Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:Anarchism

2008-10-15T15:29:09Z

Trystan:

Terrorist groups? Which anarchists groups in America are deemed terrorist? My search so far has been fruitless.
:Agreed. And [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0327-04.htm this] seems to suggest that there are no offical anarchist terrorist groups, but that they are sometimes watched by the FBI. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 17:21, 15 September 2008 (EDT)

As i attempted to make issue of before, but has apparently been wiped from this talk page, the introductory paragraph is biased, and inappropriately specific references to unsubstantiated, uncited presumptions, i.e. "Anarchists tend to support unrestricted access to drugs, alcohol, pornography, and gambling. Anarchists also tend to support unrestricted abortion, assisted suicide, and prostitution." If anybody can find conclusive evidence that these positions are peculiar to anarchists, then by all means, cite it, and we'll let the issue rest. However, i am quite doubtful there exists such proof. To be frank, the introductory paragraph represents an ''ad vericundiam'' attack on the character of anarchists, as opposed to the kind of objective description becoming an encyclopedia. Thus, i am taking the liberty of striking the above sentences from the article. i would challenge whomever has been reversing my prior edits to this page to present a factual basis for his/her doing so... [[User:JBrandonLoberg|JBrandonLoberg]] 14:20, 10 October 2008 (EDT)
:Is it the content or the way it's being said? [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 20:20, 10 October 2008 (EDT)

I think that prostitution is something that anarchists would oppose. It is exploitive and it involves the women being taken advantage of. But this could differ from one anarcho-ideology to another.

Anarcho-capitalism

2008-09-20T14:05:28Z

Trystan:

'''Anarcho-capitalism''' is the belief that the [[free market|marketplace]] can be used to replace the functions of [[government]] and that [[capitalism]] without a [[government|territorial monopoly of ultimate decision-making]] is both economically more efficient and morally superior. The idea is that supply, demand and competition would keep corporations from acting unethically or harming others.

Critics believe that state intervention is needed to prevent [[monopoly]]. In response, anarcho-capitalists such as Murray Rothbard argue that monopolies are defined by state intervention and cannot arise on the free market<ref>http://mises.org/rothbard/mespm.PDF</ref>. Others, like Hans Hoppe, add that the State itself is a monopoly over final arbitration and taxation power. Others have criticized it because big business may act as a [[state]]; forcing its will onto others.
People of this view generally believe that government is necessary to protect the property of the less powerful in society against the more powerful.

[[category:Politics]]
[[category:Economics]]

== See also ==
* [[Anarchism]]
* [[Anarchopedia]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=67/ ''Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of Choice'', edited by Edward P. Stringham]
* [http://www.lewrockwell.com/hoppe/hoppe5.html/ "Anarcho-Capitalism: An Annotated Bibliography," by Hans-Hermann Hoppe]
* [http://www.mises.org/rothbard/newliberty.asp/ ''For a New Liberty'', by Murray N. Rothbard]
* [http://www.independent.org/store/book_detail.asp?bookID=17/ ''The Voluntary City: Choice, Community, and Civil Society'', edited by David T. Beito, Peter Gordon, and Alexander Tabarrok]

Talk:Capitalism

2008-09-20T14:02:43Z

Trystan:

Iran is non-capitalist? Excuse me?

"Anti Semitic"? You _are_ aware that Karl Marx was Jewish, right? --[[User:BobD|BobD]] 18:09, 14 April 2007 (EDT)
*He was ethnically Jewish yes. However, his parents were converts to Christianity. He was not raised Jewish and wrote many anti-semitic essays. He was a self-hating Jew! Google it. -- [[User:CoulterMan|CoulterMan]] 18:14, 14 April 2007 (EDT)

Cut:

:an economic system where the means of production are privately owned and operated

It's still capitalism, even if the government runs some businesses. There is no bright line of division between free market capitalism and a totally planned economy. Even under the Soviet Union, there was a thriving black market. Maybe we need an [[economic spectrum]] to describe the gradations of control. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 05:21, 28 April 2007 (EDT)
:I endores this view and beleive Marxist rhetoric needs to be kept out of this article. Capitalism is not an ideology, unlike Marxism, and there is no comparison between the two on that basis. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:07, 28 April 2007 (EDT)
::I'd argue it is, but its tenets are rarely articulated. Anyone want to take a crack at it? (The big one seems to be that ANYTHING [[Enron|a corporation]] does to make money is inherently good.)
:::Don't bother. Gorby tried to salvage what he could, and still is a convinced Communst, but the rest of the planet has rejected the flawed notion that Communism is a completing "ideology" to Captialism. Please, abandon this moot point. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:37, 28 April 2007 (EDT)

* "It's still capitalism, even if the government runs some businesses." No it isn't!

"There is no bright line of division between free market capitalism and a totally planned economy." Yes, there is! -- [[User:AmeriCan|AmeriCan]] 22:32, 28 April 2007 (EDT)

== Image ==

HEE HEE! [[User:Guitarplayer|Guitarplayer]] 17:11, 25 June 2007 (EDT)
:The image is to demonstrate the absurdity of image choice at [[Socialism]]. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 17:12, 25 June 2007 (EDT)
::Ok, I'll play your little game. Thank you for the BBC link, it really was very interesting reading, and something I've wanted to read for a long time. You, sir, have the floor now. Please support any claim you wish to make. Thank you. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 17:47, 25 June 2007 (EDT)
:::My claim is that if you wish to make a completely inaccurate generalization about a very broad and diverse ideology, that kind of logic should apply to all ideologies. You put socialism in the worst possible light, so I think it is only fair to show capitalism in the worst possible light. Do you disagree? Is there some sort of double standard taking place here? I would propose an image of, say, [[Alexander Hamilton]] for the capitalism article, and [[Karl Marx]] for the socialism article. Both are extremely relevant figures. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 17:51, 25 June 2007 (EDT)
::::(A) I disagree with the premise, "Capitalism is an ideology." Now, it is up to you, using an argument or sources other than Marxist, to prove that it is an ideology. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Right now, you need to support your fundamental claim, using this text, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/209742.stm], for the statement,
::::''"Augusto Pinochet, a Chilean capitalist. Pinochet murdered approximately 3,000 "leftist sympathizers" to promote capitalism."'' [[User:RobS|RobS]] 18:07, 25 June 2007 (EDT)
:::::I don't care what term we use to define it; Capitalist and Socialism are two different ways of performing the same task. Whether it is an ideology, a way of life, an economic system, a belief... I don't care. Your attempts to pull the argument away from the core issue will not work. The issue at hand is the use of images, not whether it is an ideology. And I won't be using that source anymore, as I think we can both agree on the basics;
:::::*Chilean leftists attempted to promote communism (a form of socialism, not synonymous with socialism)
:::::*Pinochet murdered 3,000 leftists, to make sure that a capitalist economy stayed in place.
:::::A CIA report: [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB212/19731027%20Intelligence%20Report.pdf]
:::::And for the record, I despise socialism; the basic ideal it promotes cannot be successfully attained, and it presents no motivation for work. I do, however, think that certain elements of socialist countries - say, socialized health care - would be of great benefit to America.
:::::Once again, the question dodging needs to stop. Capitalism and Socialism are both, let's say, "economic systems". Therefore, presenting capitalism in a strictly positive light, while presenting the absolute worst of socialism - dictators, fascists, and murderers - is a ridiculous double standard. I understand your personal objection to socialism, Rob, but that doesn't get to influence objective writing, correct? --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 19:00, 25 June 2007 (EDT)
::::::Ok, so (A) where in the CIA report can you support the claim,
::::::''Augusto Pinochet, a Chilean capitalist. Pinochet murdered approximately 3,000 "leftist sympathizers" to promote capitalism." ''
::::::(B) Can we assume you are unable to support the claim, "Augusto Pinochet, a Chilean capitalist. Pinochet murdered approximately 3,000 "leftist sympathizers" to promote capitalism," with the BBC cite, since you said, "I won't be using that source anymore", and will you remove it?

::::::(C) Hoji said, "Capitalist and Socialism are two different ways of performing the same task;" -- RobS does not agree with this.

::::::(D) Hoji said, "Capitalism and Socialism are both, let's say, 'economic systems';-- RobS does not agree with this either. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 20:33, 25 June 2007 (EDT)

:::::::Let's try this a similar way:
:::::::I don't agree with your agreement on C or D. Would you like to define them in your own manner? I proposed a compromise; an image of Hamilton on this article, and an article of Marx at [[Socialism]]. We can work out the captions later. So, do you agree with the image choice, or would you like something different? --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 23:12, 25 June 2007 (EDT)

::::::::Hoji my good man, you are backpeddling. The burden of proof is on you to prove that Capitalism is an ideology; and I suspect you cannot do that without using Marxist sources. So, by default, I win, unless you wish to pursue it further.

