Free Enterprise

Free enterprise is about applying liberty to economics. If you don't have economic liberty, then you don't have liberty at all.

Full disclosure on a few things: (1) I am not an economist. The following is only my opinion on what I've learned about economics so far. (2) In this article, “free enterprise” is code-word for “capitalism”, since it's become a dirty word. (3) We do not live in a capitalist economy.

What is Free Enterprise?

Free enterprise is based off of two negative rights: your right to your own property and your liberty to control how you use your property. When these rights are truly carried out, we create a free enterprise. Our current economy does not truly match these ideals. A free enterprise is antithetical to confiscatory taxes, government setting prices, and wealth redistribution.

In a free enterprise there are two ways in which one parts with one’s money: either through mutual-beneficial trade or through charity (where the donor voluntarily gives their resources for non-immediate or non-compensational benefits).

Free-trade and Wealth Creation

Any time that an owner parts with their money there is always some sort of trade off. (Or at least a perceived benefit.) If you give money to a homeless person, your reward may be a good feeling, or the idea that you helped someone in need without force, and therefore are showing your love for your fellow-man. For me, as a Christian, when I give charitably, I believe that I will have a reward in heaven. In any trade, the benefit you get is self-perceived and subjective.

When you spend money on a product or service, the benefit is more tangible, but the value is still self-assigned. Meaning, you will only buy the product if it’s worth it to you.

There are three ways that we add value to the world (create wealth). First is innovation, using creativity to turn raw materials into something more complex, like art or a new invention. The second is effort, you always need to exert some effort in order to improve things. The third is trade, if we both walk away with something that we value more, we both walk away richer.

The Government in the Economy

In both economic and social interactions, the government is supposed to act like a referee. The government doesn't intervene until someone has been fouled (their negative rights have been violated). No referee should pick winners, and there is no need for the government to do that either. In free trade, there is no need to pick winners, because both parties can win. So, in the economy, the role of the government is to protect both the producer and the consumer against force and fraud, to ensure both sides walk away winners.

When the government starts setting prices, redistributing wealth, participating in over-regulation and over-taxation, it hurts the economy. It's like a referee that stops the game to give points to the losing team, simply out of pity. It's demeaning to both sides.

Decentralization

“Wait, why is centralized government a bad thing?” my friend asked me.

I was a little shocked by the question. Especially since we had been through many of the same leadership courses, so I expected him to know the answer. I can't remember how I responded, but the fact is that centralized power is micro-managing. That is why decentralization and delegation are essential to leadership, especially in government.

The Danger

Think about what your job would be like if you had to get your bosses approval for every decision you made. Your place of business would collapse if it operated like that. The same goes for the whole economy. The more regulation and micro-managing we get from our leaders, the more the economy will slow down, until it collapses on itself.

The Rule

“Every problem should be handled by the smallest level of government possible.” This is the principle that my mentor taught me four years ago. Last night, I got to visit him and talk about politics (our favorite topic). Sure enough this principle came up again, and we spent a good amount of time talking about it.

In today's political arena, it seems that the exact opposite happens. When someone has a problem, too often they want the federal government to fix it. However, there are more immediate institutions that can solve the problem. Even private institutions. This wastes time and resources for the federal government, and cheapens the smaller levels of government.

What are the levels?

The Tenth Amendment states “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

So right here we are looking at three levels of government. First there is the federal government, which is established by the Constitution. Second is the state government. Finally there is the people. There are many other levels not mentioned here, like county and town governments, but the people have the greatest degree of power. Each individual is a sovereign entity, responsible for himself and his possessions.

Some individuals are part of a family unit. While the family isn't an official level of government, it is nonetheless an essential component of civilization. Families and individuals ban together to form towns/communities, which ought to be the strongest form of official government. The farther up the levels of government you go, the weaker and less involved they should be.

Our nation used to operate like this. So much so, that the federal government wasn't even thought about by most people. Instead, today we need to spend a lot of time and energy on federal politics, because all the power is concentrated there.

Solving a Problem

When you have a problem, the first level of government that you ought to turn to is yourself. Can you solve the problem yourself? Self-sufficiency is important for both a free society and for personal growth. If you cannot solve the problem yourself, turn to your family, or some similar small support group. If your family cannot solve the problem, then move to your local government, and from there you can move up the levels of government if necessary. 

Decentralizing helps you to keep as much freedom as possible, and prevents higher levels of government from being over-burdened with too many responsibilities.

