Category Archives: Libertarian Politics

Top Ten Libertarian Science Fiction Books

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Why are libertarians attracted to science fiction? Is it simply that the genre promotes a more open mind? In any case, it seems that science fiction has more than its share of writers who advocate freedom. The following list is what I, in my humble opinion, feel are the ten best science fiction books written. Most of these have won the coveted Prometheus Award for liberty-oriented science fiction or at least made the Prometheus Hall of Fame. Many have garnered the Nebula and/or Hugo Awards as well.

10. The Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson

Originally this was comprised of three books: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, and Leviathan, which are now available combined into a single plump volume. It’s a hilarious, satirical book that ties in practically every conspiracy you’ve ever heard of. Shea and Wilson satirize everything, including Objectivists and libertarians – of course, any healthy movement should be able to laugh at itself. Illuminatus helped inspire a host of conspiracy-oriented works, such as Chris Carter’s X-Files, The Da Vinci Code, and (my personal theory) the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse. It popularized the Discordian religion, which worships Eris, the goddess of chaos- certainly a faith an anarchist could embrace. Another of its cultural contributions is the word fnord, which represent an insidious subliminal message inserted into all mass media. Illuminatus won the Prometheus in 1986.

9. The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin

This is the story of a society of outcasts on a (barely) habitable moon orbiting Tau Ceti; the settlers are anarchists and other radicals exiled from the larger primary world. The book explores some important concepts such as societal organization and the status of property in an anarchist system. Another important plot element is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis about how language may affect or restrict human thinking. (This was the principle behind 1984’s “Newspeak.”) LeGuin is perhaps best known for her brilliant book Left Hand of Darkness, about a hermaphroditic human society, which I also recommend highly. The Dispossessed won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards in 1974 and 1985, and was named to the Prometheus Hall of Fame in 1993.

8. V is For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd (illustrator)

Yes, this is a graphic novel, but its effects on the liberty movement, and Western culture in general, have been so profound that it deserves to be included. For those few who aren’t familiar with it, V is For Vendetta describes a popular uprising against a totalitarian British government, which is inspired by a single mysterious individual. Part of what makes the book so compelling is that its protagonists,the masked, anarchist “V” and his young companion Evey are not ideals but deeply flawed human characters. Additionally, the Guy Fawkes mask worn by “V” throughout the store has become a worldwide meme representing rebellion. The movie version by the Wachowski Brothers was also wildly popular, but unfortunately blunted some of the graphic novel’s harsher aspects, which led Moore to eventually wash his hands of the project. In any case, Prometheus agrees with my classification; the book won a spot in their Hall of Fame in 2006.

7. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

This is Stephenson’s third novel and in my opinion, his best, even though it’s not as polished (or long-winded) as his later books such as Anathem. This one contains some of his greatest ideas, many of which predict the (probable) political future of the world. Snow Crash draws heavily from the “cyberpunk” genre and has significant elements of satire. The setting is a United States fractured into many thousands of sovereign enclaves. Its central plot was a “mind virus” in the form of the ancient Sumerian language. Another element I enjoyed was a character who was labeled a “sovereign” – a bad-ass biker who traveled with his own personal nuclear weapon. Snow Crash has been nominated for both the British Science Fiction Award and the Arthur C Clarke award. Stephenson won a Prometheus award not for Snow Crash, but for his novel System of the World, in 2005.

6. Probability Broach by L Neil Smith

I’ve never seen L Neil Smith’s books in the mega-chain book stores, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worthwhile; they’re just not commercial enough. This is the book that began his “Gallatin Universe” series, which describes an alternate North America that has an extremely minimalist government. The protagonist, Denver police detective Edward ‘Win’ Bear, is transported from the real world to this alternate version, where he uncovers a plot from our universe to conquer this wonderfully under-governed territory. Of course, after experiencing utopia, Bear is hardly inclined to return to our messed-up world.

One of the best things about Smith’s books is their author. He’s is a tireless activist and a long-time feature of the libertarian movement who never minces words. My favorite L Neil quote: “If you’re not a little bit uncomfortable with your position, it isn’t radical enough.” Incidentally, Smith founded the Prometheus awards in 1979, and Probability Broach won it in 1982.

