Russian kills acquaintance at pub after arguing about Philosopher Immanuel Kant.
At first glance this is ridiculous, but what if I told you Millions of people around the world have died at the hands of Kant and his ilk?
A thousand years from now history will look back to the 19th Century and see clearly the Poisonous gift German Philosophers left the world.
While Kant is one of the worst, when you add Hegel, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, the deadly cocktail is complete.
All you need after that is some sugar, more accurately Aspartame, to cover the taste… enter Marx.
The World has paid the price for embracing these philosophers for over 100 years. It has been an overt war against the Individual and Natural Law. These Preachers of Supremacy and Collective Sacrifice at their discretion have resulted in the deaths of Millions… not just a guy outside a bar.
(Please don’t think I’m ignoring the damage done by the likes of Emerson, The Fabians, Rhodes or a sub-set of actors like Dewey, Sanger et al. But those folks, while hideous, were simply followers who took on the task of institutionalizing the disease.)
Please don’t feel bad if you fail to recognize all of these names. It’s intentional. But please DO feel angry if you don’t recognize these names… because it’s intentional.
This failure was paid for with your taxes and accomplished by your local government school system.
The last question you should be asking is, do your kids recognize these names? And if they do, what exactly are they being taught about them?
Caring is knowing.
We will never care about what we don’t know… until it’s too late.
The fact that a couple of Russians outside a bar got into a serious fight over Kant might be a positive event in terms of “knowing”.
091613
makeaneffort 
October 5th, 2013 at 7:24 pm
What are these poisonous gifts (gift means poison in German, by the way)? Was the world better before? How? In what ways has the output of the philosophers you mention affected the world? Has it been all bad, or has some good come of any of it?
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October 5th, 2013 at 8:55 pm
No good has come from collective and elitist philosophy.
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October 5th, 2013 at 9:02 pm
By the way… yes, I know Gift means poison in Deutsche. Aspartame was also developed by the Germans. Please assume I intend the various heavy handed connections within my posts. While I can be subtle, I’m never that subtle. Cheers.
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November 25th, 2014 at 10:23 am
A year later… Mike, make your case. You have made no case. You have just stated some things with no qualification, not explanation. Then to give wait you tell me to honest with myself. I do indeed try to be honest with myself but that is not an argument. I agree that philosophy is a tricky business as is much else. The “post structuralists” took a stab at what you are suggesting, but they didn’t say “aw, common. You know I’m right you just aren’t willing to admit it”. That’s completely fatuous and lazy. Write something. Make your point.
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November 25th, 2014 at 10:25 am
I meant to say to give WEIGHT you tell me to be honest with myself.
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November 25th, 2014 at 11:08 am
No worries. I understood what you meant. It’s the foundation your thoughts are based upon I’m most concerned with.
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November 25th, 2014 at 10:49 am
I’m glad you’re still here and well.
Hopefully you’ve spent the last year firming up your foundation regarding Governing Theory. I would be interested to hear exactly what it is.
Anyway…
What exactly is your question?
History is replete with examples of the Millions killed due to Communal Philosophy. I posted a cursory count in “Killer of Men”. If you would like to challenge my position I’m open to it, however, please be very specific in your challenge.
This might spur your train of thought; Where has Forced Collectivism benefited any society and not damaged Individual Freedom, Liberty… and Life?
In terms of defending Natural Law and the sacred position of the Individual over Government, I’ll leave the best writing’s to Locke, et al. In terms of the benefits of Free-Market Capitalism being the superior, and default, form of economic structure I will always defer to Smith, Hayak, Von Mises, M. Friedman, Taleb, Rand, Rothbard, anon.
If it is my view of Socialism and it variants,
You may want to visit “Force” for a better understanding of my position. For that matter, I have close to 1000 posts for you to peruse should you have a genuine interest in what I think. If you don’t care, I don’t blame you. I don;t find myself particularly interesting either. But I’m out there… for the record.
I’ll be here.
Even next year.
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November 25th, 2014 at 11:06 am
“Was the world better before? How?”
No. The world was better after the Era Enlightenment Philosophy and subsequent the birth of the very first nation based on Natural Law.
One must understand what American Exceptionalism is. It does not mean that American’s are exceptional… frankly we are far less exceptional, in my point of view, than most of those human beings longing for Freedom while living under the yoke of Socialism and it’s variants. My opinion seems to be validated regularly.
Actually, American Exceptionalism has to do with the way we were founded. It has to do with the Individual being placed Before government. Before the Tribe. Before all things. It has to do with a Constitutionally Limited Federal Government and Federalism. It has to do with the separation of Powers. It has to do with Government being intentionally slowed by the above so the Citizens can handle their lives the way they see fit.
It is a good argument to offer the United States has wandered far, far away from the Founders intent. It is an argument I make on an almost daily basis. But it doesn’t change the fact that we are the Only Country on Earth to have such a strict set of documents designed to protect the Individual and that Individuals production and property. Enforcing those rules is not in the interest of those who wish to control others.
