Statism is Dead, Part 4: Free Range Empires and the End of Farming

Stefan Molyneux

REMASTERED "STATISM IS DEAD" PART 4  Free Range Empires and the End of Human Farming - Why freedom always leads to tyranny under statism.  FOLLOW ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneux  GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK! https://peacefulparenting.com/  Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!  Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!  You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!  See you soon! https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025

Transcript

00:00Hello, everybody. This is Stefan Molyneux from Free Domain Radio.

00:03This is True News, Current Events Clarified, Statism is Dead, Part 4,

00:10Free-Range Empires, and the End of Farming.

00:17We all know the names of the ancient empires.

00:21These are the BC Empires, the Persian, the Assyrian, the Babylonian, the Sumerian,

00:25and so on, all rise and fall in more modern times.

00:29We have, of course, Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, Parthian, the Mongols, the Ming Dynasties, the Guptas, and so on.

00:38These are all empires which rise and fall, and at the end of this video, you will know why.

00:46Modern empires from the Middle Ages onwards, the Late Middle Ages, the Ottoman, the British, the Romanov,

00:52and so on, the American Empire, lasting from a little under 500 to a little over five years.

01:01These empires rise, and then they fall.

01:06What is the cycle of empires?

01:07It's relatively simple, actually.

01:10Certain liberties are either purposefully or inadvertently granted to citizens.

01:16As a result, technological and economic efficiencies increase the general wealth of society.

01:25This increased wealth results in increased taxation, not just proportionately, but progressively.

01:34Increased taxation swells the size and power of the state, resulting in increased tyranny,

01:40both domestically and overseas.

01:42Increased tyranny destroys the economic progress, which was its original foundation.

01:51Rinse and repeat over and over again throughout history until we discover and achieve something different.

02:01For example, the Roman Empire, a highly successful tax livestock farming methodology,

02:07lasted for hundreds of years, spread throughout large sections of the Gnome world,

02:10the spread of Roman law and economic progress.

02:17They made a desert and called it peace.

02:20These are quotes from Wiki.

02:21The Roman Empire had the most advanced set of technology of their time.

02:25The apparent period in which technological progress was fastest and greatest

02:28was during the 2nd century and 1st century BC,

02:31which was the period in which Roman political and economic power greatly increased.

02:37Emphasis added.

02:38Freedom equals productivity equals tyranny.

02:45Rome increased taxes and enslaved the population through conscription.

02:49The young men in particular, of course, because of the communications and technology of the time,

02:55they could really only tax in cities.

02:57And this, of course, drove the young out into the country to escape conscription and increased taxes.

03:05What this did, of course, is that the Roman leaders, the Roman ruling class,

03:09had to substitute paid mercenaries for warrior slaves at the same time as their tax base was diminishing

03:16and people fled the cities.

03:17So the taxes diminish, the costs increase, and you can only debase the currency to a certain degree

03:23and borrow money to a certain degree as we are seeing in the U.S. now.

03:27So eventually you run out of money, you can't pay your mercenaries,

03:30and they come and collect their bills by sacking your empire.

03:34And that is the cycle.

03:36Freedom equals productivity equals taxation equals collapse.

03:45Here's a metaphor for you.

03:46Hopefully this will help make it clearer.

03:48A chicken farmer.

03:49I apologize for not knowing much about chicken farming,

03:52but if you will forgive me for the numbers, let's go through them.

03:55A chicken farmer, let's say, has 1,000 chickens producing 5 eggs a week,

04:00so he gets 5,000 eggs per week.

04:03Ah, he discovers one day, if he gives them more room,

04:07his chickens will produce three times as many eggs.

04:10He gets 15,000 eggs per week with the same number of chicken.

04:14Does he say, oh, great, now I can set two-thirds of my chickens free

04:18because they only need 5,000 eggs per week?

04:21Well, of course not.

04:22He simply increases his spending,

04:25and he can also use the increased productivity of his chickens

04:29as collateral for borrowing money.

04:33Same is true with car production.

04:34When Henry Ford flips over to the assembly line Model T production,

04:39he's able to double the wages, produce far more cars.