5. The Stars are Also Fire by Poul Anderson

This book is the second in Anderson’s Harvest of Stars series. It depicts the struggle of the Lunarian race (the descendents of human colonists genetically altered for life in the moon’s low gravity) to achieve and maintain their independence. Their adversary is the Terramind, an all-powerful computer which controls human society “for their own good” and refuses to allow any group to slip outside its control. As such, the books is a powerful argument for liberty. The Terramind is not motivated by human power-lust, but that doesn’t make it any more reasonable. Any tyranny, no matter how well-intentioned, is still tyranny. One of the most interesting things about this series is how the Lunarians become a separate race of humanity, tall and slender like Tolkien-esque elves, speaking their own artificially constructed language.

During his lifetime, Anderson received three Nebula and and seven Hugo awards for his novel. The Stars are Also Fire won the Prometheus award in 1995, and Anderson received a Prometheus lifetime achievement award in 2001.

 4. The Stone Canal by Ken MacLeod

A native of Scotland and a self-proclaimed socialist, it’s ironic that Ken MacLeod has written one of the best and most entertaining libertarian novels ever. MacLeod is fascinated with different political systems from Trotskyism to anarcho-capitalism, and his novels reflect that fascination. The Stone Canal addresses a future in which some members of the human race have evolved into an electronically-based super-race (a manifestation of the so-called “technological singularity.”) The super-beings open up a wormhole to a nearly-habitable planet known as “New Mars” which is terraformed and settled by humans of the more traditional variety. New Mars is an anarcho-capitalist society in which people coexist with intelligent robots. This book addresses fundamental questions of human identity. The protagonist, Jonathon Wilde, exists both as a cloned copy of his original biological self and as a sentient robot known as “Jay Dub.” Both entities have his memories and personalities, which is the “real” Jon Wilde? In another plot twist, Wilde’s former best friend has cloned Wilde’s deceased (for the time being) wife as his personal sex toy, also called a gynoid (a female android, of course.)

MacLeod is fond of intellectual puns; the Stone Canal (which in the book is an actual stone-lined water channel) is named after an anatomical feature of the starfish. My favorite MacLeod pun is the name of another of his books- The Cassini Division, which is both a gap between the rings of Saturn and a human security detail based in the outer Solar System. The Stone Canal won the Prometheus award in 1996.

3. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

No list of libertarian books would be complete without something by the great master. Most of Heinlein’s books have liberty-related themes, but this is one of the best, having won a Hugo award in 1967 and of course a Prometheus award (belatedly, since the award didn’t exist until 1979) in 1983. Like The Stars Are Also Fire Like The Stars Are Also Fire, it involves a revolt of the Lunar colonies from control by the Earth. (If you detect a rebellious theme running through a number of these books, you’re correct.) Unlike Poul Anderson’s version of the lunar rebellion, Heinlein’s book has an intelligent, self-aware computer who happens to be one of the good guys. Strictly speaking, this book seems to advocate minarchy as opposed to anarchy, though one of the characters was reportedly modeled on “rational anarchist” Robert LeFevre.

One of my favorite things about Heinlein is his creative character names, such as female rebel Wyoh Knott, and of course, the computer, HOLMES IV. (I won’t spell out the acronym here.) This book popularized the very libertarian phrase, ‘There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch,” or TANSTAAFL, which became the title of a 1975 book on free-market economics by Milton Friedman. (Heinlein did not, as I’d formerly believed, invent this saying. According to Wikipedia it has been appearing in print since at least 1938.)

 2. A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge

A Deepness in the Sky is possibly my favorite book of all time. It’s an amazingly conceived, brilliant, moving novel. The scientific premise is fascinating in itself: a periodic star which is “off” for all but 35 of its 250-year cycle, giving rise to a unique ecology in which all forms of life hibernate for the two-century winter. In this unusual star system, human explorers encounter an intelligent race resembling giant spiders. (“Deepness” is what the spider race call the underground chambers they use for their long periods of sleep.) The human visitors include a group of free-market traders, called the Qeng Ho, and the Emergents, the representatives of a nearby totalitarian human society. The deceitful Emergents attack and enslave the Qeng Ho, while plotting to exploit the spider world. The surviving Qeng Ho struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds to throw off their captors and save the spiders, not only from the Emergents, but from a planetary arms race. This book features elements of nanotechnology, which is used by the bad guys as part of a ubiquitous spying apparatus.