As far as moral superiority of the United States I would offer that we have it… as long as we champion the above. It would also be a valid debate that the United States has eroded such moral heights by our embrace of Socialism. A very good argument indeed.
Was this the germ of a response you were looking for last year? Does it aid in continuing the conversation?
You’re obviously interested, so I want to be as clear as possible.
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October 5th, 2013 at 7:19 pm
I can assume certain things but you make no point past saying certain philosophers have been bad for the world. What are you talking about?
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October 5th, 2013 at 8:58 pm
Collective and Elitist Philosophy is poisonous and has polluted the minds of millions. Freedom and Liberty of the Individual as bestowed by Natural Law has been sacrificed at the alter of the Mob and those running it.
By your two comments, you know this but are unwilling to acknowledge it. Please be honest with yourself.
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September 17th, 2013 at 3:45 pm
Are you aware “Gift” is the German word for poison? I just thought that was an interesting choice of words.
Anyway, I’m just going to admit that I don’t recognize all those names. You probably shouldn’t be too concerned, since I think I have a pretty good grasp of what my philosophy is, and it really isn’t that relevant to compare it to other philosophies, but I guess I should probably do some research anyway. I could probably benefit from some more education even if I think I am already well-educated on this particular subject (which I’m probably not).
Also, why do you think all these philosophers are German? Every Austrian philosopher I can think of benefited society, and I can’t imagine the culture is very different. Are there any German philosophers who benefited society?
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September 17th, 2013 at 4:50 pm
I think the negative influence of European Philosophers, primarily German, is a result of the decaying Monarchical paradigm and self preservation. This would also explain the quick embrace of these ideas in Russia by the same classes. With the Feudal System in decline the Aristocracy clearly read the writing on the wall so to speak, and it was not good for them. They desperately needed a “new” form of government that kept them in power while appealing to the masses. They turned to these guys, who had basically ripped off Plato and his Republic. This “new” idea of a Governing Elite (Philosopher Kings) is exactly what the doctor ordered. I’m smart and you need me… VOTE for me and I’ll take care of you by giving you that other guys stuff. (This mindset was exactly what happened in the Baronies when the King was weak… so nothing genuinely “new” in this behavior.) So, by proclaiming myself a “Democratic Socialist” I’ll get to keep my land, money and power.
Keep in mind that the Aristocracy and Landed Gentry were generally the only ones with an education of any meaning. They truly appeared “smarter” to many whose life simply sucked on a daily basis. And, when your life sucks you look for someone, anyone, who claims to have the answer. (I could launch into Stalin here, but I’ll save that for next year when you and have this type of exchange.)
As far as German philosophers that benefitted society… I might suggest Martin Luther, kind of. It least he had the cojones to call the church on it’s corruption… reference the final straw of indulgences. But he was 400 years too early to fit into this conversation. I don’t “hate” all of those mentioned frankly. I think there is value in studying them all. But when taken together and used to create class stasis, tyranny and oppression they must share the blame.
But I would look to German innovation such as the Guttenberg Press… also too early to apply.
In the end, I agree with you, it was the Austrian Economists that have had the most positive, and lasting, impact.
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September 18th, 2013 at 11:26 am
Thanks for explaining all that. It does make sense. I have another question: is this similar to the increase in interest in Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the French Revolution? I see some parallels there, but you are the history expert so I want to hear what your take on that is.
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September 18th, 2013 at 11:30 am
Now that I think about it some more, there are some big differences (namely that the aristocracy wasn’t holding onto power in France), but I think there are some similarities, because, as I understand what happened correctly, the Jacobins’ ideology shifted once they got into power (from a more individual liberty and separation of powers-based ideology influenced by John Lock and Montesquieu to a more collectivist, Rousseauian ideology).
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September 18th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
And employed the guillotine. Robespierre is an interesting study in the quick evolution in ideology and subsequent corruption of power.
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September 18th, 2013 at 1:24 pm
The move to collectivism must certainly have looked appealing to those oppressed under the Feudal System. Rousseau said the right things right up until he advocated pure democracy… which you’ve heard me rail against in the past. Democracy is nothing more than mob rule. But the idea had not been “tested” as a governing theory in their memory. Bit the concept of “to remain free we must band together” is fine until application of force is employed. In other words, cooperating VOLUNTARILY is cool… doing so because the Mob/Government etc. threatens to fine/jail/hurt you is not. In the end, It is always about force. The Jacobins viewed their preservation requiring the ability to employ force over the citizenry (which seems to be a theme for Elitists who secure power, and also made the United States unique in it’s regularly planned transfer of power.) … and they needed an “enlightenment” philosophy to allow them to appear credible. Rousseau fit the bill. Refer to Rousseau’s Social Contract.
I’m only a student of history… you’re forcing me to think again. My memory is not what it used to be.
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September 18th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Crap; I just realized that there are a lot of errors in that last comment of mine. It should be “if I understand what happened correctly,” and I forgot the “e” at the end of John Locke’s name.
Anyway, thanks for explaining that as well. I will do my own research on any other questions I have, but I just wanted to hear what you thought about that. By the way, I have always had the same position as you on pure democracy.
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