In today’s issue:
- Democracy can become mob rule
- The law has become a weapon
- The next phase of the culture war will be final
It’s easy to get along with people who have no power over you. Their opinions don’t really matter. Except as a source of entertainment.
There’s nothing better than seeing someone reap what their beliefs sow. For better or worse…
Environmental protestors who use glue discover the power of oil…
Solar panellists in Australia that took government subsidies are now being taxed by the government for producing energy…
Mining and industrial companies that tried to go green are writing down whopping losses on their pie-in-the-sky projects…
ESG and DEI companies hired marketing executives that crushed sales with campaigns that enraged their customers…
EV owners got stranded…
ISIS fighters and wives went to Syria…
Believers in the benefits of a cashless society were left unable to buy groceries when the banking system experienced a tech outage…
Politicians who wrote laws about “politically exposed persons” got themselves debanked…
Minimum wage campaigners were replaced by robots…
It’s not just karma. The delusions and their consequences were perfectly aligned. People learned their lesson, the hard way.
Those that didn’t participate in the madness enjoyed the free source of entertainment, but that’s about it.
But what happens when you introduce power over others into this mix? Things get dicey.
Suddenly, you can transfer the costs and consequences of your beliefs onto someone else’s balance sheet. Your actions can have consequences for others instead of yourself…
Your neighbours can vote to tax you more than they pay. Or your tenant can vote to cap rents.
Your university spot can be given to someone based on the colour of their skin. And your employees can vote for wages high enough to put you out of business.
Immigrants can flood your neighbourhood. Energy prices can go berserk, but not everyone has to pay the higher prices.
You can be locked in your own home and muzzled by masks.
It’s the rule of law – fair and square. And there’s nothing you can do about it.
When you try to protest, you get arrested and imprisoned. Or glorified, depending on the political climate at the time…
The long arm of the law
Over the past few years, political power has extended its reach to all manner of new places.
Petrol car bans, smart meters, wind farm installations on your land, what you can and can’t say on social media, your energy bill, your right to go outside and so much more.
Government spending as a share of the economy is one way to measure this. It’s near 45%. Taxes are set to rise.The regulatory and legislative rule books are vast. And compliance costs are impossible.
The police are too busy to police the streets. And the regulatory agencies can’t keep up with their own rules.
Because this was all democratic, it must be good. The people want it. And when they don’t, their betters know what’s best anyway.
But the net effect is getting mighty heavy. Governments are now in charge of every aspect of our lives. Including what we think and believe.
Politicians are actively exerting their newfound powers in new directions too. What most Brits believed a generation ago will get you locked up today. Disagreeing makes you far right. And we all know the far right should be banned.
In response, people are breaking the rule of law. Social media is full of nasty comments. The streets are filled with violent protestors. Low emission zone cameras are being sabotaged. Homeowners are battling it out with squatters instead of calling the cops.
What do you expect people to do when it’s the law that is being used against them? When they only live by the leave of politicians?
When their way of living is no longer possible under the law, what is the incentive to obey it?
If farmers can’t farm, they’ll form convoys of tractors in the capital.
If the far right can’t post their memes, they’ll riot instead.
If the media can’t report the news for fear of stoking violence, this will stoke violence from those who want to be informed.
If the police are on the run from one sector of the community, another will challenge its authority.
It’s hardly surprising. The law and its enforcers have become tools of oppression, not protectors from it. The law is used to shape society, not keep things civil. If you must oppose the law when you disagree about how society is being shaped, then many will.
Most people are so busy trying to play this game by voting their own side into power that they don’t notice the underlying ratcheting effect of oppression and rejection this creates. It’s getting worse, each electoral cycle.
But, that’s the rule of law for you. If it doesn’t have limits.
When everything is included in the realm of politics, the law becomes a weapon
The question “what is a woman” created a ridiculous storm a few months ago. But in a world where it is a genuine political policy question, its no wonder politicians cannot define it. I doubt they could define any other word in a legal context either.
What is a Palestinian? What is a refugee? What is a valid carbon offset? What is ESG? What is biomass electricity?
We used to live in a society where it didn’t matter if we disagreed about these questions. It’s not like Kinky Boots triggered a national political debate. That’s because the definition of words couldn’t be used against us to constrain our lives… or get us arrested.
But, these days, how we answer those questions can have huge consequences. The wrong answer can even get you arrested…
As our founder Bill Bonner puts it in tomorrow’s Fortune & Freedom, the confusion is its own industry:
The Democrats’ candidate promises something new – price controls. She’ll make it a crime for grocers to ‘gouge’ consumers with higher prices. Good news for the swamp critters! Lawyers, administrators, lobbyists — they’ll put their children through elite colleges… and build beach houses in Florida… on the money they earn arguing about what ‘price gouging’ means.
All this is what makes the next phase of the culture wars so important.
Governments may have grabbed control over your speech via social media. But they cannot control your actions.
Yet.
The Woke War on You
One year ago, we published a special report predicting the next phase of the culture wars. It would introduce an entirely new level of control over you.
All throughout history, governments have attempted to control their citizens. But they never had a perfect means.
No border was perfectly secure – even North Korea leaks.
No law was perfectly obeyed.
No censor can stop word of mouth.
No workplace laws are immune to illegal immigrants.
The black market is always ready and waiting to save lives from the government’s economic mismanagement.
Until now, control was always just an attempt, with varying results. That is about to change. A new tool of absolute control is being created by governments.
Rather than making laws about how you must behave, or should not behave, governments will be able to define what is even possible.
You will only be able to act according to what is permitted. It will become impossible to break the law, if you tried.
Find out how, if you missed the report, here.
The good news is that the façade of control is crumbling. As Princess Lea put it in Star Wars, “The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”
And confidence in the Empire is crumbling. The change will be painful.
Until next time,
Nick Hubble
Editor, Fortune & Freedom