04:41Does he say, well, I can produce four times as many cars,

04:44so I'm going to shut down 75% of my factories?

04:46Of course not.

04:49The same is true with car production.

04:50Chicken, chicken, farmers, and governments.

04:59The greater the productivity of the livestock,

05:01the greater the productivity of the citizens,

05:04the greater your productivity,

05:05the greater the loans that can be taken out.

05:10Livestock productivity

05:12is collateral for debt.

05:16This is why the richer the country is,

05:18the more likely it is

05:19to be in debt.

05:22Productivity equals

05:23enslavement.

05:25The taxed livestock farmer.

05:34The parasitical classes

05:36states,

05:38through the use of violence against adults and religions,

05:40through the use of fearful propaganda to children,

05:43so the parasitical classes and their beneficiaries

05:45either accidentally or purposefully provide certain

05:48economic liberties for their livestock.

05:50Property rights,

05:52freedom of association and mobility,

05:54breaking up of medieval guilds,

05:55granting of the rights of usury,

05:56or lending for interest,

05:58and so on.

05:59The resulting economic boom

06:02provides some material benefits

06:03to the livestock, to be sure,

06:05but provides enormous profits

06:06for the parasitical classes

06:09which grow exponentially.

06:12Thus, freedom

06:15always fuels

06:17tyranny.

06:18This

06:19is the foundational problem

06:21with statism.

06:25Sustained growth, you see,

06:26is impossible

06:27in a statist society.

06:30Economic growth inevitably

06:31funds massive increases

06:33in the size,

06:34power,

06:35and violence of states.

06:37The American empire

06:38results from American capitalism

06:40in the 19th century.

06:40The British empire

06:42resulted from the agricultural

06:43and industrial revolutions,

06:46in particular,

06:47cotton from the colonies

06:48processed in the northwest of England.

06:50The British empire

06:51was founded on cotton.

06:53And, of course,

06:54cultures or countries

06:55are always very keen

06:56on free trade

06:57as long as it is in

06:58areas that they are

07:00already dominant in.

07:02So they spread free trade

07:03in certain areas

07:04but not in others.

07:06The Egyptian empire,

07:07if we go back in time,

07:08resulted from the efficiency

07:09of written language,

07:10what they invented

07:11and agricultural innovations.

07:15This is the paradox

07:16or the problem

07:17of statism.

07:18State-based societies.

07:19Additional productivity

07:20always further enslaves

07:22the livestock.

07:27Closer to home

07:27or more recently,

07:29what about the computer revolution?

07:30The most recent revolution

07:32has been the technological revolution

07:33which provides

07:34jaw-dropping benefits.

07:35business and engineering

07:37modeling,

07:38CAD-CAM spreadsheets,

07:40business plans.

07:41Instantaneous and free

07:42worldwide communication,

07:43unthinkable.

07:45Vastly reduced bureaucratic

07:46or paper-shuffling costs

07:47for private businesses.

07:49Just think of Walmart

07:50every time you check something out,

07:52an order goes to a manufacturer

07:53to replace it.

07:54Amazing.

07:55Reduced need for secretarial

07:56and support staff,

07:57photocopying,

07:58on-screen video

07:59and text editing,

08:00email attachments,

08:00digital media,

08:01the list goes on and on.

08:02Show us the money.

08:07All prior revolutions

08:08resulted in huge wealth.

08:11The agricultural revolution,

08:12five to ten times

08:13more crops.

08:15The industrial revolution,

08:17income for workers doubled

08:18in 32 years,

08:20real wages.

08:22The assembly line revolution,

08:23Ford doubled the wages

08:24of people

08:25within a year or two.

08:27Large income

08:27increased.

08:29So why has real income

08:30stagnated and declined

08:31since the onset

08:33of the technological revolution?

08:36Because the size

08:37and power of governments

08:38has soaked it all up,

08:40has increased so dramatically.

08:42Why have debts

08:42increased so enormously

08:45government debts

08:45since the industrial,

08:46sorry,

08:46since the technological revolution?

08:50Because governments

08:51have soaked it all up.