::::::::I don't see the meaining or purpose of an image of Hamilton on this page. Capitalism is not hardly an ideology, or an article of faith that anyone puts personal sentiments or emotion on. Let's assume momentarily old earth creation theory & evolution are true, i.e. that the human speicies is 130,000 years old; guess what? Capitalism fed the human species from day one until now. And there simply is no other explanation as to how the human species has survived this long. You say Marxism (socialism/communism/whatever) is an "economic system;" I say bullrot. Capitalism kept the Soviet Union alive for 70 years, not Socialism (Communism or Liberalism or whatever). The Managers of the Soviet system exterminated the old owners of property (by "property" I am refering to "capital"), stole their assets, appointed themselves slave masters, and continued a capitalist regime with themselves in charge.

::::::::So you see my friend, while we can scientifically and academically pick Marx's ''Das Kapital'' apart, and demonstrate its flaws and failings, by contrast [[Adam Smith]]'s ''Wealth of Nations'' is not a textbook of ideology or a substitute for the Bible. It is rather like a Volvo repair manual, it gives a mechanical description of operations that allow the human species to survive in a civilized society. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 23:35, 25 June 2007 (EDT)

:::::::::I am not trying to define capitalism as an ideology, I am trying to convince you, in a ridiculously off-topic argument, that the image currently in place is not accurate.
:::::::::So you wish to say that capitalism is ''not'' an ideology, but socialism is? You wish to define ''Das Kapital'' as an "alternative to the Bible"? You state that capitalism has kept humanity alive since day one?
:::::::::I'll indulge you and agree to that analysis of the situation. If socialism is an ideology, than communism is a ''type'' of socialism; like lassez-faire capitalism is a ''type'' of capitalism. Once again, trying to make "socialism" synonymous with "communism" is simply inaccurate. Including a picture of fascist dictators on the "socialism" article is simply wrong, and I believe you know this.
:::::::::You still attempt to change the subject, which remains the same; the image of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin on the [[Socialism]] article is misleading and inaccurate. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 01:30, 26 June 2007 (EDT)
::::::::::Ok, so we found areas of common understanding. I'll reserve comment on the statement "lassez-faire capitalism is a type of capitalism."

::::::::::As to the statement, ""Augusto Pinochet, a Chilean capitalist...murdered approximately 3,000 "leftist sympathizers" to promote capitalism," your own friends contradict this premise right here in CP. [[Donald Kendall]] gives us an explanation of the Chilean coup:

:::::::::::''Allende's leftist regime was banning cola sales and other capitalist operations. These conspiracy theorists believe that Kendall used his influence with Nixon to persuade him to back the right-wing coup.
::::::::::Interesting entry; allegedly it had nothing to do with Capitalist/Communist, U.S./Soviet, left/right competetition. It was Coke/Pepsi capitalism, Coke being backed by Nixon & the U.S., Pepsi being the "national soda franchise" of the Soviet Union as the entry states. The godless Allende wanted to boot out Coca-Cola sales & let Soviet bottled Pepsi have a capitalist monopoly in Chile. And all this, it can be seen, came from a Marxist contributor here in Conservapedia.

::::::::::So, what evidence have you presented that is not simply another Marxist lie? To deny (a) the historic nature of the image in the Socialism article, or (b) the very name of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is disengeuous. As to the idea it's misleading: Would you agree the incessant, unending discussion of Strom Thurmond, David Duke, racism, and the GOP is misleading? [[User:RobS|RobS]] 09:54, 26 June 2007 (EDT)

== FAR OFF POINT ==

CAPITALISM - An economic system in which the means of production, distribution and exchange are privately owned and operated for private profit. Webster's Dictionary

PRIVATE PROPERTY - As protected from being taken for public uses, is such property as belongs absolutely to an individual, and of which he has the exclusive right of disposition. Property of a specific, fixed and tangible nature, capable of being in possession and transmitted to another, such as houses, lands, and chattels.
- - Black's Law dictionary, sixth ed., p.1217

Concatenating the two, we get:
Capitalism is an economic system in which individuals absolutely own the means of production, distribution, and exchange.

Based on that simplification, it's clear that there are no capitalist nations around.
Either corporations (who are creatures of government permission and do not absolutely own) or governments claim power and authority over the means of production, distribution and exchange.

--[[User:Jetgraphics|Jetgraphics]] 14:36, 14 November 2007 (EST)

Christopher Hitchens

2008-09-14T17:49:16Z

Trystan:

[[Image:Hitchens,_Stanford.jpg‎ |right|thumb|200px|Christopher Hitchens]]
'''Christopher Eric Hitchens''' (born April 13, 1949, in [[Portsmouth]], [[England]]) is a journalist, author and literary critic. Hitchens received degrees in philosophy, politics and economics from [[Oxford University|Balliol College]], [[Oxford]], in 1970. From 1971-1981, he worked in [[Britain]] as book reviewer for ''The Times'' newspaper. He emigrated to the United States in 1981, and has written regularly, or been a contributing editor for ''Harper's'', ''Vanity Fair'' and [[Nation (magazine)|''The Nation'']]. He is [[Judaism|Jewish]] by matrilineal descent, although he did not discover this until he was 38 years old. He is an avowed [[Atheism|atheist]]. Hitchens has a younger brother, [[Peter Hitchens]], who is also a very prominent journalist, author and critic.

Christopher Hitchens was a member of the International Socialists and an active [[Trotskyist]] during his youth. Today he is "on the same side as the neo-conservatives," but does not consider himself a conservative. He supports George W. Bush's foreign policy, but has a negative attitude towards the president's support of [[intelligent design]].

He was a harsh critic of [[Ronald Reagan]] and of [[Henry Kissinger]] whom he considers a [[war criminal]].

==Opposition to Islam and Support of the War on Terror==

Christopher Hitchens became an activist against Islam when Ayatullah Kohmeini declared a [[fatwa]] against his personal friend [[Salman Rushdie]]. The event has led him to become very vocal in his support of the war in Iraq and heavily critical of Muslim society and ethics.

==Select bibliography ==
*''Callaghan: The Road to Number Ten'' (Cassell, 1976)
*''Hostage to History: Cyprus From the Ottomans to Kissinger'' (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1989)
*''Imperial Spoils: The Case of the Parthenon Marbles'' (Hill and Wang, 1989)
*''Blood, Class and Nostalgia: Anglo-American Ironies'' (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990)
*''The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice'' (Verso, 1995)
*''Prepared for the Worst'' (Hill and Wang, 1989)
*''For the Sake of Argument: Essays & Minority Reports'' (Verso, 1993)
*''No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family'' (Verso, 2000)
*''God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything'' - outside the US, published with the alternate subtitle ''The Case Against Religion'' (Atlantic, 2007)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchens, Christopher}}
[[Category:Authors|Hitchens, Christopher]]

[[Category:Journalists]]

[[Category:Atheists]]

Talk:Anarchism

2008-09-14T17:39:31Z

Trystan: New page: Terrorist groups? Which anarchists groups in America are deemed terrorist? My search so far has been fruitless.

Terrorist groups? Which anarchists groups in America are deemed terrorist? My search so far has been fruitless.

Ronald Wilson Reagan

2008-09-11T22:09:06Z

Trystan:

{{President
|image=Aaag.jpg
|seq=40
|term_start=January 20, 1981
|term_end=January 20, 1989<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=George H. W. Bush
|previous=Jimmy Carter
|next=George H. W. Bush
|birth_date=February 6, 1911
|birth_place=Tampico, Illinois, USA
|death_date=June 5, 2004
|death_place=Bel Air, California
|spouse=Jane Wyman
|spouse2= Nancy Davis Reagan
|religion=Presbyterian
}}
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan '''(February 6, 1911- June 5, 2004), [[United States]] President and considered by some to be one of the greatest American Presidents, was the 40th [[President of the United States of America]] severing two terms from 1981 to 1989, following [[Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]] and preceding [[Republican]] [[George H. W. Bush]]. Ronald Reagan is credited with leading America peacefully through the Cold War, lowering taxes, promoting a free economy, and helping bring about the end of [[communism]] in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He was known affectionately to Americans as "The Gipper," harking back to a film where he was cast as All-American George Gip.<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp]</ref>

In one of his most famous challenges to Soviet communism in Europe, Reagan gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in which he said, "Mr. [[Gorbachev]], tear down this wall." Reagan's economic policies became known as "Reaganomics" based on the idea that tax cuts will spur savings and investment. Reagan was strongly opposed to the concept of big government, advocating a reduction in the size and budget of the federal government. During his terms in office, he faced a divided Congress split between Republican and Democratic control for six of his eight years as President. Reagan was known for forging alliances with the Democratic [[Speaker of the House]], [[Tip O'Neill]], among others, to effectively pass legislation.