The only gripe I have with Vernor Vinge, a retired professor of mathematics, is that he’s only written eight novels. I had the honor of meeting him at a science fiction convention in San Diego in the early 1990’s; he seemed to be a very down-to-earth person. By the way, it’s not a coincidence that prolific sci-fi/fantasy author Joan D. Vinge shares Vernor’s last name, because the two were once married. (I assume they must have parted on relatively good terms, since she kept his surname.) Deepness in the Sky won the Prometheus award in 2000, as well as the Hugo and Campbell awards.

 1. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Published in 1957, this was Ayn Rand’s fourth and final novel, and in my opinion, her best. Among other things, it outlined the philosophy of Objectivism and introduced the iconic character John Galt. Probably the world’s best-known political book, Atlas Shrugged is not always considered to be science fiction. Rand herself described it as a “mystery” or a “romance.” Jeff Riggenbach has made a persuasive case for the book being sci fi, considering that three inventions: John Galt’s motor, Henry Rearden’s metal alloy, and the governments “Project X” weapon, played significant roles in the book. It is certainly speculative in the sense that Rand envisioned that the world’s most inventive and creative people would “go on strike” thus breaking the despotic rule of the corrupt collectivists who run America. Who could forget John Galt’s (in)famous 70-page speech, in which he berates all the parasites of the politcal class. He does this by hacking into the broadcast system – a rather modern sci-fi nontion.

Though reviled by progressives and the intelligentsia, Atlas Shrugged is surely one of the most influential books of all time. Numerous conservatives and libertarians, including politicians and pundits such as Paul Ryan and Glenn Beck, have proclaimed it to be their favorite book, or the book that inspired them to become political. There are a number of elements in Rand’s message with which I disagree strongly. She was certainly no anarchist, she was far too deferential to the military, and her writing frequently has a judgmental tone that can easily match that of the most fervent fundamentalist preacher. What I love about Atlas Shrugged, though, is its unashamed celebration of the individual, and its complete rejection of the pan-religious cult of self-sacrifice. This latter has, in my view, been responsible for most of the misery of human existence, by giving sociopathic liars who call themselves “leaders” the ability to harness the minds of backs of their fellow human beings. Atlas Shrugged earned Rand a posthumous place in the Prometheus Hall of Fame in 1983.

 0. Honorable Mention: The manga series Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (illustrator)

Technically, it’s not science fiction, as the plot is driven by magic, but with a well-defined set of rules. At the beginning of the story, high school honor student Light Yagami finds a mysterious black notebook. The inscription within explains that the act of writing a person’s name in the notebook will cause that person to die of apparent natural causes. The notebook has been planted by a shinigami, a sort of Japanese Grim Reaper whose boredom inspires him to do this as a prank on humanity. Light sets out to use the book for good ends, ridding the world of murderers, rapists, and other contemptible criminals. Unlike Superman, who enjoys god-like powers but never intentionally misuses them, Light is quickly corrupted by the ability to kill from afar, and sets himself up to rule the world. Soon he begins executing anyone who threatens his reign in any way. There is an animated version of Death Note; I’ve only seen the first episode but it appears to be true to the quirky darkness of the original, albeit a bit less subtle in its message. This series should be loved by libertarians because it illustrates Lord Acton’s maxim, “Absolute power corrupts absolultely.”

On Memorial Day, Honor the Heroes of Peace

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This Memorial Day, I want to say thanks to a different kind of veteran. This is not a generic, blanket commendation to those who participated in US wars, most of which (since 1945, anyway) had very little to do with “freedom.” Instead, I wish to thank those that risked their reputations, careers and personal freedom to reveal war crimes, blow the whistle on wrongdoing, or refuse to participate in illegal military actions. In addition, I thank those who, after having served in the military, have spoken out to denounce the unnecessary death and suffering caused by US foreign policy.

The first veteran I wish to honor served in World War I and numerous US foreign interventions: Major General Smedley Butler, the most highly decorated man in the history of the US Marine Corps. In 1935, after his retirement, he wrote a book called War is a Racket, which was highly critical of US foreign policy. He supported veterans in the “Bonus Army” in their 1932 march on Washington and refused to participate in the 1933 “Business Plot” in which wealthy businessmen conspired to overthrow FDR in a fascist coup. I pay homage to Butler in my novel Centrifugal Force, in which a group of rebellious veterans, with grievances similar to those of the real-life Bonus Army, call themselves the “Smedley Butler Brigade.”

