Genesis of the "NO" Logo

In history there have been two basic forms of social organization: collectivism and individualism. In the 20th and 21st century, collective variations have included socialism, fascism, Nazism, and communism. Under collectivism, a ruling class of “intellectuals”, bureaucrats, politicians and/or social planners decides what people want or what is “good” for society and then uses the coercive power of the State to regulate, tax and redistribute wealth in an attempt to achieve their desired objectives. Individualism is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes individual liberty, belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and personal independence and responsibility. It embraces opposition to controls over the individual when exercised by the state. The Preamble to our Constitution makes it plain that all power rests originally with the people, as individuals.
The “O” within the circle represents collectivism in its various forms. The “N” represents an emphatic repudiation of collectivism. The red, white and blue circles encompassing the “NO” are emblematic of our Republic. It is the responsibility of the individuals in an engaged and enlightened republic to limit the influence of the government, especially one that attempts to wield power outside the boundaries delineated by the Constitution.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism

The book was written by Michael Novak in 1982. The author presents a cogent, moral defense of Democratic Capitalism These are excerpts of a book review from "The Freeman".
"The author must be credited with a major achievement. He set for himself the task of articulating a moral theory and a theological base for the implicit ideals of democratic capitalism. His success is to have made a credible, compelling, intellectually solid and theoretically sound presentation of the political economy of the free society. He shows it to be the spiritually and morally commendable alternative to the collective and compulsive ethic of socialism.......Novak first inquires into the structural dynamics which are requisite for and, in turn, give nurture to the economic order which expresses itself in a noncoercive society, a social order within which individuals and peoples may realize, through the vocations to which they believe they have been called, the greatest degree of personal dignity, human freedom and personhood. The free economy requires in practice a moral-cultural ethos, and it is a failure of democratic capitalism not to have made a moral presentation of itself to the world.....Novak next examines the socialist idea and displays its hollowness against the backdrop of the realities and the promise of democratic capitalism. The genius of the free society is its recognition that the most precious of all common goods is the individuality of each person, and that the best way to increase the common good is to empower people through differentiated systems. Collectivism, by contrast, pits man against man. It narrows the circles of trust and goodwill as groups competing for the same allocations run afoul of each other’s interests. The end result is a zero-sum society which promotes the Hobbesian “war of all against all.” Economic growth, liberty, and opportunity for social mobility on the other hand promotes charity, trust, and cooperation.
Posted by Enlightened Republic at 10:03 PM