Despite mostly staying true to conservative principles, Reagan's government funded terrorist forces (the [[Contras]]) in Central America.

==Early Life==
Reagan was born and raised in Illinois and attended Eureka College, where he quickly developed a reputation as a "jack of all trades", excelling in the areas of athletics and theater. In his first year at Eureka, where Reagan earned a degree in economics, the president of the college tried to cut back the faculty. Reagan immediately helped organize a student strike. Reagan enlisted in the military during [[World War II]], but his eyesight was not good enough for combat duty. He used his acting skills to make military training films and promote the sale of War Bonds.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.obit/index.html</ref>

Reagan became a radio sports announcer, and then a famous actor, leading the [[Screen Actors Guild]]. Ironically, Reagan was thus the only president to lead a [[labor union]], traditionally considered bastions of liberalism. Reagan himself was a registered Democrat well into the 1950s, but as head of the Screen Actors Guild he fought against Communist infiltration. Peggy Noonan wrote, "Even in his zeal to purge the communist influence from [[Hollywood]], he fought those who engaged in witch hunts and defended those who had been falsely accused of involvement." Reagan met his second wife, actress [[Nancy Davis]], when she came to Reagan for help as she was concerned because another actress with the same name ended up on the "black list."<ref> [http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F70F1FF9395C17728DDDAF0A94D8415B8084F1D3 The Biggest Role of Nancy's Life]</ref><ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DavidLimbaugh/2001/11/17/noonan_when_character_was_king]</ref>

==Governor of California==
In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California, succeeding [[Pat Brown]]. In 1970, he was re-elected. But in 1974, he chose not to seek a third term and was succeeded by [[Jerry Brown]]. Events and achievements during his terms included:

*Called in the [[National Guard]] to restore order when People's Park protesters began attacking police, and restored order to California's chaotic university campuses.<ref>http://police.berkeley.edu/about_UCPD/ucpdhistory.html#anchor178048</ref> Reagan authorized the use of violent force against the peaceful protesters in Berkeley,<ref>University of California, Berkeley - Police Department. [http://police.berkeley.edu/about_UCPD/ucpdhistory.html#anchor178048 History Topic: People's Park] August 2006</ref> saying, "If there has to be a bloodbath, then let's get it over with."<ref> ''San Francisco Chronicle'', early morning edition, May 15 1969</ref> In the resulting chaos, police fired buckshot into the crowd, fatally wounding one bystander and blinding another, and injuring hundreds of others.

*Led a comprehensive and far-reaching revision of California's massive public assistance programs, actually increasing benefits to the truly needy.

*Worked well with the Democrats to forge consensus on a variety of issues.

*Opposed the Dos Rios Dam.

==Presidency (1981-1989)==
[[Image:Reaganfamily-red-rr-.jpg|left|thumb|275px|President & Mrs. Reagan with their extended family.]]
In 1968, Reagan was a late candidate for president in the Republican primaries. However, [[Richard Nixon]] easily won that nomination. In 1976, Reagan challenged [[Gerald Ford]] for the Republican nomination, before withdrawing his name from consideration. Reagan knew if he continued, he would take the nomination away from Ford, and forever be branded as a Party spoiler. This he did not want, so he signaled his wish to be removed from consideration, and gave a very effective speech at the convention in support of Ford. Then, in 1980, he beat [[George H. W. Bush]] in the Republican primaries, and went on to oppose [[Jimmy Carter]] (incumbent) in the general election with George Herbert Walker Bush as his running mate. A poor economy and the incumbent's failing to deal with several international crises aided Reagan. As he put it, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." In the general election he received 50.75% of the popular vote, beating Jimmy Carter by almost 10%, and also won 90.9% of the electoral vote. Riding his strong showing, the Republicans won enough seats in the United States Senate to take control of that chamber for the first time in decades. The results were a shock as polling had been showing a close contest heading into the day of the election.

Once in office, Reagan showed he was playing hardball. When the Federal [[Air Traffic Controllers]] struck illegally, Reagan gave them 48 hours before he fired all who hadn't gone back to work (11,359).

In 1984, Reagan won 49 out of 50 states' electoral votes, and the largest public vote in almost 100 years, 58.77%. During his second term, he helped end the [[Cold War]] with the help of [[Margaret Thatcher]] and some assistance from [[Pope John Paul II]] and [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] by recognizing the weakness of the Soviet economy, and spent them out of existence by not being able to compete with defense spending.<ref>[http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/agathon/2661_8.htm#7867The Demise of the Brezhnev Doctrine and the Dismantling of the Warsaw Treaty Organization], " The party leadership gradually came to understand that the sustaining of domestic [[perestroika]] in the USSR was endangered by the inability of an inefficient economy to carry the burdens of excessive overseas military spending in the form of the [[Warsaw Pact]]".</ref>

March 30, 1981 there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on President Reagan at the Washington Hilton Hotel in [[Washington, D.C.]] John Hinckley, Jr. shot Reagan and injured 3 others. Reagan survived and was able to recover quickly.

==Domestic policy==
===Economy===
As President, Ronald Reagan enacted his theory of "Reaganomics." His four major policy objectives were the following<ref>http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Reaganomics.html</ref>:

*Reduce the growth of government spending.
*Reduce the marginal tax rates on income from both labor and capital.
*Reduce government regulation of the economy.
*Control the money supply to reduce inflation.

Fueled by an over spending [[Congress]] that steadfastly refused Reagan's budget proposals, the national debt increased 160% during his two terms in office. However, the economic growth that resulted from tax cuts made deficits as a percentage of [[GDP]] lower than what they had been in during the previous decade of stagflation. The period of high inflation and unemployment when Reagan took office was over after eight years of his Presidency. In 1986 Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act, which obtained an overhaul of the income tax code and eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. The income tax rates of the top personal tax bracket dropped from 70% to 28% in 7 years. At the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html</ref>

===Supreme Court Appointments===
Ronald Reagan had maintained the promise he made in his 1980 presidential campaign to appoint the first women to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]]. On July 7, 1981, President Reagan nominated Superior Court judge [[Sandra Day O'Connor]] as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing the retiring [[Potter Stewart]]. There were some concerns by social conservatives and Pro-Life groups over whether she would overturn [[Roe v. Wade]]. Nevertheless, she was confirmed by the Senate by a 99–0 vote on September 21 and took her seat September 25.

In 1987, Reagan nominated [[Washington]] circuit judge, former Solicitor General and former acting [[Attorney General]] [[Robert Bork]] to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice [[Lewis Powell]]. [[Senate]] [[Liberal]]s attacked Bork as being too [[conservative]]. Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] (D-[[Massachusetts]]), criticized him, saying,

''"Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is -- and is often the only -- protector of the individual rights that are the heart of our democracy."''<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DF1E3EF936A35754C0A961948260</ref>

[[Image:NReagan.jpg‎|left|thumb|150px|One of First Lady Nancy Reagan's notable activities while in office was her "Just Say 'No'!" anti-drug program.]] On October 23, 1987, the U.S. Senate rejected Bork's confirmation on a 42-58 vote. [[Anthony Kennedy]] was then nominated for the seat, where he was confirmed on a 97-0 vote.

===War on Drugs===
As President, Reagan declared a "war on [[drugs]]", which would be policies put forward by the United States and other countries to reduce illegal drug trade. In 1986, President Reagan signed the very prominent Anti-Drug Abuse Act which granted $97 million to build new [[prison]]s, $200 million for drug [[education]] and $241 million for treatment. Overall, $1.7 billion to fight the drug crisis.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/</ref> First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]] started a slogan, "Just Say No" to drug use. The term was used in [[television]] advertising, and today there are many "Just Say No" drug clinics. As a result of the policies, [[marijuana]] use went from thirty-three percent of high-school seniors in 1980 to twelve percent in 1991.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/interviews/kleber.html</ref>

==Foreign policy==
Reagan's 1983 [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] became popularly known as "[[Star Wars]]", the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular [[George Lucas]] films. This plan was never fully instituted. Although billions of dollars was spent on development, no space-based missile defense was tested successfully during Reagan's terms in office. However, technologies were developed from the program that had practical uses in society. For instance lasik eye surgery came about through developments generated by the SDI program.

