6195 You Get What You NEGOTIATE! Listener Questions

Freedomain with Stefan Molyneux

Stefan Molyneux

Economics, Anarchism, Stefan, News & Politics, Atheist, Higher Education, Religion & Spirituality, Stephen, Government, God, Philosophy, Violence, Freedomain, Rogan, Ron, Society & Culture, Radio, Paul, History, Liberalism, Libertarian, Capitalism, Market, Molyneux, Anarchy, Free, Classical, Family, Freedom, State, Joe, Podcast, Atheism, Stephan, Education, Podcasts

4.6 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Philosopher Stefan Molyneux examines civic participation and the impact of welfare systems on society. He critiques the reliance on government aid, arguing it fosters dependency and hinders personal initiative. He analyzes capitalism's complexities, emphasizing that success is influenced by market dynamics rather than just hard work. The importance of thoughtful dialogue in a polarized environment is also highlighted. Ultimately, he calls for a reevaluation of personal and collective responsibilities to create a more informed society.

Questions submitted:

"With Western society resembling that of an insane asylum, how does one stay motivated to participate? Do you ever have the desire to leave and live on an island beach?"

"If most of your life was a psychological operation, how would you logically assess the moral and strategic response once it all unravels?"

"When is it right to speak about an issue"

"How does the phenomenon of 'working yourself out of a job' fit into a logical capitalist system? A logical *and moral* capitalist system rewards productivity and innovation. A crony capitalist system punishes productivity and innovation. Over my many years of work, I've lost track of how many times I was told 'don't work yourself out of a job' or had bosses steal ideas and even claim work done as their own that was done by another. MAKE IT WORK PHILOSOPHICALLY. The last 'frontier' was not peaceful parenting. That was the second to last frontier. The last frontier is private sector ethics, which is the only path toward a real capitalistic society."

"What are your thoughts on meditation? Have you ever done it?"

"In a world where evil is rewarded and good behavior punished, is evil behavior justified?"

"I have a philosophical question. How should you measure philosophical principles against real world outcomes? It seems to me there needs to be an objective yardstick to gauge philosophical theories."

"A man can do bad things all his like and then do one good deed and they say, he’s not so bad, a man can so good things all his life and one day do one bad deed and they say, he’s shown his true colours"

"Does evil exist? As a force? A demonic or satanic spirit that possesses individuals or even groups? As a learned behavior?"

"Are you gonna answer them?"

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	All right. Good afternoon. Questions from the fine folks on face book. Ooh, there's some
0:08.3	felliteration for you. With Western society resembling that of an insane asylum, how does one
0:14.0	stay motivated to participate? Do you ever have the desire to leave and live on an island beach?
0:19.3	Well, I mean, everybody has that fantasy for sure, but I will tell
0:23.5	you this, that I quite like civilization. I have a strong affinity. I did my living in the wilds
0:33.4	when I worked as a gold panor and prospector after high school. I did that for about a year and a half.
0:39.0	Summer, winter, now.
0:40.2	Some of it was in town, but a lot of it was in the bush.
0:43.8	And I quite like it.
0:45.8	I quite like having a nice coffee.
0:49.2	I quite like being able to talk to people about philosophy using technology, and there's a lot of nice stuff
0:57.8	about all of that. So I do not have a fantasy that the natural life, the life unfretted by
1:05.4	technology and comforts, is better. So I think it's worth staying to participate. Now, personally, I do not believe
1:15.2	that there is a philosophical solution to the problems that are coming. And I say this,
1:22.2	having spent 44 years trying to tell people how to live with reason, how to make better moral decisions,
1:30.4	how to not be propagandized, how to think from first principles. I've done all of that for,
1:36.7	I mean, gosh, 44 years. I have some knowledge, I suppose, whereof I speak.
1:45.4	And there's an old saying, it is impossible to get a man to understand something
1:50.0	when his income depends upon him not understanding it.
1:52.9	Really since the post-second World War period since the 1960s, in particular people,
1:58.6	there's no politics, there's no political discussion, there's no political
2:02.5	debate, there's just bribery. Trillions of dollars poured into voters who vote for more and more
	...

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