Next is a man with whom most of you are probably familiar: retired Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. Paul, who is also a medical doctor, served as a flight surgeon in the US Air Force from 1963-1965 and then in the Air National Guard for another three years. During his years in the US House of Representatives, Dr. Paul was an outspoken critic of US foreign intervention. After the 9/11 attacks, he was one of the few Republicans who did not jump on the Afghan War bandwagon, insisting that the pursuit of Osama bin Laden should be a matter of international law enforcement and not a cause for military conquest. He refused to support the illegal Iraq War or the inhumane sanctions on Iran, and probably could have become President if he had compromised. Today he continues the fight for a just foreign policy through the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Finally I wish to honor a man who has been much maligned: former US Army Private Bradley Manning, who languishes in prison for the alleged crime of giving classified material to the website Wikileaks. Notable among these materials is the “Collateral Murder” video, which shows US helicopter pilots in Iraq gunning down unarmed civilians, including journalists. Though none of the materials subsequently released by Wikileaks has endangered American military personnel in any specific way, Manning was of course arrested and stripped of his rank. In the intervening years, the government has subjected him to unbelievably harsh treatment, including solitary confinement. The media has also attacked him, minimizing his heroic actions by calling him “unstable” and by calling attention to his homosexuality. He is still awaiting trial. Patriotic Americans who realize that Manning is not a traitor but a hero for opposing US government war crimes (which endanger us all by inspiring terrorists around the world) should contact the Bradley Manning Support Network.

These men are only three of the many veterans who not only served in the military, but maintained the capability for independent thought. They acted on the strength of their convictions, in defiance of the jingoistic herd mentality that surrounded them. This is the true spirit of America – not unthinking obedience, but an unswerving dedication to the ideals of freedom, justice, and peace.

 

Fairness Shmairness

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The US Senate recently passed the so-called “Marketplace Fairness Act,” which mandates that Internet retailers collect sales taxes from their customers and remit these amounts to those states that charge them. The argument is that the current system, in which out-of-state sales taxes are virtually un-collectible in many situations, is unfair to traditional brick and mortar businesses, is hogwash. The real reason is greed. State and local governments have spent themselves deep into debt, and are looking for a way out. They don’t deserve one.

This law now goes to the House, which may or may not pass it, but it’s likely to pass both houses of Congress in some form eventually. You can be certain that the President, be he our current “socialist” or a potential “free market” Republican successor, will have no trouble signing it. That is unfortunate. This is one few cases of “states rights” that the Federal government should oppose.

Sales taxes have gotten completely out of hand, soaring to 10 percent or more in many areas. Local politicians have used deception to gain the acquiescence of the public, promoting this boondoggle project or that, raising the level of theft a penny at a time. Many of these taxes were supposed to be temporary, but keep being renewed when the roads, schools, or parks in question encounter the inevitable cost overruns. Sometimes these taxes fund “development” projects such as professional sports stadiums, which invariably fail to deliver the economic benefits their proponents fraudulently predicted.

Besides being used to fund wasteful projects, sales taxes are also highly regressive. They hit the poor and the elderly on fixed incomes the hardest. In a time of economic downturn, this is a powerful argument for decreasing them. Exempting Internet transactions completely from sales taxes would give states and cities a good reason to reduce or eliminate this onerous form of plunder.

Extending tax collection to all Internet businesses, even tiny ones, will be a heavy burden on commerce that does NOT fall on brick and mortar stores, which only need to collect for their local jurisdiction. I expect that “sales tax collection services” will spring up around the country, and that they will impose a significant cost on small business, over and above the taxes themselves. I also predict that members of Congress, who are largely exempt from the insider trading laws that plague private investors, will be heavily invested in these business, just as former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff invested in airport X-ray machines after 9-11.

People who know me may be shocked that I suggest that Congress take any sort of action at all, but in this case I part from my usual anti-Federal prejudices. Congress should use its power under the Commerce Clause to completely ban the so-called “use taxes,” which allow states to levy sales taxes on transactions conducted outside their borders. Such a law would have the happy effect of abrogating recent state agreements that require Amazon to collect taxes in jurisdictions where it has no physical presence.

And what of the affected states and municipalities? They will be forced to make deep cuts in spending, as well they should. These cuts should start at the top, slashing salaries of governors, department heads, mayors, city managers, and the administrators of school districts as well as fire and police departments. In many cases “public services” will need to be cut. Sweetheart contracts with public employee unions in states like California can and must be broken. In other cases, cities will declare bankruptcy. This should be viewed as a normal and necessary check on the ability of local governments to over-spend. Once bond-holders start to lose money on these allegedly risk-proof “investments”, they will think twice, and investigate a city’s fiscal responsibility before doing so again.