While many academics claim SDI gave the United States a large amount of leverage in its standoff with the [[Soviet Union]], many political scientists and historians believe that Star Wars played a secondary role in the calculus of Soviet policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount. However, it should be noted that the threat the Soviet Union felt from the initiative was instrumental in making them step-up negotiations, according to many involved with diplomacy at the time and can be seen by following Gorbachev's repeated public insistences that the SDI program be discontinued. [[Henry Kissinger]] wrote: ''I know it's an axiomatic view of the Left around the world that missile defense is sinful, and that it's desirable to keep each nation as vulnerable as possible. But that's a debatable premise. The U.S. must defend itself against ''whoever'' has missiles that would threaten the United States. And you don't have to be able to name an enemy.''<ref>[http://www.doublestandards.org/dreifus1.html]</ref>
[[Image:300px-ReaganBerlinWall.jpg‎|right|275px|thumb|"Mr.Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"]]

Reagan was president at the time of the shooting down of [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]] by the Soviets on September 1, 1983. He termed the shootown of an innocent straying passenger plane with 269 passengers and crew a "massacre" and the ensuing rage over the tragedy both world-wide and in the U.S. provided support for the deployment of cruise and Pershing ll missiles in West Europe- just six minutes flying time from Moscow.

Upon his death, Margaret Thatcher commented: ''As Prime Minister, I worked closely with Ronald Reagan for eight of the most important years of all our lives. We talked regularly both before and after his presidency. And I have had time and cause to reflect on what made him a great president. Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles - and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively. When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do. When his aides were preparing option papers for his decision, they were able to cut out entire rafts of proposals that they knew 'the Old Man' would never wear. When his allies came under Soviet or domestic pressure, they could look confidently to Washington for firm leadership. And when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding. Yet his ideas, though clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth. Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion; but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform. Yes, he did not shrink from denouncing Moscow's 'evil empire'. But he realized that a man of goodwill might nonetheless emerge from within its dark corridors. So the President resisted Soviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weakness at every point until the day came when communism began to collapse beneath the combined weight of these pressures and its own failures. And when a man of goodwill did emerge from the ruins, President Reagan stepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincere cooperation. Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity - and nothing was more American.''<ref>[http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/thatcher.asp]</ref>

===Soviet Union===
Shortly after taking office in 1981 Reagan issued National Security Decision Directive 11-82, (NSDD 11-82), that explicitly made U.S. defense spending a form of economic warfare against the Soviets. The directive was known more unofficially as the Reagan Initiative. The United States would "exploit and demonstrate the enduring economic advantages of the West to develop a variety of [arms] systems that are difficult for the Soviets to counter, impose disproportionate costs, open up new areas of major military competition and obsolesce previous Soviet investment or employ sophisticated strategic options to achieve this end. Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI), or "Star Wars" as the media referred to it, was a costly high tech research and development program designed to make arms spending a "rising burden on the Soviet economy."<ref>Peter Schweizer , [http://www.reason.com/news/show/28929.html ''Reagan's War: The Epic Story of His Forty Year Struggle and Final Triumph Over Communism''], New York: Doubleday, 2002.</ref>
[[Image:Photo 4 250.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Reagan and Gorbachev at Reykjavik]]
The Reagan Initiative was also concerned with aiding nations in active conflict with the Soviet Union. One such group was the [[mujahideen]] of Afghanistan. This armament would be used to combat the Soviet Union, and later used by the Taliban against the United States.

A report by the CIA of the critical domestic economic problems and social discontent Soviet [[CPSU]] General Secretary Gorbachev provided a look what the sources of his principal dilemma-the very reforms needed to deal with the problems would threaten preservation of the [[nomenklatura]] and put at risk Gorbachev’s ability to maintain the power to bring about [[Perestroika]].<ref>CIA Assessments of the Soviet Union: [https://www.cia.gov/csi/monograph/russia/enter.html Chapter 5, Enter Gorbachev ], Douglas J. MacEachin, CIA Publications, 1996.</ref> Gorbachev requested a Summit with Reagan in Reykjavik in October 1986 to discuss the stresses competition from the Reagan’s defense posture was having on Soviet military spending and economy, and Gorbachev’s ability to carryout his plans of restructuring Communist control. Gorbachev told the [[Politburo]] in preparation for the Summit, "Our goal is to prevent the next round of arms race. If we do not do this ... will pulled into an arms race beyond our power, and we will lose this race, for we are presently at the limit of out capabilities."<ref>Notes of Politburo Meeting 4 October 1986, [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/22/documents/reykjavik/ Gorbachev's instructions for the group preparing for Reykjavik]</ref>

By the late 80s, the Soviet Union began unilateral force cuts and troop withdrawals from Eastern Europe, and by May 1989 an unprecedented series of disclosures by senior Soviet officials revealed actual reductions in defense spending for the 1986-1990 and 1991-1995 Five Year Plan periods.<ref> Christopher Wilkinson NATO Review, [http://www.nato.int/docu/review/1991/9102-4.htm Soviet Defense Spending], NATO's Economics Directorate No. 2 - April 1991, Vol. 39 p. 16-22</ref> Genrikh Grofimenko, a former adviser to [[Leonid Brezhnev]], said "Ninety-nine percent of the Russian people believe that [the US] won the Cold War because of your president's insistence on SDI".<ref>Peter Schweizer, ''Reagan’s War''.</ref>

===[[Containment]] and the [[Iran]]ian initiative===
In 1985, after Reagan won reelection to his second term, the focus turned from reviving the domestic economy to several foreign policy matters which had been lingering throughout the decade. One such matter involved Iran, a long time ally of the Western Allies since 1941 that had experienced an Islamic Revolution in 1979 after President Carter announced [[Human Rights]] had superseded [[Containment]] as the primary focus of American foreign policy{{fact}}. Since 1980, Iran had been enmeshed in a brutal trench war with neighboring Iraq which was emerging as a potent military threat in the region to other allies. Members of the National Security Council staff, along with CIA Director [[William Casey]], persuaded Reagan much could be gained and several problems could be addressed simultaneously with an overture to Iran to restore relations.

The objective of the plan was fourfold:
#Take steps to restore good relations with the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]] which was becoming increasingly hostile to the West;
#Take measures to convince Iran that Israel could become a friend and ally;
#Insurance against Iraq becoming too strong which would become a threat to [[Kuwait]] or [[Saudi Arabia]];
#Provide funding for other operations to continue the policy of containment in the Western Hemisphere, most notably [[Nicaragua]], and the violence the Soviet/Cuban/Nicaragua connection was creating in [[El Salvador]] and [[Honduras]].

There were humanitarian aspects to the proposal as well; (1) the [[Iran-Iraq War]] had stalemated for nearly six years and Reagan was advised that he was in the unique position as President to help facilitate bringing a senseless war with much suffering to an end; (2) the suffering of the people of the Central American Republics at the hands of Soviet-inspired subversion which had in the decade of the '80s established a beachhead in North America; (3) Iran perhaps could be persuaded to use its good offices to influence hostage takers in [[Lebanon]] who had held several Western prisoners, many of them Christian Missionaries, for several years.

Reports had filtered back to Reagan that children as young as nine years old had been used by Iran to clear minefields.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-iraq.htm Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), ''Iraqi Retreats, 1982-84''], Globalsecurity.org, retrieved 20 March 2007.</ref> In weighing Iraq's delicate Sunni/Shia balance and the growing threat of Iranian-sponsored terrorism, the NSC staff and Casey recognized the dangers of an Iraqi collapse as well as the urgent need to dissuade Iran from continuing its ruthless and inhumane tactics.<ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq53.pdf NSDD 139, 5 April 1984].</ref>

The [[Boland amendment]], a Vietnam era-style Congressional impingement on the legitimate foreign policy prerogatives of the Executive via the power of the purse, was used to deny Reagan's recommitment to the [[Truman Doctrine]] which had been adhered to by every President, Democratic and Republican alike since Truman, with the exception of [[President Carter]] whose [[human rights]] policy had brought one of the active belligerents, the [[Ayatollah Khomeini]], to power{{fact}}. In three of the active Soviet fronts, [[Afghanistan]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[El Salvador]], some Congressional Democratic leaders were openly sympathetic to Soviet foreign policy.<ref>[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/591eifow.asp ''One Weekend in April, A Long Time Ago ... What John Kerry thought about the Sandinista in Nicaragua''], Hugh Hewitt, The Weekly Standard, 09/09/2004.</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060331222819/www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/6/7/234527.shtml ''Kerry: 'I'm Proud I Stood Against Reagan''] Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff, 7 June 2004.</ref> So the decision was made to fund [[Containment]] of Soviet objectives on an active front in North America with sales of TOW missiles to Iran. Israel provided the TOWs because the [[Boland Amendment]] forbade direct US funding and it was a welcome opportunity for Israel to build bridges to a much needed friend in the Middle East.

The operation was known as the "[[Iran-Contra affair]]." After word got out about the operation in November 1986, investigations were made, leading to the convictions of several members of the Reagan administration. President Reagan himself testified before the Tower Commission that he had poor recollection of the details of the operation due in part to the heavy pain medications he had been on in that period.

