Capitalism & Morality 2013

“This idea that the government has services or goods that they can pass on is a complete farce. Governments have nothing. They can't create anything, they never have. All they can do is steal from one group and give it to another at the destruction of the principles of freedom.”
-Ron Paul

“To the masses, the catchwords of Socialism sound so enticing… so they will continue to work for Socialism, helping thereby to bring about the inevitable decline of the civilization which the nations of the West have taken thousands of years to build up.” -Ludwig von Mises

Power corrupts but power also makes one stupid. Despite that the State tries to restrict and control every aspect of our lives, given its abysmal incompetence, it is a lot weaker than most believe it to be. Doug Casey and Butler Shaffer think that in today’s world of phyles, major technological innovations, and increasing interconnectedness the State has lost control and is on its way out.

Mr Shaffer differentiates between “liberty” and “freedom”. He defines “liberty” as a societal condition in which people live in an environment relatively free from involuntary transactions. In contrast, he defines “freedom” as a condition that exists within our minds, an inner sense of integrity, a life without conflicts and contradictions. He adds, “A man who knows freedom will find a way to be free.”

So, are we ready to live with freedom in a world of liberty? Or has the State come to control us mostly because we are indoctrinated and conditioned in ways that make us unconscious contributors to the establishment? Do we give too much emphasis to “liberty” and not enough to “freedom”? It is these issues that we will discuss in this Seminar.

Program (Saturday, 27 July 2013):

· 8 to 8:25am: Registration and coffee

· 8:25 to 8:30am: Introduction by Jayant Bhandari

· 8:30 to 9:30am: Speaker to be decided

· 9:30 to 10am: Coffee

· 10 to 11:30am: “Stop thinking like a Serf”, a conversation with Doug Casey, interviewed by Rick Rule
Mr Casey, founder of Casey Research, is one of the most sought after speakers. He has written two New York Times bestsellers, including “Crisis Investing,” which was #1 for 19 weeks. He frequently contributes to LewRockwell.com and the Liberty. Rick Rule is one of the most successful investors anywhere. Mr Rule started his career working as a security guard at False Creek in Vancouver. He is now the Chairman of Sprott USA Inc., one of the biggest and most successful money managers in the resource sector. He is a living proof of what he loves to say, “Your biggest problem is not the State and its tyranny, but what is between your two ears.”

· 11:30 to 12noon: “The beautiful morality of anarcho-capitalism, unschooling and peaceful parenting”, by Jeff Berwick
Mr Berwick is a self-described freedom fighter against mankind’s two biggest enemies, the State and the central banks. A serial entrepreneur, he founded Stockhouse.com in 1994 and currently writes the very popular blog and newsletter, The Dollar Vigilante. He is also the host of the popular anarcho-capitalist podcast, Anarchast. He also helps people expatriate their wealth and self from their oppressive governments and has started a libertarian community in Chile called Galt’s Gulch Chile. He regularly appears on CNBC, Fox Business and Bloomberg.

· 12 to 1pm: Lunch

· 1 to 1:45pm: “Inner freedom in one lesson”, by Dr Michael Edelstein
Dr Edelstein is a clinical psychologist with an in-person and telephone/Skype therapy practice. He is the award-winning author of Three Minute Therapy. He also wrote “Stage Fright” and “Rational Drinking”. He trained with Dr. Albert Ellis and supervises mental health professionals in the REBT/CBT treatment of emotional and behavioural problems. He lectures nationally and internationally, and has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows. Dr Edelstein teaches his clients to go for unconditional self-acceptance rather than high self-esteem.

· 1:45 to 2:45pm: “How I found freedom in an unfree world?”, a discussion among the audience. Please provide us a half-page summary a week before the seminar, if you wish to speak and have your thoughts discussed.

· 2:45 to 3:15pm: Coffee

· 3:15 to 4:15pm: “The cultural memes that enslave us”, by Walter Block
Dr Block is Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Chair in Economics and Professor of Economics at Loyola University New Orleans and Senior Fellow with the Ludwig von Mises Institute, USA. He has written many books, best known among which is perhaps “Defending the Undefendable”. Others include: Lexicon of Economic Thought, Economic Freedom of the World 1975-1995; Rent Control: Myths and Realities; Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and Equal Opportunity; Theology, Third Word Development and Economic Justice; Man, Economy, and Liberty: Essays in Honor of Murray N. Rothbard; Religion, Economics, and Social Thought; and Economic Freedom: Toward a Theory of Measurement.

· 4:15 to 4:30pm: Break

· 4:30 to 5:30pm: Speaker to be decided / Networking time

Date: Saturday, 27 July 2013

Venue:
Event Rooms 1200-1500
Segal Graduate School of Business
500 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1W6
(This is an independent event, not affiliated with the School)

Host:
Jayant Bhandari
Email: capitalism@jayantbhandari.com

Cost: $150

“Contrary to the vulgar belief that men are motivated primarily by materialistic considerations, we now see the capitalist system being discredited and destroyed all over the world, even though this system has given men the greatest material comforts”

-Ayn Rand

“It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance."
-Murray Rothbard

"...if we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion."
-F. A. Hayek

"The free market punishes irresponsibility. Government rewards it."
-Harry Browne

“Morally acting man seeks profit; immorally acting man seeks plunder.”

“Contrary to the vulgar belief that men are motivated primarily by materialistic considerations, we now see the capitalist system being discredited and destroyed all over the world, even though this system has given men the greatest material comforts”

-Jay S. Snelson