Incidentally, the idea that states “need” to collect this money is disproven by the fact that North Dakota, a state with full coffers due to is oil boom, continues to collect “use taxes” on Internet transactions. Furthermore, though I oppose taxes in principle, if sales taxes were to drop to 3% or less, they would have little or no effect on physical businesses. Local shopping has its own advantages, which include immediate gratification and saving on shipping costs.

Brick and mortar merchants may see a tax-free Internet marketplace as unfair, but this does not mean they have the right to equalize their misery. They should instead agitate to reduce or eliminate the outrage that is sales taxation.

 

Silver Circle

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When I heard about the movie Silver Circle, I was anxious to see it. It was billed as an animated adventure about a rebellion for the cause of liberty and sound money. The film’s creator is a software engineer named Pasha Roberts, an enthusiastic newcomer to film-making. Though Silver Circle didn’t quite live up to my expectations, I applaud the fact that a movie with such an unconventional theme was made at all. In the past, the gatekeepers of the media industry would have made sure it didn’t happen.

I saw Silver Circle at a one-time screening at a local multiplex theater in Tempe. It was well attended, though I wonder how it would fare in competition with mainstream movies. After the show, local activist Ernest Hancock said a few words about the film’s purpose, which was to introduce more people, especially youth, to libertarian ideas. As such, it would extend the outreach effort of Ron Paul’s recent Presidential campaign, especially since it focuses on one of Paul’s major issues, the Federal Reserve.

As a work of entertainment, Silver Circle has several good points. There’s lots of action, including explosions and car chases. I enjoyed the rock’n’roll soundtrack, which included Jordan Page, one of my favorite artists. Some of the movie’s predictions, I expect will (unfortunately) come true, such as increasing government repression and monetary inflation (a sign in a bar advertises “$90 Beer Nights.”) Last but not least, the the movie’s primary villain is Federal Reserve, an agency which has escaped public scrutiny for far too long.

The movie has its share of drawbacks. Its worst problem was the crudeness of its digital animation. I’m a big fan of animated moves, especially the shows that come from Japan, where they are considered a serious form of entertainment. I’ll give Roberts kudos for getting it done on what, relative to those Japanese media conglomerates, must have been a tiny budget. Yet I fear that Silver Circle‘s animation will turn off its intended audience. The characters look like they came out of a 1990’s video game, with a kind of “near miss” realism that made them look creepy. In many places, movements such as walking and running did not look natural.

Secondly, the plot seemed somewhat contrived. It’s not believable that a high official of the Federal Reserve System would dirty his hands by engaging in corruption in the housing market and employing a team of thugs to dispatch his opponents. I agree that the Fed’s policies both promote financial corruption and fund the murderous actions of the national security state, so Fed officials are responsible, indirectly, for these evils. Of course, it’s difficult to show such complex economic connections in a standard length movie. Likewise, Silver Circle‘s rebels are omni-competent and overly diversified in their activities. Besides minting and distributing their own silver coins, they engage in acts of sabotage against the state- it’s all in a day’s work.

Roberts’ most brilliant move was the merchandising tie-in. They’ve minted real “silver circle” coins made in one-ounce and tenth-ounce denominations, which are sold before and after the show. The coins’ design, which is featured prominently in the film, is quite striking (if you’ll forgive the numismatic pun.) In addition, they have a tangible value, unlike the paper trash printed by the Federal Reserve.

Though I wouldn’t say that Silver Circle is a masterpiece, I definitely endorse its pro-liberty message. That’s sadly rare in an time where so much of what the corporate media produces are fawning accolades to the state. I expect to see more from Pasha Roberts, and I’m hoping his next work keeps up this positive trend while addressing some of the shortcomings of his first one.

 

Eight Myths about Conspiracy Theories

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This time I’d like to stray from science fiction and write about one of my favorite topics- conspiracy theories. Why do people, especially in the mainstream media, view them with such disdain? I’d say that it’s due to a number of misconceptions, which I’ll address below.