===Cold War victory===
Reagan is credited for ending the [[Cold War]] in victory for the United States. Historian Tony Judt in ''Postwar'' credits Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], while the political scientist Jan Kubik presents a viewpoint that credits [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref>[http://praguepost.com/articles/2007/02/28/letters-to-the-editor.php]</ref> Other historians contend structural weaknesses within the Communist bloc meant Reagan's actions were inconsequential to the end of [[communism]]. This is the view adopted by [[Russia]]ns themselves, and many political historians, citing ''[[perestroika]]'' and ''[[glasnost]]'' as beginning an inevitable slow fading of central power, and a collapse by irreconcilable differences between the central Soviet [[Politburo]] and the constituent republics, especially the [[Ukraine]].<ref>David Remnick, "Lenin's Tomb</ref> In the end, the consensus seems to point to all of the above, that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union; Internal factors, religious pressure brought by the Pope, Gorbachev's "Perestroika" and the united front of Ronald Reagan and [[Margaret Thatcher]], leading [[NATO]] and [[the West]] to embed a [[missile defense system]] in [[Western Europe]], and the economic superiority of [[Capitalism]], which simply out-spent and out-performed that of the Communist one. One thing that cannot be quantified is Reagan's ability to give [[hope]], his never-ending optimism that good would indeed triumph over evil. Many see that as key to bringing extra confidence to those locked behind the "[[Iron Curtain]]" to press even harder for reforms.

Columnist [[Cal Thomas]] wrote about it like this: ''He proved he was right about the big things. Faced with editorial denunciations at home and massive [[demonstration]]s in [[Europe]] against his plan to put missiles there to offset a [[Soviet threat]], Reagan went ahead and did it anyway. The Soviets could not keep pace with the buildup or Reagan's proposed missile defense system (derided by critics as "[[Star Wars]]"). When those critics could not bring themselves to admit they were wrong, they unpersuasively claimed the Soviet Union fell under its own weight. More accurately, Reagan pushed it onto "the ash heap of history," with the able assistance of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and [[Pope John Paul II]]. What Reagan did more than anything else - and it will be his lasting legacy - is replace [[despair]] with hope. Most people, even his detractors, felt a glow from being in his presence. He was the kindest, most gracious president I have met, and I have met them all since JFK. In his presence you felt he was interested in you and not himself. He was a good man.''<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2004/06/07/ronald_reagans_wonderful_life]</ref>

[[Brian Mulroney]], the Canadian Prime Minister, said of Reagan: ''"Some in the West during the early 1980s believed communism and democracy were equally valid and viable. This was the school of "[[moral equivalence]]." In contrast Ronald Reagan saw [[Soviet communism]] as a menace to be confronted in the genuine belief that its squalid underpinning would fall swiftly to the gathering winds of [[freedom]]. Provided, as he said, that NATO and the [[industrialize]]d democracies stood firm and united. They did. And we know now who was right."''<ref>[http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/mulroney.asp]</ref>

*Former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan paid tribute to the fallen president in a recent ''Wall Street Journal editorial''. In it, Noonan noted: "Ronald Reagan told the truth to a world made weary by lies. He believed truth was the only platform on which a better future could be built. He shocked the world when he called the Soviet Union ‘evil,’ because it was, and an 'empire,' because it was that, too. He never stopped bringing his message to the people of the world, to Europe and China and in the end the Soviet Union. And when it was over, the Berlin Wall had been turned into a million concrete souvenirs, and Soviet communism had fallen. But of course, it didn’t fall. It was pushed. By Mr. Know Nothing Cowboy Gunslinger Dimwit. All presidents should be so stupid."<ref>[http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=1679]</ref>

==Post-presidency==
Reagan retired to California. He would occasionally involve himself in politics, including a speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention. In 1994, he announced that he had been diagnosed with [[Alzheimer's disease]], a degenerative nerve disorder that annihilates the victim's mental capacity. He died at his Bel-Air home on June 5, 2004 at age 93, making him the second-longest lived president in history.

==Miscellaneous Facts==
*Reagan was the first and only labor leader and former President of an AFL-CIO union ever elected US President.
*Reagan was the first and only divorced president.
*Reagan was a lifeguard for seven years growing up, and was said to have saved 77 people.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/bio.part.one/index.html</ref>
*Reagan was the first president to break the "[[Curse of Tippecanoe]]", ie, the first president elected in a twenty year cycle who did not die in office.
*At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected to the presidency.
*The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, California.<ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/visitorguide/hours_directions.asp</ref>
*Reagan's 1994 announcement that he had Alzheimer's Disease brought large amounts of public attention to the disease.
*Reagan loved jelly beans.<ref>http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/trivia.shtml</ref> The blueberry flavor was made in his honor. [[Jelly Belly]] even created a [http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/bean_art_gallery.shtml Ronald Reagan [[portraits|portrait]] out of jelly beans].
*His speech writer [[Peggy Noonan]] is a columnist for the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]''.
*After his death, some of his closest supporters wished to put him on the $10 bill<ref>http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/08/news/economy/reagan_hamilton/index.htm</ref>

== Quotes ==
*"The house we hope to build is not for my generation but for yours. It is your future that matters. And I hope that when you are my age, you will be able to say as I have been able to say: We lived in freedom. We lived lives that were a statement, not an apology." - January 20, 1981
*"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." - January 20, 1981
*"We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look." - January 20, 1981
*"I've learned in Washington, that that's the only place where sound travels faster than light." - December 12, 1983
*"The challenge of statesmanship is to have the vision to dream of a better, safer world and the courage, persistence, and patience to turn that dream into reality." - March 8, 1985
*"I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers: Go ahead, make my day." —March 13, 1985, in a speech threatening to veto legislation raising taxes.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3638320/</ref>
*"A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough." - December 5, 1990
*"If you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." —Speech at the Berlin Wall, June 12, 1987<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3638320/</ref>
*"...I know it's hard when you're up to your armpits in alligators to remember you came here to drain the swamp." - February 10, 1982
*"There is no question that we have failed to live up to the dreams of the [[founding fathers]] many times and in many places. Sometimes we do better than others. But all in all, the one thing we must be on guard against is thinking that because of this, the system has failed. The system has not failed. Some human beings have failed the system." - June 21, 1973
*"The work of volunteer groups throughout our country represents the very heart and soul of America. They have helped make this the most compassionate, generous, and humane society that ever existed on the face of this earth." - Oct. 16, 1973
*"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." - January 20, 1981
*"In America, our origins matter less than our destination, and that is what democracy is all about." - August 17, 1992<ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/quotes/default.asp</ref>

==See also==
*[[How Ronald Reagan won the Cold War]]
*[http://www.conservapedia.com/Ronald_Reagan%27s_speech_on_KAL_007#Text_of_the_speech Ronald Reagan's Speech on KAL 007]
*[[Korean Airlines Flight 007]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External Links==
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040614-646317,00.html Time Magazine Article on ''The All-American President'']
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html White House Official Page]
*[http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=537924&agid=2 The Passing of a Conservative] - by [[Alfred Regnery]]
*[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/ Reagan's Presidential Library]
*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0001654/ Actor Bio At IMDB]
*[http://www.ronaldreaganmemorial.com/ Official Memorial]
*[http://www.reagan.navy.mil/index.html USS ''Ronald Reagan'' CVN 76 official website]
*[http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Ronald_Reagan Quotations by Ronald Reagan]
*[http://reagan2020.us/ Reagan 2020] Reagan 2020 is the Internet's most comprehensive resource on Ronald Reagan.
*[http://www.acuf.org/principles/p_philos.asp "Our Philosophy of Government"] Speech by President Ronald Reagan, March 2, 1981
*[http://www.nationalreview.com/document/reagan200406101030.asp Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation] While president, Ronald Reagan penned this article for The Human Life Review, unsolicited.

[[Category:Ronald Reagan]]
{{USPresidents}}
[[Category:California Governors]]
[[Category:Republican Governors]]

Capitalism

2008-09-11T21:52:38Z

Trystan: /* Capitalism and Society */

[[Image:Tokyo Stock Exchange.jpg|thumb|Tokyo Stock Exchange]]
'''Capitalism''', also called '''free market economy''' is an economic system where the investment of capital, and production, distribution, income, and prices are determined not by government (as in a [[planned economy]]) but through the operation of a competitive market where decisions regarding transfer of money, goods (including capital goods), and services are voluntary and private rather than regulated and mandated by government (see [[law of supply and demand]]).

One self-regulating feature of capitalism is competition, which helps maintain fair market value for goods and services. However, ''unrestrained'' or ''pure'' capitalism may sometimes create a positive feedback loop in which a small number of individual accumulations of capital grow ever larger, eventually becoming so few as to limit effective competition, thus ceasing to strictly be free-market capitalism. In this regard, pure capitalism is unstable. Modern political systems have developed regulation mechanisms in an attempt to render capitalism more stable, including anti-trust regulation, trade tariffs, etc.