Limited Government

Conservatives are about conserving the principles which maximize liberty. Many, even some conservatives, have characterized conservatism as being for "small government". However, this is not technically true. A small government can still do a great deal of undue damage.

Instead conservatives promote the idea of limited government. If the government is limited from violating your negative rights, then the government will indeed be small. Here in America, our government is founded on a document called the Constitution. The Constitution is one of the things that makes America unique. It marks the first time that a nation was founded on laws, rather on a supposed divine right of kings.

The Constitution was founded on a philosophy called Liberalism, and we conservatives love the Constitution. We seek to interpret it strictly (or conservatively) because we know that it will lead to greater freedom for everyone. If people interpret it loosely (liberally), or simply rewrite it to suit their own views, we will have tyranny from those who are interpreting. It's a scenario like the pigs in Animal Farm, who rewrote the laws while the other animals were sleeping.

The Constitution is our contract with our government. We give them the power to protect our rights and dispense justice, in return they are bound not to violate our rights. This is why it is so important to understand that our rights are negative. If the government violates the contract, it has nullified it's legitimacy. Our Founders took this very seriously, even saying that the people should overthrow the government in such an event.

The Referee

The government is supposed to be a referee, and the Constitution is a handbook of all the things that the referee should not do. The referee should not interfere with the game. The referee cannot pick favorites. The referee cannot give free throws to a team, just because he feels like it. It can only give free-throws when one team is fouled by the other team.

My Observations

I am no expert on the Constitution, but I have had the honor of studying under many experts who love our nation and want to preserve the freedoms that our Constitution brings. Earlier this year, I read through the entire US Constitution, and I would recommend it for anyone who hasn't. Even if you are not conservative. You might not understand all of it, but try to grasp as much as you can. I am now reading further materials to help me better understand the original document and it's underlying philosophy. While I am no expert, allow me to share a few of my observations on this great document.

1. The articles and amendments in the Constitution restrict the government, not the people. You would think that the law of the land would have articles talking about activities that are restricted for citizens. To my memory, there are none, save the Prohibition Amendment, which is also the only amendment that has been repealed.

2. The articles and amendments protect the negative rights of the people. I have put this series in this order for a reason. I spent a whole blog explaining “negative rights” and how your only true right is the right to be left alone. All of the rights that the Constitution protects are negative rights, and they are all protected against the government.

3. The Tenth Amendment delegates all other powers to the States and to the people. This observation segues nicely into my next blog in this series. A government ought to be decentralized as much as possible. Decentralization is the best way to limit the government.

God Talks- Does God Care if You're Fit?

By Chelsea Rowell of Chelsea Gets Fit

Before you jump on me with all that, “Man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart” stuff, let me say that I already know. That’s not the point of this article.

The purpose of this article is to look into what the Bible really has to say about fitness, nutrition, and overall health and well being of the human body. So many people have told me, “God wants me to be happy, so I can eat what I want!” To which I reply, “gag me.” Another popular line I hear is, “Working out and getting in shape isn’t for the glory of God, it’s for the glory of YOU…” Again, puh-lease. Give me a break. These are just two examples of Christianized excuses and are more than likely taking God’s name in vain…or LAME. Contrary to popular belief, sola feels is not one of the "sola's" of Christian theology.

That being said, let’s see what God has told us about how HE feels (not us as individuals or as a society feel) about the way we take care of our bodies!

1. GOD LIVES IN YOU (Gal. 2:19-20; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 9:27)

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are not the only one living inside your skin. Christ actively is living in you and wanting to live through you. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, as well. If Jesus walked up to you one day and said, “Hey, friend. I love you and think we should live together so that I can be a constant Helper to you! Will you build a house for us?” Would you build a little shack out of rotten boards and old nails? Would you build a frail house made of sticks and stones and probably cardboard covering the patches trying to keep rain out? Would you build the house out of little carved idols that you worship made of silver and gold and say, “Hey, God, ignore the fact that I love these idols more than I love you, look how beautiful they are! Aren’t you glad I did this for me…I mean you??” OF COURSE NOT!!!!

Christian, the Creator of the Universe and the Author and Finisher of our faith deserves more than a beaten-down little shack. He deserves a well-crafted, well-thought out, strong, and sturdy place to dwell. Build your temple to glorify HIM.

