The biggest aspect of fostering favorable cultural change involves education, or re-education (as my friend Jim Davies has noted: http://www.tolfa.us). Regarding my formal education, I attained a MA degree in counseling psychology at USIU (now Alliant International University) in San Diego, CA. Prior to that I attained a BBA in management and a BS in psychology at Idaho State University.
I grew up on a remote ranch in the steep, rugged mountains of central Idaho. Amidst the spectacular scenery, much “character-building” labor was to be had. Naturally, while developing a work ethic I gained an appreciation for increases in productivity, i.e., getting more done with less effort. Though I found that repeating the same routine can be comfortable at times, it can also forestall new visions about life and work.
Our psychologies, as well as our present societal situation, need new visions too. Even though just accepting things as they are can be easy, looking beyond the everyday is important. By exploring new domains of innovation and intellectual and emotional evolution, we can create a better world for ourselves. And never has there been a more opportune time for us to create a much better world: As a species, we finally have all the resources and ideas necessary; they just need to be widely distributed.
Understanding what individual rights are and how and why individuals possess them remains crucial for our well-being. Our technological age of continued advances in computer systems, biotechnology, and other forms of engineering continue to alter the landscape of human endeavors and our planet. The production and exchange of information will continue on its voluminous course to unprecedented levels of efficiency and complexity. To properly deal with the challenges posed for us as individuals and as a species, we need our ethical and political philosophies to move in an enlightened direction as quickly as possible. Ecological harm and unsustainable use of resources are the direct result of lack of understanding property rights and long-term planning. When “public property” is scaled up to nation-states, we face potential calamities of epic proportions.
Political issues that beg to be addressed in a logical—and trauma-based—fashion continue to envelope our lives. Unfortunately, the method of non-contradictory identification has normally been overlooked by people, including “the experts,” when trying to make sense of politics and economics, as well as psychology—only recently has the importance of healing developmental trauma gained in popularity. Without such focus, we’ll continue to experience the dire existential effects, living in a world that’s quite far from ideal, with very few even considering that a new ideal is realizable.
Potent philosophical and psychological remedies are needed to counteract our problems, ones that can keep us grounded in reality, guided by reason, and especially help us attain well-regulated limbic systems. The basic metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, and political principles of Objectivism, the philosophy originated by Ayn Rand, can certainly assist; integrating fundamental truths about our existence and ourselves can evolve our culture and contribute to everyone’s happiness and welfare.
I encountered Objectivism in the early 90s from the books of novelist/philosopher Ayn Rand and psychologist Nathaniel Branden. Since then, I’ve spent much time considering the optimal ways to apply the numerous aspects of coherent philosophy and insightful psychology. In The Psychology of Liberty, Complete Liberty, and most recently Complete Liberty Inside Out, you’ll find an evolution in how I interpret and present the various philosophical and psychological aspects that I view as crucial to achieving both personal and political enlightenment. Complete Liberty Podcast also incorporated a different tone from episode 126 onward, after encountering in 2010 the invaluable work of psychologist Marshall Rosenberg. I’ve listed lots of free resources covering his methods of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) on my counseling site’s page:
http://happinesscounseling.com/happiness-resources/
Contact me at wes@logicallearning.net
Regarding my previous writings on how to achieve “liberty in our lifetime,” the motto of www.freestateproject.org, I covered this in the final chapter of Complete Liberty. I signed up for the FSP the Fall of ’05, and moved to Concord, NH the Spring of ’06. I moved back to California in ’07 to try to partake in a clinical trial to treat my type 1 diabetes (to no avail). I moved back to NH a couple other times since then. Unfortunately, similar to the rest of America (and the world), the odds are stacked against achieving true freedom when many premises about the political system, aka “politics as usual,” go unchecked, in line with the traditional culture. Nonetheless, one can keep abreast of things there via https://freekeene.com and https://freetalklive.com.