Since the fall of [[communism]], and the advent of information technology, capitalism is becoming increasingly widespread.

[[Adam Smith]] described the operation of capital accumulation through the productive powers of labor as such,

{{Cquote|Whatever a person saves from his [[revenue]] he adds to his [[capital]], and either employs it himself in maintaining an additional number of productive hands, or enables some other person to do so, by lending it to him for an interest, that is, for a share of the profits. As the capital of an individual can be increased only by what he saves from his annual revenue or his annual gains, so the capital of a society, which is the same with that of all the individuals who compose it, can be increased only in the same manner. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html Book II, Chapter 3, Paragraph 15,] ''Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}
[[Image:Eco Pillars.jpg|right|320px]]
Smith goes on to describe how the productive powers of labor employed by the owner of a capital allow laborers to reproduce with a profit the value of their maintenance, over and above their own consumption, which then allows for an additional set of hands to be employed. <ref>Adam Smith, ''Wealth of Nations'', Book II, Chapter 3, Paragraph 22.</ref> Smith observes labor is the original purchase price for all the wealth of the world,

{{Cquote|The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. What every thing is really worth to the man who has acquired it, and who wants to dispose of it or exchange it for something else, is the toil and trouble which it can save to himself, and which it can impose upon other people. What is bought with money or with goods is purchased by labour, 2<ref>'Everything in the world is purchased by labour.'—Hume, 'Of Commerce,' in Political Discourses, 1752, p. 12</ref> as much as what we acquire by the toil of our own body. That money or those goods indeed save us this toil. They contain the value of a certain quantity of labour which we exchange for what is supposed at the time to contain the value of an equal quantity. Labour was the first price, the original purchase-money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that all the wealth of the world was originally purchased; and its value, to those who possess it, and who want to exchange it for some new productions, is precisely equal to the quantity of labour which it can enable them to purchase or command. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html Book I, Chapter 5, Paragraph 2,] ''Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

Real wealth consists not in money, but in the things money will exchange for,

{{Cquote|In order to put industry into motion, three things are requisite; materials to work upon, tools to work with, and the wages or recompense for the sake of which the work is done. Money is neither a material to work upon, nor a tool to work with; and though the wages of the workman are commonly paid to him in money, his real revenue, like that of all other men, consists, not in money, but in the money's worth; not in the metal pieces, but in what can be got for them. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Chapter 2, Paragraph 37,] ''Of Money Considered as a particular Branch of the General Stock of the Society, or of the Expence of Maintaining the National Capital '', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

Since wealth does not consist in money, gold, or silver, and labor is the original purchase price, Smith explains how the capitalist system is then put into motion, complete with natural incentives, only Smith does not use the word "capital" here to describe what is needed. Smith explains how a "store of goods", or "stock sufficient to maintain" the original capitalist entrepreneur is necessary;

{{Cquote|When the stock which a man possesses is no more than sufficient to maintain him for a few days or a few weeks, he seldom thinks of deriving any revenue from it. He consumes it as sparingly as he can, and endeavours by his labour to acquire something which may supply its place before it be consumed altogether. His revenue is, in this case, derived from his labour only. This is the state of the greater part of the labouring poor in all countries.

But when he possesses stock sufficient to maintain him for months or years, he naturally endeavours to derive a revenue from the greater part of it; reserving only so much for his immediate consumption as may maintain him till this revenue begins to come in. His whole stock, therefore, is distinguished into two parts. That part which, he expects, is to afford him this revenue, is called his capital. The other is that which supplies his immediate consumption <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Chapter 1, Paragraphs 1 & 2,] ''Of the Division of Stock '', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}

The [[division of labor]] is the necessary condition that gives rise to the productive powers of labor that allows for large scale economic growth. By "division of labor", Smith is referring to "specialization of labor", where each worker acquires specific knowledge to apply to a specific task.

{{Cquote|In that rude state of society in which there is no division of labour, in which exchanges are seldom made, and in which every man provides everything for himself, it is not necessary that any stock should be accumulated or stored up beforehand in order to carry on the business of the society. Every man endeavours to supply by his own industry his own occasional wants as they occur. When he is hungry, he goes to the forest to hunt; when his coat is worn out, he clothes himself with the skin of the first large animal he kills: and when his hut begins to go to ruin, he repairs it, as well as he can, with the trees and the turf that are nearest it.

But when the division of labour has once been thoroughly introduced, the produce of a man's own labour can supply but a very small part of his occasional wants. The far greater part of them are supplied by the produce of other men's labour, which he purchases with the produce, or, what is the same thing, with the price of the produce of his own. But this purchase cannot be made till such time as the produce of his own labour has not only been completed, but sold. A stock of goods of different kinds, therefore, must be stored up somewhere sufficient to maintain him, and to supply him with the materials and tools of his work till such time, at least, as both these events can be brought about.

As the accumulation of stock must, in the nature of things, be previous to the division of labour, ...in order to give constant employment to an equal number of workmen, an equal stock of provisions, and a greater stock of materials and tools than what would have been necessary in a ruder state of things, must be accumulated beforehand. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book II, Introduction, Paragraphs 1, 2, & 3] ''Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock,'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}
{{Cquote|When the division of labour has been once thoroughly established, it is but a very small part of a man's wants which the produce of his own labour can supply. He supplies the far greater part of them by exchanging that surplus part of the produce of his own labour, which is over and above his own consumption, for such parts of the produce of other men's labour as he has occasion for. Every man thus lives by exchanging, or becomes in some measure a merchant, and the society itself grows to be what is properly a commercial society. <ref>Adam Smith, ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', [http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN7.html Book I, Chapter 4, Paragraphs 1] ''Of the Origin and Use of Money'', First Edition 1776.</ref>}}
==Capitalism and Society==
[[Image:Ludwig von Mises.jpg|thumb|100px|Ludwig von Mises]]
Historically, capitalism has fostered freedom, and vice versa. Societies that have tried non-capitalist systems inevitably fall into tyranny.

For example, [[Venezuela]], while not a perfect country before [[Hugo Chavez]], had freedom and wealth unprecedented in its history. As Chavez has nationalized industries, he has also centralized power, and has received mass support in numerous elections. However, [[China]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]] and others all have capitalist economies and are dictatorships. [[Nazi Germany]] had a largely capitalist economy with several big businesses - including [[IBM]] - financing the regime.

Non-capitalist societies also tend to be [[atheism|atheistic]] (the [[Soviet Union]]).

== Quotes ==

“Historical evidence speaks with a single voice on the relation between political freedom and a free market. I know of no example in time or place of a society that has been marked by a large measure of political freedom, and that has not also used something comparable to a free market to organize the bulk of economic activity.”

--[[Milton Friedman]], Capitalism and Freedom, 1962.

“Capitalism is essentially the economic system of poor people. That’s what allowed the people that came from humble origins of the world to have economic rights the way only nobility and the high bourgeoisie had it before. So capitalism is essentially a tool for poor people to prosper.”

--Hernando de Soto, PBS Interview, March 30-31, 2001

(cf: [http://www.americansolutions.com/General/?Page=026a3bda-755c-45d8-84d3-c68eef294612 Values - Free Enterprise])

"The only real cure for poverty is production". [[Henry Hazlitt]], from Man vs. the [[Welfare]] State.

== See also ==

*[[Capital]]
*[[Free Enterprise]]
*[[Ludwig von Mises]]
*[[Enterprise]]
*[[Socialism]]
*[[Welfare]]

==External links==
*[http://www.capmag.com Capitalism Magazine]
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/capitalism/ What Liberals Say - Category: Capitalism], [[Accuracy In Media]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Business]]

Anarchism

2008-09-11T21:47:37Z

Trystan:

'''Anarchism''' is a political philosophy advocating the removal of the State and the establishment of a society without government. The term is of [[Greek]] origin (coming from the word "αναρχία" (anarchia), meaning "without rulers". Anarchists tend to support unrestricted access to drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling and any other form of addiction. Anarchists support unrestricted [[abortion]], [[assisted suicide]], and prostitution. Anarchists oppose the use of prisons. Anarchists tend to oppose any form of government, but can be found expressing support for [[direct democracy]], [[freedom of speech]], de-centralism, individualism and anti-authoritarianism.

Anarchists generally oppose what [[Noam Chomsky]] has termed "illegitimate authority": stopping a child from running into a busy street would be an act of legitimate authority. The government and other coercive entities are considered illegitimate.

==Traditional anarchism==

Traditional anarchism is similar to [[communism]], though unlike in communism, traditional anarchists do not favor [[socialism]] as a means to their end, as it requires a state. Traditional anarchists advocate the formation of [[collective|collectives]]. Traditional anarchism rejects all authority, both business and government.