2. GOD VALUES PHYSICAL TRAINING (1 Tim. 4:8)

Now, note that the verses says that bodily training is of some value, because a right relationship with God holds more value than any other thing in the Universe. But it is interesting that this phrase is even in the Bible, telling us that God does value physical fitness. If He didn’t, the verse would say, “…bodily training is of no value…” or, “…bodily training is worthless…” or, it probably just would use a completely different analogy altogether.

3. GOD CARES ABOUT YOUR BODY (1 Thess. 5:23)

“Now may your whole spirit, soul, and BODY be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord…” God wants our spirit, our soul, and our body. Many Christians, myself included, believe that humans are a trichotomy (made up of three parts being body, soul, and spirit), as opposed to being made up of two parts (dichotomy-soul/spirit and body). The reason I bring that up is because--one, it’s super cool that God would make us in His image (being made of three parts) and also because IF we are made of spirit, soul, and body, then we are responsible for each of those things. God cares about what we do with our bodies. If He didn’t, He probably wouldn’t warn against sexual immorality quite so much. ANYWAY moving along, that brings us straight into the next point.

4. YOU WERE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE (Psalm 139:14)

Not only did God make us in His image, He was so careful and constructed each of us as individual masterpieces, created through Christ to do good works which He has prepared in advance for us. We are to THANK HIM, says the Psalmist, because His works are excellent. The Psalm goes on to say that God made each of us skillfully, and that each of our days were ordained for usbefore we ever lived a single one of them. God worked so, so hard on each of us, creating us each for unique and genuinely good purposes. We are His masterpieces, His handiwork. And He has entrusted each of us to RESPECT and CARE FOR ourselves while we are here on earth. That means that we ought not put ourselves down or demean ourselves, and that we ought to do what we can to keep ourselves in tip top shape so that when Christ returns we will not be like the unwise servant who buried his talents in the ground, but rather like the wise servants who invested the talents that were entrusted to them while the master was away. (Matt 25:14-30

So, you see, God really does care about what you do with your bodies. He also cares about how you view your bodies. I personally struggle SO MUCH with self-doubt and with negative self esteem, which is a quite apparent pride issue. It is not right to think of yourself as any less than anyone else. And it breaks the heart of God. Just as it breaks the heart of God when He looks down on His children doing things that are harmful to the beautiful bodies He has crafted for them.

You can see more of Chelsea's work at Chelsea Gets Fit. We here at FRANK Talks are huge proponents of growing in all areas of life (Spirit, Intellect, Health, Occupation, Social, and Financial), and are so glad to have Chelsea tackle this subject. 

If you like FRANK Talks, we also recommend...

Personal Update

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for the kind words of encouragement that you guys have given for my blog. Unfortunately, these past few months, I haven't had as much time to write new blogs and make new content for you guys. I am currently releasing content that I have back-logged. (Except for this post, that you are currently reading.)

If you like what you are reading, and want to see more of it, I would ask you to please consider pledging to my Patreon account. In exchange, you can get access to exclusive member-only content, or you can simply donate with “No Rewards”.

I am currently working three “jobs”. I put that in quotations, because only one of them pays currently. The other is an internship, and then there is this blog which is only paying $8 a month. My goal is to get the Patreon to a point where I can leave my paying job and spend more time researching and writing for FRANK Talks.

In the Meantime

While you are waiting (and hopefully pledging and telling all of your friends to pledge), I thought that I might recommend some substitutes for you to get your FRANK Talks fix, without actually listening to FRANK Talks. I want to recommend some of the YouTube personalities that I listen to (namely in theology and politics) who have helped shaped my worldview. Now, I don't agree with these people all the time, but I trust your discernment in figuring out Truth from error. After all, you guys are presumably adults.

If you have a YouTube account, I would recommend subscribing to these channels, and saving some of these videos to Watch Later. If you don't I would recommend getting an account. If you are not in a rush, check out the videos that I embedded. 

PJTV

This channel has stopped producing videos, but you can still check out their videos, and read their articles at pjmedia.com. My favorite personalities were Andrew Klavan, Bill Whittle, Alfonzo Rachel, and Scott Ott.

Andrew Klavan

This video is my first exposure to Klavan. I often reference my “imaginary dog Virtue”. In my mind, Klavan is the funniest man on the right. Not only is he incredibly funny, but he's a deep thinker, and much smarter than all the popular comedians and political satirists. Truly an under-rated personality. Today you can find him on twitter, Truth Revolt, Daily Wire. Even if you don't have time to watch his whole 'Andrew Klavan Show' podcast, the intro to his show is always a riot.

