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The Oppressive Language of “We”

I’ve been saying this for years, mainly about sports teams.  This is a great dissection of why it’s not only strange, but dangerous to use that kind of language in political situations.

This language of “we” confuses who does what, and attempts to create a non-existent bond between a citizen-subject and his political masters.

Ultimately, such a confusion is used to conflate Society and State, leading to a plethora of logical errors. Here are just a few: If one says that government should not do x, it is assumed that x should not be done at all.

When a government takes on debt, it is said that “we owe it to ourselves”.

When a government declares war, it is said that “we’re going to war”, as if the entire nation has a will of its own.

When foreign policy results in poor relations between governments, it is declared that “the people of Country Y hate us”.

When a bailed out corporation returns money to the government, it is said that “the taxpayers were paid back” – as if any taxpayer will actually see his taxes returned to him.

You know what this language really betrays?

Stockholm syndrome.

(Source: libertarianprepper.com)

22 October 2012 ·

• Tags
• we
• collectivism
• government
• oppression. liberty