==Individualist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism==

Individualist anarchism, unlike traditional anarchism, does not advocate collectives. Individualist anarchists differ on the status of [[private property]] and other rights.

[[Anarcho-capitalism]], a form of individualist anarchism, favors private police agencies, security companies, and arbitration instead of government. Anarcho-capitalism is the most extreme form of [[libertarianism]].

==Relationship between the two==

Traditional anarchists argue that anarcho-capitalists are not true anarchists. This is due to their support of the authority of business and private property. Traditional anarchists argue that one cannot live without wages under a [[capitalist]] system.

Anarcho-capitalists argue that all support of business is voluntary, since one can choose between companies under a capitalist system. Anarcho-capitalists reject collectives, since they focus on the community rather than the individual, which may lead to a loss of individual freedom.

==Christian Anarchism==
[[Image:Tolstoy.jpg|thumb|Leo Tolstoy]]
Christianity has been influential on some anarchists. Russian novelist [[Leo Tolstoy]] is seen as an important figure in this trend. Tolstoy's Christian anarchism was outlined in his book "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Like all Christian anarchists, he believed that the only authority is God, and that therefore government is illegitimate. To support their views, they will often quote the following passage by [[Paul]]: "there is no authority except that which God has established."

==Anarchism in practice==

Many anarchists believe in a peaceful means of achieving an anarchist system. Some of these means include not voting, secession from government, and peaceful protesting.

During the [[Spanish Civil War]] there occurred in the Republican areas a "Spanish Revolution". It involved the taking over of workplaces by those who worked in them. Industry began to be organized non-hierarchically. The anarchist union the CNT did this with considerable success.

==Other uses==
In addition to being a philosophy, anarchy can also be a description of a system in which there is no higher governmental authority. The world level of political interaction is considered anarchical, because there is no power over the sovereign states (i.e. there is no world government).

==See Also==
*[[Anarcho-capitalism]]
*[[Nihilism]]
*[[Anarchopedia]]

==Sources==
*[http://www.infoshop.org/faq/ An Anarchist FAQ] - From a traditional anarchist point of view.
*[http://www.mises.org/ Ludwig von Mises Institute] - Promotes Austrian [[economics]] as well as anarcho-capitalism.
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/anarchy/ What Liberals Say - Category: Anarchy], [[Accuracy In Media]]
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MugPyyjU4nc - [[YouTube]] video detailing the anarchist experiment in Spain.

[[category:International Politics]]
[[category:Political Theory]]
[[category:Politics]]

Industrial Workers of the World

2008-09-11T21:16:52Z

Trystan:

The Industrial Workers of the World(IWW) is a labor union founded in 1905<ref>http://www.iww.org/en/culture</ref>. The stated goals of the IWW are to create "one big union". The IWW had a large following of 100, 000 Americans, and held considerable sway in industries before the [[First World War]]. Many IWW's were arrested under the [[Sedition Act of 1918]].

[[Category:Politics]]

Anarchism

2008-08-24T23:22:03Z

Trystan:

'''Anarchism''' is a political philosophy advocating the removal of the State and the establishment of a society without government. The term is of [[Greek]] origin (coming from the word "αναρχία" (anarchia), meaning "without rulers". Anarchists tend to support unrestricted access to drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling and any other form of addiction. Anarchists support unrestricted [[abortion]], [[assisted suicide]], and prostitution. Anarchists oppose the use of prisons. Anarchists tend to oppose any form of government, but can be found expressing support for [[direct democracy]], [[freedom of speech]], de-centralism, individualism and anti-authoritarianism.

==Traditional anarchism==

Traditional anarchism is similar to [[communism]], though unlike in communism, traditional anarchists do not favor [[socialism]] as a means to their end, as it requires a state. Traditional anarchists advocate the formation of [[collective|collectives]]. Traditional anarchism rejects all authority, both business and government.

==Individualist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism==

Individualist anarchism, unlike traditional anarchism, does not advocate collectives. Individualist anarchists differ on the status of [[private property]] and other rights.

[[Anarcho-capitalism]], a form of individualist anarchism, favors private police agencies, security companies, and arbitration instead of government. Anarcho-capitalism is the most extreme form of [[libertarianism]].

==Relationship between the two==

Traditional anarchists argue that anarcho-capitalists are not true anarchists. This is due to their support of the authority of business and private property. Traditional anarchists argue that one cannot live without wages under a [[capitalist]] system.

Anarcho-capitalists argue that all support of business is voluntary, since one can choose between companies under a capitalist system. Anarcho-capitalists reject collectives, since they focus on the community rather than the individual, which may lead to a loss of individual freedom.

==Christian Anarchism==
[[Image:Tolstoy.jpg|thumb|Leo Tolstoy]]
Christianity has been influential on some anarchists. Russian novelist [[Leo Tolstoy]] is seen as an important figure in this trend. Tolstoy's Christian anarchism was outlined in his book "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Like all Christian anarchists, he believed that the only authority is God, and that therefore government is illegitimate. To support their views, they will often quote the following passage by [[Paul]]: "there is no authority except that which God has established."

==Anarchism in practice==

Many anarchists believe in a peaceful means of achieving an anarchist system. Some of these means include not voting, secession from government, and peaceful protesting.

Other anarchists support violence as a means of achieving anarchism. Some anarchist groups have been labeled [[terrorist]] organizations by the US government.[Citation needed]

During the [[Spanish Civil War]] there occurred in the Republican areas a "Spanish Revolution". It involved the taking over of workplaces by those who worked in them. Industry began to be organized non-hierarchically. The anarchist union the CNT did this with considerable success.

==Other uses==
In addition to being a philosophy, anarchy can also be a description of a system in which there is no higher governmental authority. The world level of political interaction is considered anarchical, because there is no power over the sovereign states (i.e. there is no world government).

==See Also==
*[[Anarcho-capitalism]]
*[[Nihilism]]
*[[Anarchopedia]]

==Sources==
*[http://www.infoshop.org/faq/ An Anarchist FAQ] - From a traditional anarchist point of view.
*[http://www.mises.org/ Ludwig von Mises Institute] - Promotes Austrian [[economics]] as well as anarcho-capitalism.
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/anarchy/ What Liberals Say - Category: Anarchy], [[Accuracy In Media]]
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MugPyyjU4nc - [[YouTube]] video detailing the anarchist experiment in Spain.

[[category:International Politics]]
[[category:Political Theory]]
[[category:Politics]]

Ezra Pound

2008-08-24T13:51:37Z

Trystan:

'''Ezra Pound''' (1885–1972) was an American-born [[poet]], musician, and critic who was a major figure of the [[Modernist movement]] in early-to mid- 20th century poetry. He was the driving force behind several Modernist movements, notably [[Imagism]] and [[Vorticism]]. He moved to Europe, where he became a supporter of [[Benito Mussolini]] and involved in propaganda for the Axis in [[World War II]]. He spent thirteen years in St. Elizabeth mental hospital in the United States after the war, was declared to be incurably insane, and after being released, returned to [[Italy]] where he died in the early 1970s.

As a critic, Pound helped establish the careers of some of the 20th century's most influential writers including [[W. B. Yeats]], [[T.S. Eliot]], [[James Joyce]], [[Robert Frost]], [[William Carlos Williams]], [[H.D.]], [[Marianne Moore]], [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[D. H. Lawrence]], [[Basil Bunting]], [[George Oppen]], and [[Charles Olson]].

==In a Station of the Metro==

''The apparition of these faces in the crowd;''

''Petals an a wet, black bough.''

-Ezra Pound

==Selected Bibliography==
*The Cantos
*athay, poems in translation
*Cavalcanti, opera
*Jefferson and/or Mussolini, essays
*L'America, Roosevelt e le Cause della Guerra Presente, essays

[[Category:Poets|Pound, Ezra]]

Anarchism

2008-08-24T13:45:11Z

Trystan: /* Anarchism in practice */

'''Anarchism''' is a political philosophy advocating the removal of the State and the establishment of a society without government. The term is of [[Greek]] origin (coming from the word "αναρχία" (anarchia), meaning "without rulers". Anarchists tend to support unrestricted access to drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling and any other form of addiction. Anarchists support unrestricted [[abortion]], [[assisted suicide]], and prostitution. Anarchists oppose the use of prisons. Anarchists tend to oppose any form of government, but can be found expressing support for [[direct democracy]], [[freedom of speech]], de-centralism, individualism and anti-authoritarianism.

==Traditional anarchism==

Traditional anarchism is similar to [[communism]], though unlike in communism, traditional anarchists do not favor [[socialism]] as a means to their end, as it requires a state. Traditional anarchists advocate the formation of [[collective|collectives]]. Traditional anarchism rejects all authority, both business and government.