Bill Whittle

Over the past three years, Bill Whittle has shaped so much of my philosophy. While we may disagree on religion, this guy has a lot of wisdom and has taught me so much. Bill is not only a deep thinker, he is one of the best communicators on the right, clearly laying out the principles of conservatism in interesting ways.

He simply has too many great talks from which to choose. This one, while lengthy, lays out his entire political philosophy, and this one talks about the importance of virtue. They should both sound familiar, if you are reading my blogs. Bill can be found on PJTV and Truth Revolt, but has recently decided to focus on his own channel.

Alfonzo Rachel

Devout Christian, drummer for his rock band, 20 lb Sledge, Zo also dabbles in political commentary. Zo taught me about the history of the Civil War, the Democrat Party, and the importance of conservatism on social issues. You can find him at PJTV, but he has since moved onto his own channel. He also does intriguing theological commentaries, for those that are interested.

Stephen Crowder

I am subscribed to Crowded, as I am to all the channels that I am recommending, but I never have time to watch his full podcast. Instead, I skip through and look for interviews with my favorite guests... which is most of the guests that he has. The gorgeous Lauren Southern, the offensive Gavin McInnes, the open-minded Dave Rubin, and many of my favorites from PJTV. Maybe if you like podcasts, this one is more for you.

Say Goodnight Kevin

Kevin's channel is not overtly political, however he does not shy away from letting his libertarian colors fly. His main audience is Christians, and his business is making fun of the absurdity that is Christian culture. As his Patreon account states, “Say Goodnight Kevin is creating Youtube videos that encourage people to think for themselves!”

PragerU

Prager University is the most popular resource for conservative arguments on the internet. Even if you are a liberal, it is important for you to hear the other side of the argument. Prager University gives short, clear, and convincing arguments, from guest speakers mostly from the conservative side. Their videos are also easy to share from their Facebook.

Inspiring Philosophy

A great resource for philosophy and theology. I first discovered them through an earlier rendition of the above video: showing how the Trinitarian concept is logically coherent. This channel seeks to show that Christianity is a rational philosophy. Their content is heavily derived from Dr William Lane Craig, whom I am also subscribed to. I have some theological disagreements with both sources, but I agree mostly with the topics that they specialize in.

Charisma on Command

Not theological or political, this channel teaches you how to live a better life and be more charismatic. He is really big on self-esteem (which I am not), but I think that his insights are nonetheless interesting and helpful.

Learn Liberty

I have only recently subscribed to this channel, and I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of their wealth of videos. Experts from the libertarian, classically liberal, and conservative variety make educational videos on the principles of liberty and free-economics.

Finally, check out the FRANK Talks YouTube channel, and subscribe! These were only a few of the channels I subscribe to, so maybe I'll do this again with more recommendations. Let me know what you think.

Virtue

Virtue is essential to a free and prosperous society. In order to have a society of pure liberty, we must protect the three basic negative rights: life, liberty, and property. If we want to maintain such a society, everyone has responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Firstly, you are responsible for not violating your neighbors rights. You must have the self-control to govern yourself in such a way that the government won't need to interfere in your life. Second, you have a responsibility to help your neighbors in need. Don't give the government cause to step in and use force to help the needy (like income redistribution). This only gives the government more power.

You also have a responsibility to vote and be involved in politics. Campaigning, writing to your Congressman, attending school board meetings. We have a responsibility to nominate and elect good leaders, and see to it that the laws we pass are good. We have a responsibility to serve on a jury, so we can ensure that our fellow-man gets justice. I am always so disappointed to hear friends try to weasel out of jury duty. If we want to maintain our free society, we all have responsibilities to fulfill.

Each individual has the responsibility to be virtuous, especially in their public life.

Virtue

So what is virtue? Virtue can be defined as “moral excellence”. A perfectly moral population would need no government to regulate them, but there are no perfectly moral people. (At least not here on Earth.) Still, it stands that the more virtuous the people are, the less government they need.

Virtue is living the best life that one can possibly conceive. Living virtuously is living in accordance with the Truth. Here at FRANK talks, I write about and defend the Christian worldview. I believe in the Christian worldview, and I maintain that everyone ought to believe it because it is True. If I happen to be wrong, then you ought to follow whatever is the Truth. (And if there is no such thing as Absolute Truth, then I'm not sure why I even bother communicating with you guys.)

