Oh

The State laughs at you:

However, yesterday, a new theory surfaced that indicates Megaupload’s demise had less to do with piracy than previously thought. This theory stems from a 2011 article detailing Megaupload’s upcoming Megabox music store and DIY artist distribution service that would have completely disrupted the music industry.

TorrentFreak first reported about the service in early December 2011. ... Things were getting vicious in December but the quiet launch of Megabox might have been the straw that broke the millionaire’s back.

Dotcom described Megabox as Megaupload’s iTunes competitor, which would even eventually offer free premium movies via Megamovie, a site set to launch in 2012. This service would take Megaupload from being just a digital locker site to a full-fledged player in the digital content game.

The kicker was Megabox would cater to unsigned artists and allow anyone to sell their creations while allowing the artist to retain 90% of the earnings. Or, artists could even giveaway their songs and would be paid through a service called Megakey. “Yes that’s right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works,” Kim Dotcom told TorrentFreak in December. Megabox was planning on bypassing the labels, RIAA, and the entire music establishment.

Lemme see. In a corporatist State -- where vastly powerful and wealthy companies and institutions form alliances with government precisely for the purpose of shutting out competitors and increasing their own power and wealth -- one group of vastly powerful and wealthy companies uses the State to eliminate a competitor and increase their own power and wealth.

Gee, think of that. How fantastically unexpected.

You know what's even better? This is an example of how things often aren't this or that. They're both. In this instance, the State puts into play one of its most cherished weapons -- fear -- as I discussed last week in "The State Is Not Your Friend":

When the State is intent upon controlling its population, when the State wants to end certain kinds of behavior, it doesn't need to punish everyone who engages in the disapproved behavior. It need only choose a few particularly visible and popular targets, which is precisely what it did when it chose Megaupload. Fear will do the rest.

This principle can be applied to all of the intrusions on personal liberty that are widely discussed at present ...

It is not the execution of State power that does most of the work. It is the fear of the execution of State power.

And the State confers an enormous benefit on its favored friends. Two for one! Such a deal.

We probably don't want to talk about this too much, for some of you might begin to wonder whether "the law" itself isn't worth a damn. And maybe "the rule of law" isn't the great defense of liberty most people think it is. Then you might get upset. I wouldn't want that.

But since I brought it up, perhaps I should confess my own view. How do I say this politely, in my constant efforts to observe the estimable norms of propriety and civility? Let's see, how's this:

To arrest your perhaps wandering attention, I announce my own perspective on this issue. With regard to what most people mean when they talk of the "sanctity" of "the law," I shit on it.

I shit on it repeatedly.

That's not very polite, I suppose. Gosh, I'm sorry. If you should want to see the reasons for my view, you can consult this article, and in particular the second part, entitled "Additional Means of Enforcement: The Law and the Rules."

And that's the point, you see. For the ruling class, "the rule of law" isn't a means of protecting you or your liberty. It's a means of enforcement, a critical way of protecting their own power and wealth.

But but but, someone challenges me, what about the Constitution and the ideals of the Founders? This might be rude, too:

What killed "democracy" in America? What gave the government over to the wealthy and powerful?

The Constitution. Of course.

The American Change in Management (formerly known as the "American Revolution," and we should work to make that "formerly" an actuality in usage) surely ranks as one of the more effective propaganda triumphs in history.

...

The Constitution created a government of, by and for the most wealthy and powerful Americans -- and it made certain (insofar as men can make such things certain) that their rule would never be seriously threatened. The most wealthy and powerful Americans were the ones who wrote it, after all.

For much more on the topic, including excerpts from Terry Bouton's valuable book, Taming Democracy: "The People," the Founders, and the Troubled Ending of the American Revolution, see my article, "Concerning the American Change in Management."

I sincerely hope none of this causes any discomfort. I would never dream of challenging anyone's cherished ideals.

Anyway, everything is going perfectly according to plan. But whose plan?, you might wonder. Ah, well...