08:54Productivity equals tyranny.

08:57Freedom always feeds tyrannies

08:59in a state of society.

09:01If you want to understand

09:05the violence

09:06of the 20th century

09:08in a nutshell,

09:09it goes like this.

09:12The vast increases

09:12in social wealth

09:13that resulted from

09:15the agricultural

09:15and industrial revolutions

09:16created massive governments

09:19armed with terrible

09:20weapons.

09:22Freedom equals wealth

09:23equals tyranny.

09:25The world wars,

09:28not genocides,

09:30but democides,

09:31death by government,

09:31of the 20th century,

09:33hundreds and hundreds

09:34of millions slaughtered

09:36were only possible

09:37because of the economic

09:38productivity

09:38of the 17th and 19th century.

09:41Cannot have world wars

09:43without economic productivity.

09:46Freedom leads to

09:48tyranny.

09:50Citizens fund

09:51their own slaughterhouses.

09:53The productivity

09:54of the private citizen

09:55funds the size

09:56and power

09:56and terrifying

09:57weapons of the state.

10:00Citizens fund

10:01their own slaughterhouses

10:02just like cattle do.

10:06In state of societies,

10:07additional freedoms

10:08always lead

10:09to greater tyrannies.

10:15There is a new kind

10:16of empire

10:17which really arose

10:18at the end

10:19of the 19th century,

10:19the free-range empire.

10:21In my last video,

10:22leading on

10:24the matrix

10:24could have well

10:25been called

10:25the statrix.

10:27I argued that

10:28free-range tax livestock

10:29is far more productive

10:30than slaves

10:30or serfs'

10:31directly owned

10:32livestock.

10:34The American empire

10:35runs along

10:35the same principles

10:36which is exactly

10:37what you would expect.

10:38It is a free-range empire

10:40which avoids

10:41direct ownership

10:41in the British

10:42and French model

10:42but rather exacts

10:44tribute and obedience

10:46through the omnipresent

10:47threat of violence

10:48and financial

10:49manipulation.

10:52This is like

10:56the mafia

10:57charging protection money

10:58rather than

10:58taking over

10:59local businesses.

11:01The free-range empire

11:03cheaper to run

11:04more productive.

11:09The United States empire

11:10will collapse

11:11because that is

11:12the endless cycle

11:12of statist societies.

11:15Freedom

11:15equals wealth

11:17equals war

11:19internal or external

11:20to the country

11:21equals collapse.

11:25With this knowledge,

11:27this certain knowledge

11:27and hundreds of empires

11:29with which we can see

11:31this cycle repeating

11:32over and over,

11:33we can begin to design

11:33a truly free society.

11:35A non-statist,

11:36a state-free society.

11:38Yes, I know,

11:39it seems hard.

11:40I understand.

11:40It seems crazy.

11:41But such revolutions

11:43have been achieved before.

11:44We now have very few countries

11:46which allow for

11:47direct slave ownership.

11:48We have free-range

11:49livestock,

11:51not directly owned livestock.

11:52That's progress.

11:53Now we go from free-range

11:54to free.

11:58If you want to know

11:59at least my thoughts

12:00on how this can be achieved,

12:01free books,

12:02on my website,

12:03PDF and audiobooks,

12:04Everyday Anarchy

12:04and Practical Anarchy,

12:05freedomainradio.com

12:06forward slash

12:07free.

12:10I'm telling you,

12:11we can

12:11avoid

12:12this endless,

12:14violent,

12:14and destructive cycle

12:16of liberties

12:17leading lambs

12:18to slaughter.

12:23Thank you so much

12:24for watching.

12:24As always,

12:24for more on the philosophy

12:25of personal and political liberty,

12:27please visit

12:27freedomainradio.com

12:28all the free goodies

12:30on the planet,

12:30thriving online community

12:31of people taking on

12:32the challenge

12:33of pursuing

12:33philosophical freedom

12:34in their own lives,

12:36spreading the truth

12:37and reason through

12:37example and argument.

12:39Thank you so much

12:40for watching.

12:41I will talk to you soon.

12:42I will talk to you soon.

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