  1. Believing in conspiracies is a sign of mental illness.We’ve all met the disturbed, paranoid type. I once encountered a homeless woman who muttered continually about Richard Nixon “reading her mind” with spy cameras. Then there are the “tin foil hat” people, like Mel Gibson in Shyamalan’s movie Signs (or in Mel’s case, real life.) Since some conspiracy believers are crazy, the argument goes, all must be- a conclusion that violates Logic 101. There’s nothing crazy about keeping an open mind. Even if a given conspiracy is nonsense, it can still provide inspiration for a good story. Chris Carter took advantage of several of them for the X-Files.
  2. Conspiracies can’t work in the real world because conspirators are always caught.People often cite the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals as proof of this assertion. These guys were caught and prosecuted, despite their powerful positions. More likely it was due to the plotters themselves. Nixon was a paranoid drunk and Oliver North was an arrogant fool. Yet on the topic of organized crime, people draw the opposite conclusion. When we hear of a truck full of drugs being busted on the border, we wonder how many others got through.
  3. Someone will always talk and expose the conspiracy.Never underestimate the power of group loyalty. For example, a policeman who blows the whistle on corruption in his department runs the risk of losing his job, and will likely be viewed as a turncoat by his friends on the force. In intelligence agencies and the military there’s the added threat of legal sanctions. Look what happened to Bradley Manning, reviled by millions as a “traitor,” despite his good intentions.
  4. If conspiracies were real, people who threatened to reveal them would be killed.There are numerous examples of people with knowledge that was dangerous to the powerful who died under mysterious circumstances: Clinton aide Vince Foster, British weapons inspector David Kelley, and JFK mistress Mary Pinchot Meyer to name just three. In most cases, however, it’s more effective to harass, intimidate, and otherwise marginalize the truth-tellers. Even the most damning revelations are harmless if no one believes them.
  5. Companies and private organizations conspire, but democratic governments don’t.The media can’t dismiss all conspiracies, because they like to point the finger at modern bogeymen such as tobacco companies and the Vatican. Foreign governments are also fair game if they’re enemies of the United States. Right wing pundits accused Saddam Hussein of plotting to attack America, but our “friends” the Saudi monarchy (who actually do support extremism) were off limits. See Gary North’s article explaining how conspiracies for monetary gain are acceptable but not those for political power.
  6. Belief in conspiracy theories is bad for public health and/or the environment.

This is why the Climate-gate scandal never gained traction in the mainstream media: environmentalists can only be motivated by good. Instead we hear how parents in Pakistan refuse to vaccinate their children because they suspect the CIA of poisoning the injections. The media doesn’t consider the behavior of the US in Pakistan (especially the drone strikes) as a likely cause of these suspicions. Obama aide Cass Sunstein has publicly expressed his desire to suppress web sites that promote “false information” on health issues. No doubt he would like to treat conspiracy theorists the way European governments treat Holocaust deniers- with arrest and prosecution.

  1. Because some conspiracies are false, they all are.

I’m a big fan of conspiracy sites such as Prison Planet. This doesn’t mean I accept every one of their theories as fact. Even the ideas I consider to be far-fetched (chemtrails, HAARP) may contain a kernel of truth or, as I noted before, provide fodder for sci-fi stories. My own theory is that agencies such as the CIA secretly promote bogus conspiracies to discredit the government’s skeptics. Consider the many bizarre and contradictory theories about the 9/11 attacks. Debates about “pods” under the aircrafts’ wings and molten metal under the twin towers draw attention away from more obvious questions, such as, did someone in the government have foreknowledge of the attacks? Could this be why FBI agents were ordered not to investigate suspicious Arab flight students?

  1. Governments practice secrecy not to manipulate and exploit us, but to protect us.There are plenty of counter-examples that show how governments, even Western democracies, view their citizens as expendable pawns in the “great game” of international politics. Consider the Pentagon Papers, which revealed that the Johnson Administration deceived the public about the Vietnam War. Or the Downing Street memo, which admitted that the reasons for attacking Iraq were rationalizations for a policy that had already been decided. For me, the clincher was the book Day of Deceit, by Robert Stinnett, which uses declassified documents to prove FDR had foreknowledge of the Pearl Harbor attack, which he welcomed as an excuse to get the US into the war. What I find most amazing is that so many people are still so gullible. If the government proposes yet another war against an apparently harmless enemy, they conclude that “the President must know something we don’t.” Who, I ask you, are the crazy ones?

 

Conspiracy theories are not always far-fetched or implausible, though even the crazy ones can be entertaining. Sometimes they make more sense than the conventional wisdom. Perhaps the theories themselves may be part of a larger conspiracy.