (owns the Boston Globe).

The only libertarians with influence are the billionaires.

Oh. Your. God.

I wish you luck in your ignorance.

But stick to the script, I am a religious free zone.

Zap, just for the record, did you mean, you are god,(you're) or a god I might worship, (your god.)

Some people say "Oh My God" Well I don't believe in God so I was saying "Oh Your God" I got it from a Futurama Episode. Bender said it.

Ah television/movies, I lost my tolerance for both long ago. Text is faster for information and provides a more controllable escape experience.

I only watch cartoons and porn so I think Im ok. Certainly I don't use the TV for information. What do you think about Youtube? I get a LOT of information from Youtube. I know I have to be careful, but there are things on youtube youll never find anywhere else.

I prefer reading and while I have sampled some of the youtube offerings, I find too much extremist and time wasting noise/nonsense there. (politics/history/economics, etc.) Not to mention the worst music my poor ears have ever had to endure.

Conversely, I have listened to various music play lists for hours, no downloading required and I just wander around for what fits my mood of the day.

You sound like a peaceful, happy person. Do you drink? I have to drink a lot to find peace.

I only consider myself lucky, not someone who made a better choice, for avoiding alcoholism, only lucky, I still feel like I could lose myself to addiction very easily anytime.

Its the natural shedding of false ideologies. I use to be a suburban over weight underachiever who got A's but was hopelessly depressed. I've since gained insight to the nature of the healing process of mind body and soul. It is not easy. This culture produces addictions on every turn and it has to be a daily effort to strive for the hidden potential we all possess in our psyches. I still struggle with various neuroses but god dammit I know and we all know what's right in our hearts. I am glad to hear others are on this path.

Totally agree. To thine own self be HUMAN. We've lost the human experience in our digital world. The human body was MEANT to experience nature, regular exercise and communal living. We were NOT meant to live in one bedroom apartments w the internet and delivery drivers. I'm going to speak to strangers on purpose today.

It's a little hard in New England. People often look at me funny, but perhaps I am the bright spot in an elderly man's day when I open a door and say "after you, sir".

Hell yes. Im coming off a big knee surgery and cant tell you how excited i am to get back to nature

Check your local disability services, they can refer you to resources. There's surprisingly a lot of accessibility equipment for trails in both summer and snow. I don't know if you've used Arnica, but it helped tremendously w pain, swelling & scars post-surgery for me!

Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. Like a splinter in your mind - driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Let your money talk, if you don't want corporations to remain powerful don't buy their products. Support what you want with your power, your buying power. You may not think it makes a difference but when enough people start to do this, we will force change no matter how small. It's gotta start somewhere

It's a good message liberate yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ah-o1iinNI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Take back control of your life. Which really is the essence of Freedom.

You personally and we collectively would be shocked to learn how many individuals, groups, organizations, and governments try to exercise control over us. It is a constant struggle.

No person has inherent sovereignty, or right to rule, over another person. Take back control of your life, and reject those who try to steal, trick, or take it from you. Bow your knee to no man.

I agree fully, good post.

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Totally Psychotic Tim Burton.

(The Powers That Be)

lol I like that one.

The People To Blame

A lot of it is good. As a whole it is nothing specifically wrong, but there is a huge undercurrent of libertarianism that I cannot morally get behind.

I'm not actually very related to libertarianism as a whole but I'm not very fond of how close it is to an-caps, which I intensely dislike due to how I don't really think it'll help anything. I'll edit in what seemed libertarian.

Edited in: it may be unpopular, but I sort of like the ACA because I think it's a step in the right direction. Other than that only the survival skills portion seemed out of place to me.

So you agree with the recommendations, but wont implement any of them because for some reason they appear to be (evil) libertarian? Well that makes loads of sense! No cognitive dissonance here at all!

I agree with a lot of them, but there were parts I disagreed with, and my disagreement stemmed from their similarity to libertarian ideas/ideals.

But you said that "as a whole it is nothing specifically wrong." But now you say there are parts you disagree with? Well which is it? Or are you disagreeing with something you have determined has nothing wrong with it?

My wording was poor. In another post I picked out the specific issues I had with it. I shouldn't have used the word 'specifically' because it isn't what I meant.

What I meant was more on the lines of 'this post is good, if you examine it as a whole.'

I appreciate the clarification and I agree with you.

THIS. What a lovely message, I have recently been been asking my self this question 'What can I do?' a lot and always hit a brick wall. But this, for me personally, confirms what I should be doing. Take life into your own hands, DO what makes you happy and spread the happiness onto others.

I do have one question for anyone willing to help me, I would love to understand financial systems and how to make the best of my money. Where should I start my journey for learning this kind of skill?

Thank /u/strokethekitty for sharing this. Open letter enjoyed.

And most importantly, find what makes you happy, and DO IT. Sitting in a cubicle for 1/3 of your life does nothing but offer you a shitty retirement that you will spend doing nothing because of your health situation due to years of sitting, inactivity, and unhappiness. We arent meant to be caged.

...

All of these things can be done.

If you think training for the apocalypse and paying your bills on time isn't quite the answer, check out democracy 2.0

http://thedemocracytwoexperiment.wordpress.com

http://metagovernment.org

You want to do something? This is that thing. Be the change.

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Ommfg. It's too late, isn't it? This generation does not know what a single memory without corporate influence is.

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I am pretty sure he was joking. Mocking the "teenage rebel" stereotype. I don't see the relevance, but I am guessing that is his intent.

Your point about living your life in a cubicle is important. Too often we let our lives be defined by our jobs. Why? Are you content with only being what your job defines you as?

Aaaaand this is obvious. I've been going around asking people why they aren't doing this, what they're waiting for. Big ass thread about it all of a sudden.

You fuckers are so late.

Or, the universe is a computer simulation. Is that a possibility?

nobody want to be educated like that sir, they all want entertainment, distraction, anything but study

this is the world we live in, i get tired to teach what i know the others, took me years to see a ufo with my most skeptic friends.

nobody do anything until the sky fall on their head, its always been this way.

yes it has to change but it wont, not in our life time like yo usay.

Conspiracy = propaganda word for functional dynamics(reality).

The idea that people who masquerade behind the auspices of the state WOULDN'T conspire against the masses is insane.

Kill one person with a gun = murderer; do it with a badge = police officer

Kill ten people with knife = serial killer

Kill hundreds with drones = president

Kill hundreds of thousands with airplanes = hero

Kill millions with farm lobby = corporation

Learn to think for yourself.

what is TPTB?

Ah television/movies, I lost my tolerance for both long ago. Text is faster for information and provides a more controllable escape experience.