You must ask yourself a few questions. Is God real? Is Christianity the True Religion? Is the Bible Authoritative? And if not/so how should I live my life? This is why two of my main themes in this blog are apologetics and holistic life. First, I want to help others be certain that Biblical Christianity is true beyond a reasonable doubt. Then I want to help them live the best life they can in all areas (Spiritual, Intellectual, Physical, Occupational, Social, Financial, and more).

How to Promote Virtue

Virtue cannot be forced. It cannot come from the top-down. This would not be virtue. Instead it must come from the “bottom-up”. The decision to act virtuously must come from the individual. Each person must seek the Truth, and the best way to live. Some will make mistakes, but they should be given the freedom to do so.

So how do we promote virtue in our society on a national level. As I said, it comes from the bottom up. Learning about virtue starts at home. Morals cannot be taught dispassionately from a textbook or a lecture. Our moral judgments are made in the emotional part of our brain. That is why morals should be taught to us by people we love and trust. This is why conservatives see the family unit as the essential building block to a free and prosperous society. Extended communities like churches help with this process of moral education.

What the Government Can Do

There are two things that the government can do to promote virtue. First, it is imperative that all levels of government protect the negative rights of their citizens. The government must punish those who violate (or maybe even threaten) the negative rights of others, and they must do so severely.

The second thing to do is to decentralize. The Tenth Amendment of the US Constitution delegates all unspecified power to the states. The states ought to delegate power to the counties, and counties to the towns. However, the real power lies in the private individuals and institutions. Each level of government, and each institution, has the right to set their own standards. 

Each individual has the freedom to move to any town, work for the company, or join the denomination whose standards he agrees with. If the standards are good, they will create prosperity when followed. The government must not enact policies which disrupt the fostering of virtue. Policies which inadvertently cause families to fall apart is most disheartening to conservatives.

Benefits of Virtue

The purpose of government is not to provide for people, but to protect their citizens' negative rights. It is then the people's responsibility to provide for themselves, and for those in need. This is why I believe that virtue is so essential to a free society. We need virtuous people who are willing to give to those in need. It also takes virtuous leaders to limit their own powers, or to accept limits on their powers, so that you can experience your God given freedom to it's fullest potential.

Please share this post if you liked it. Also, tell me what you think. Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on the Frank Talks Facebook page. Do you agree that virtue is essential to a free and prosperous society? What should we the people be doing (not under government compulsion) to make our nation better?

Negative Rights

What is a right? 

There are two theories that seek to describe what a right is: positive rights and negative rights. A positive right requires action on the part of someone else. For instance, someone must pay for your health-care or education, or provide that service for free. Negative rights require inaction, to be left alone. Your right to life is your right to not be murdered. Your right to property is your right to not be robbed. Your right to free speech is your ability to speak your mind without being stopped.

These two theories are mutually exclusive. Your rights cannot be both positive and negative. To give an example, if you have a positive right to health-care, you are infringing on the property rights of some poor sucker who will need to pay for your health-care. Another alternative is to force the doctor to provide you with health-care, which is a violation of his liberty. There is no way to do this without infringing on someone's negative rights.

The theory of negative rights is a foundational tenet of conservatism. Conservatives believe that it costs nothing to be a decent person. Simply live and let live.

What Are Your Rights

There are many negative rights outlined in the Declaration and Constitution. First, however, we must point out that these documents do NOT grant you these rights. Neither does the government. These rights are inalienable, they rightfully belong to everyone. These document's indicate that these rights are given to us by a Creator. Our government is simply set up by us to protect these negative rights.

The first and most important right is your right to life: the right to not be murdered. Without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless. Next is your right to liberty: your right to not be enslaved, or forced to do something against your will. Then you have you right to pursue happiness. The statement found only in the Declaration of Independence speaks of eudaimonia, the pursuit of human flourishing.

(Jefferson considered property rights to be under this umbrella as well. The Fifth Amendment protects your right to private property, as well as your right to life and liberty.)

All of the rights found in the Constitution are examples of negative rights, which the government exists to protect. With negative rights, your freedom is only limited by the rights of others. You have the freedom to do virtually anything, as long as you don't violate the rights of others. That's called liberty

Promoting Liberty

So how do we promote liberty? By protecting the negative rights of all citizens. By force if we must. The institution of government is established as a referee to protect negative rights of it's citizens, and severely punish those who violate the rights of others. Sometimes by having their rights proportionally violated. It may seem contradictory to use force to promote liberty. However, it is imperative that negative rights be protected, in order to uphold civilization.

If we want to  maintain a society where every citizen has maximum freedom, then each of us has certain responsibilities that we must fulfill.