==Individualist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism==

Individualist anarchism, unlike traditional anarchism, does not advocate collectives. Individualist anarchists differ on the status of [[private property]] and other rights.

[[Anarcho-capitalism]], a form of individualist anarchism, favors private police agencies, security companies, and arbitration instead of government. Anarcho-capitalism is the most extreme form of [[libertarianism]].

==Relationship between the two==

Traditional anarchists argue that anarcho-capitalists are not true anarchists. This is due to their support of the authority of business and private property. Traditional anarchists argue that one cannot live without wages under a [[capitalist]] system.

Anarcho-capitalists argue that all support of business is voluntary, since one can choose between companies under a capitalist system. Anarcho-capitalists reject collectives, since they focus on the community rather than the individual, which may lead to a loss of individual freedom.

==Christian Anarchism==

Christianity has been influential on some anarchists. Russian novelist [[Leo Tolstoy]] is seen as an important figure in this trend. Tolstoy's Christian anarchism was outlined in his book "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Like all Christian anarchists, he believed that the only authority is God, and that therefore government is illegitimate. To support their views, they will often quote the following passage by [[Paul]]: "there is no authority except that which God has established."

==Anarchism in practice==

Many anarchists believe in a peaceful means of achieving an anarchist system. Some of these means include not voting, secession from government, and peaceful protesting.

Other anarchists support violence as a means of achieving anarchism. Some anarchist groups have been labeled [[terrorist]] organizations by the US government.[Citation needed]

During the [[Spanish Civil War]] there occurred in the Republican areas a "Spanish Revolution". It involved the taking over of workplaces by those who worked in them. Industry began to be organized non-hierarchically. The anarchist union the CNT did this with considerable success.

==Other uses==
In addition to being a philosophy, anarchy can also be a description of a system in which there is no higher governmental authority. The world level of political interaction is considered anarchical, because there is no power over the sovereign states (i.e. there is no world government).

==See Also==
*[[Anarcho-capitalism]]
*[[Nihilism]]
*[[Anarchopedia]]

==Sources==
*[http://www.infoshop.org/faq/ An Anarchist FAQ] - From a traditional anarchist point of view.
*[http://www.mises.org/ Ludwig von Mises Institute] - Promotes Austrian [[economics]] as well as anarcho-capitalism.
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/anarchy/ What Liberals Say - Category: Anarchy], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[category:International Politics]]
[[category:Political Theory]]
[[category:Politics]]

Anarchism

2008-08-24T13:44:16Z

Trystan:

'''Anarchism''' is a political philosophy advocating the removal of the State and the establishment of a society without government. The term is of [[Greek]] origin (coming from the word "αναρχία" (anarchia), meaning "without rulers". Anarchists tend to support unrestricted access to drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling and any other form of addiction. Anarchists support unrestricted [[abortion]], [[assisted suicide]], and prostitution. Anarchists oppose the use of prisons. Anarchists tend to oppose any form of government, but can be found expressing support for [[direct democracy]], [[freedom of speech]], de-centralism, individualism and anti-authoritarianism.

==Traditional anarchism==

Traditional anarchism is similar to [[communism]], though unlike in communism, traditional anarchists do not favor [[socialism]] as a means to their end, as it requires a state. Traditional anarchists advocate the formation of [[collective|collectives]]. Traditional anarchism rejects all authority, both business and government.

==Individualist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism==

Individualist anarchism, unlike traditional anarchism, does not advocate collectives. Individualist anarchists differ on the status of [[private property]] and other rights.

[[Anarcho-capitalism]], a form of individualist anarchism, favors private police agencies, security companies, and arbitration instead of government. Anarcho-capitalism is the most extreme form of [[libertarianism]].

==Relationship between the two==

Traditional anarchists argue that anarcho-capitalists are not true anarchists. This is due to their support of the authority of business and private property. Traditional anarchists argue that one cannot live without wages under a [[capitalist]] system.

Anarcho-capitalists argue that all support of business is voluntary, since one can choose between companies under a capitalist system. Anarcho-capitalists reject collectives, since they focus on the community rather than the individual, which may lead to a loss of individual freedom.

==Christian Anarchism==

Christianity has been influential on some anarchists. Russian novelist [[Leo Tolstoy]] is seen as an important figure in this trend. Tolstoy's Christian anarchism was outlined in his book "The Kingdom of God is Within You". Like all Christian anarchists, he believed that the only authority is God, and that therefore government is illegitimate. To support their views, they will often quote the following passage by [[Paul]]: "there is no authority except that which God has established."

==Anarchism in practice==

Many anarchists believe in a peaceful means of achieving an anarchist system. Some of these means include not voting, secession from government, and peaceful protesting.

Other anarchists support violence as a means of achieving anarchism. Some anarchist groups have been labeled [[terrorist]] organizations by the US government.[Citation needed]

During the Spanish Civil War there occurred in the Republican areas a "Spanish Revolution". It involved the taking over of workplaces by those who worked in them. Industry began to be organized non-hierarchically. The anarchist union the CNT did this with considerable success.

==Other uses==
In addition to being a philosophy, anarchy can also be a description of a system in which there is no higher governmental authority. The world level of political interaction is considered anarchical, because there is no power over the sovereign states (i.e. there is no world government).

==See Also==
*[[Anarcho-capitalism]]
*[[Nihilism]]
*[[Anarchopedia]]

==Sources==
*[http://www.infoshop.org/faq/ An Anarchist FAQ] - From a traditional anarchist point of view.
*[http://www.mises.org/ Ludwig von Mises Institute] - Promotes Austrian [[economics]] as well as anarcho-capitalism.
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/anarchy/ What Liberals Say - Category: Anarchy], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[category:International Politics]]
[[category:Political Theory]]
[[category:Politics]]

Anarchism

2008-08-24T13:34:08Z

Trystan: /* Anarchism in practice */

'''Anarchism''' is a political philosophy advocating the removal of the State and the establishment of a society without government. The term is of [[Greek]] origin (coming from the word "αναρχία" (anarchia), meaning "without rulers". Anarchists tend to support unrestricted access to drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling and any other form of addiction. Anarchists support unrestricted [[abortion]], [[assisted suicide]], and prostitution. Anarchists oppose the use of prisons. Anarchists tend to oppose any form of government, but can be found expressing support for [[direct democracy]], [[freedom of speech]], de-centralism, individualism and anti-authoritarianism.

==Traditional anarchism==

Traditional anarchism is similar to [[communism]], though unlike in communism, traditional anarchists do not favor [[socialism]] as a means to their end, as it requires a state. Traditional anarchists advocate the formation of [[collective|collectives]]. Traditional anarchism rejects all authority, both business and government.

==Individualist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism==

Individualist anarchism, unlike traditional anarchism, does not advocate collectives. Individualist anarchists differ on the status of [[private property]] and other rights.

[[Anarcho-capitalism]], a form of individualist anarchism, favors private police agencies, security companies, and arbitration instead of government. Anarcho-capitalism is the most extreme form of [[libertarianism]].

==Relationship between the two==

Traditional anarchists argue that anarcho-capitalists are not true anarchists. This is due to their support of the authority of business and private property. Traditional anarchists argue that one cannot live without wages under a [[capitalist]] system.

Anarcho-capitalists argue that all support of business is voluntary, since one can choose between companies under a capitalist system. Anarcho-capitalists reject collectives, since they focus on the community rather than the individual, which may lead to a loss of individual freedom.

==Anarchism in practice==

Many anarchists believe in a peaceful means of achieving an anarchist system. Some of these means include not voting, secession from government, and peaceful protesting.

Other anarchists support violence as a means of achieving anarchism. Some anarchist groups have been labeled [[terrorist]] organizations by the US government.[Citation needed]

During the Spanish Civil War there occurred in the Republican areas a "Spanish Revolution". It involved the taking over of workplaces by those who worked in them. Industry began to be organized non-hierarchically. The anarchist union the CNT did this with considerable success.

==Other uses==
In addition to being a philosophy, anarchy can also be a description of a system in which there is no higher governmental authority. The world level of political interaction is considered anarchical, because there is no power over the sovereign states (i.e. there is no world government).

==See Also==
*[[Anarcho-capitalism]]
*[[Nihilism]]
*[[Anarchopedia]]

==Sources==
*[http://www.infoshop.org/faq/ An Anarchist FAQ] - From a traditional anarchist point of view.
*[http://www.mises.org/ Ludwig von Mises Institute] - Promotes Austrian [[economics]] as well as anarcho-capitalism.
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/anarchy/ What Liberals Say - Category: Anarchy], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[category:International Politics]]
[[category:Political Theory]]
[[category:Politics]]