Charles Koch: I'm Fighting to Restore a Free Society
Instead of welcoming free debate, collectivists engage in character assassination.

By Charles G. Koch
Updated April 2, 2014 7:47 p.m. ET

I have devoted most of my life to understanding the principles that enable people to improve their lives. It is those principles—the principles of a free society—that have shaped my life, my family, our company and America itself.

Unfortunately, the fundamental concepts of dignity, respect, equality before the law and personal freedom are under attack by the nation's own government. That's why, if we want to restore a free society and create greater well-being and opportunity for all Americans, we have no choice but to fight for those principles. I have been doing so for more than 50 years, primarily through educational efforts. It was only in the past decade that I realized the need to also engage in the political process.

A truly free society is based on a vision of respect for people and what they value. In a truly free society, any business that disrespects its customers will fail, and deserves to do so. The same should be true of any government that disrespects its citizens. The central belief and fatal conceit of the current administration is that you are incapable of running your own life, but those in power are capable of running it for you. This is the essence of big government and collectivism.

More than 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson warned that this could happen. "The natural progress of things," Jefferson wrote, "is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." He knew that no government could possibly run citizens' lives for the better. The more government tries to control, the greater the disaster, as shown by the current health-care debacle. Collectivists (those who stand for government control of the means of production and how people live their lives) promise heaven but deliver hell. For them, the promised end justifies the means.

Instead of encouraging free and open debate, collectivists strive to discredit and intimidate opponents. They engage in character assassination. (I should know, as the almost daily target of their attacks.) This is the approach that Arthur Schopenhauer described in the 19th century, that Saul Alinsky famously advocated in the 20th, and that so many despots have infamously practiced. Such tactics are the antithesis of what is required for a free society—and a telltale sign that the collectivists do not have good answers.

More at the TheWallStreetJournal.com

Quote: Rev wrote in post #1

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Charles Koch: I'm Fighting to Restore a Free Society
Instead of welcoming free debate, collectivists engage in character assassination.

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More than 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson warned that this could happen. "The natural progress of things," Jefferson wrote, "is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." He knew that no government could possibly run citizens' lives for the better. The more government tries to control, the greater the disaster, as shown by the current health-care debacle. Collectivists (those who stand for government control of the means of production and how people live their lives) promise heaven but deliver hell. For them, the promised end justifies the means.

Instead of encouraging free and open debate, collectivists strive to discredit and intimidate opponents. They engage in character assassination. (I should know, as the almost daily target of their attacks.) This is the approach that Arthur Schopenhauer described in the 19th century, that Saul Alinsky famously advocated in the 20th, and that so many despots have infamously practiced. Such tactics are the antithesis of what is required for a free society—and a telltale sign that the collectivists do not have good answers.

More at the TheWallStreetJournal.com

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They provided much of the money behind last year’s government shutdown, did you know? And, they’ve been actively involved in planning and financing the overall effort to thwart the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

One of their creations, for example, Americans for Prosperity ('Whose prosperity?' you may well ask) spent millions on ads fighting health reform and it was particularly interested in doing what it could do to delay the act once it became law.

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http://blog.nj.com/njv_linda_stamato/201...bid_righte.html

From the same article, more character assassination:

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Their philosophy, such as it is, goes back to their father, Fred Koch, one of the founders of the virulently anti-communist, anti-Soviet, John Birch Society.

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Quote: Cincinnatus wrote in post #4

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one of the founders of the virulently anti-communist, anti-Soviet, John Birch Society.

Is that meant to be an insult?

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Ronald Reagan, the conservatives’ hero, said “government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.” The Koch brothers, evidently, have pledged strict allegiance to the view.

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The rich, right-wing and regulation-resistant brothers pose a threat to America.

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Linda has all the proper creds for a fellow traveler:
Linda Stamato is co-director of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, and a member of the graduate faculty at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. A graduate of Rutgers and New York Universities, she has served as a consultant to the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and as chairman of the Board of Governors at Rutgers University. Stamato writes on a number of topics, including the relationship between research and policy and the value of mediation and negotiated solutions to public problems. She lectures frequently on these subjects, focusing on how negotiation can raise ethical issues, change relationships, reveal gender differences in negotiating styles and results, and influence the course of human interaction.