Reading Lew Rockwell this morning.

“I have written a number of articles for which I have received little response about the horrible mistake humanity has made by entering into the digital revolution and the AI it spawned.  These disastrous developments are now being institutionalized in all societies.  They bring the end of human autonomy, independence, control, objective truth, freedom, and awareness of reality.” — https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/11/paul-craig-roberts/the-destruction-of-reality/

I have great respect for the insights promoted by Paul Craig Roberts, but no sympathy for the fact that he has received “little response” to his offerings. The fact of the matter is that, virtually wherever I have seen his postings, there has been absolutely no possibility to respond–no email address, no comments allowed, etc. It’s almost as if he is talking to the wall and then gets miffed when the wall just sits there. My advice to him: open up the channels of communication and you will be surprised at the response you get.

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“If people can’t make enough money to get by then they should get better-paying jobs. If people don’t like getting kicked around by an abusive status quo then they should climb their way into a socioeconomic strata that isn’t getting kicked around as much. If someone doesn’t like being the nail then they should become the hammer.” — https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/11/no_author/in-capitalism-they-tell-you-to-become-the-hammer-if-you-dont-like-being-the-nail/

I respect Caitlin Johnstone for her tenacity. She sees things which are wrong and goes after them full-force, most especially the morally disastrous catastrophe happening in Gaza. Yet, I simply cannot align myself with her viewpoint on capitalism, which she routinely and often maligns without ever getting to the root of the problem. It is easy to blame “capitalism”, however, in our own way, every single one of us is a capitalist.

 “The fundamental premise of capitalism is that all exchanges of property between economic actors are voluntary. No one is forced to make an exchange against their will; and no one is forcibly prohibited from making an exchange with another willing actor. Freedom of association and freedom of contract are inherent to capitalism. Without them, whatever system is operating is not capitalism, whether supported by private business owners or not.” — https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/11/tom-mullen/jim-crow-laws-were-anti-capitalist-and-the-free-market-killed-them-long-before-the-government-showed-up/

Capitalism, at its root, is the everyday acting out of every single individual using what he has at his disposal to make his own life better, whether financially, socially, emotionally, or spiritually. What Johnstone decries, yet does not distinguish, is that when power (force, violence) is brought to bear on society, there is no longer free capitalism, freedom of choice, but a contrived system in which individuals are no longer able to decide for themselves, but must submit to the will of others.

What is capitalism, indeed, if not the ability of one person deciding where and how to “invest” his own capital, regardless as to the amount, so that he reaps a reward at some indeterminate time in the future? Did not Jesus extol this practice, as seen in The Parable of the Talents, i.e, putting the money which has been entrusted to you to profitable use? (Matthew 25:14-30)

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“We tell ourselves that violence is like a coat that you can put on and take off when you choose, but that’s a tragically mistaken way of thinking. Violence works its way into your body, even into your soul. Then it festers there, eating away at your capacity for being human — your longing for loving, honest relationships; your care for yourself and others; and your deep connection to other living beings. Even worse, in a culture that glorifies violence and has made it into something sacred, such dynamics are excruciatingly hard for us to see clearly.” — https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/11/no_author/military-moral-injury-violence-and-the-parable-of-the-guinea-worm/

An honest, soul-searching inquest into the repercussions of organized violence and our acceptance of it. 11/11 used to be known as Armistice Day, the celebration of the end of war, but it has transmogrified into the celebration of the worship of violence and those who practice it, without ever recognizing the consequences which follow such action, i.e., the destruction of our own souls.