There are only two kinds of people...

Those who want power over you and
Those who want you to have power over yourself.

Those who have read a translation of Frederic Bastiat's "The Law", may be more familiar with the amazing "superiority of character" acquired when a member of the populace is elected to a position of authority over others.  Accompanying their new status is their seemingly spontaneous ability to "mold the clay of humanity" into a superior product.  However, their former equals have now become hapless and hopeless at shaping their own destiny and must be continually guided and assisted by supposedly magnanimous administrators.

In all fairness, there are administrators who managed to skirt this political abyss (Ron Paul being a notable, if not the only, modern example in governance).  Their personal characters are rooted in the principle of "Parity of Power over Human Action" which enables them to avoid this Achilles Heel of authority.  They adhere to the simple premise that governance should have extremely few abilities outside those of everyday people in the area of directing human action at any level.  Basically, their reasoning goes "If you can't do it, we better be incredibly careful to make sure we should do it."   Legislators and regulators who want power over others are fairly easy to spot...they pass a lot of laws restricting human action.


So, how can you tell who is in which category when it comes to your friends, relatives and cohorts?  They actually give themselves away rather glaringly when you know some of the signs.  Here's a great short list to start.

1. "Should" is one of their favorite words.  "We should...they should...you should...there should be" and it's always followed with a directive for how they want to shape humanity and the planet to be it's very best.
2. They have trigger words.  Words that "upset" one person but don't seem to bother others, are useful tools to force (rather than convince) people to modify their behavior for a non-discernible benefit to anyone except the person with the trigger word.
3. They play "what if...." a lot HINT: never play "What if..."  It's a crater sized trap to wind you in circles and yeah-but your arguments into oblivion.  You can easily short circuit this trick however by pointing out all the infinite variables that could influence the outcome but were not included in the "What if...".
4. They constantly interrupt when you are speaking (legislators do this a lot at hearings and "input" events).  HINT: there are only two reasons for interrupting someone; to disrupt their argument or to confuse the audience.  Next time a legislator does it, ask them which one of the two was their intention.
5. When asked, they "don't trust other people".

The opening statements about "two kinds of people" have been around for over a decade and in that time, no one has ever presented another option for "kinds of people".  If you indeed have one, please, I would love to hear about it.  Until then, however, let's ruminate on these two and rest assured only one exhibits the character of people who will increase the net amount of liberty in the world...and I'm pretty sure we all know which one that is.

Do you have any additional ways of recognizing power mongers or "people you can count on"?  Please post them in comments, we can use all the help we can get.  Thanks! 

In health, happiness, success and gratitude
Renee Daphne

suggested short read:

Dr Mary Ruwart has an excellent article on the two ways of viewing people - When you subscribe to her newsletter you gain access to one of the greatest resources in the world for short libertarian solution to the tough questions.  Here's an example:  "What happens if someone steals in a libertarian society?"