Cappy

It is rare to encounter an argument without an apology. Most people, when espousing their beliefs, especially if they are controversial, will qualify their points with a haze of In-my-opinion’s, Though-you-may-disagree’s and This-doesn’t-apply-to-everyone-but’s. Any unique or useful principle they come close to sharing is dashed on the rocks of uncertainty and self effacement. But when a speaker or writer ignores these frivolities, his audience is left with no way out, no choice but to listen and reason for themselves, because for once the author has refused to nail his own coffin.

It is mainly for this reason that On Truth is both so refreshing and so difficult to read.

At the beginning of his book Stefan Molyneux warns the reader of what awaits him. That “This book will mess up your life, as you know it.” And though this may first seem a dramatic or arrogant statement, he is right to warn us, and we are right to be afraid.

Focusing primarily on parents and background, Molyneux reveals the nature of the relationships we cherish the most, the relationships we have not chosen, and the unrequited duty and obedience to those relationships. Each of these relationships – family, culture, government, and religion – are bestowed, or rather forced on us at birth, and latch us to their respective codes of behavior. But the foundation of those codes, the source of the morality almost all of us have grown up with and accepted, is a blackout, an empty space.

Parents have the ability to declare right and wrong for their children with no qualifying criteria other than the ability to bear children. Culture attempts to define who you are by telling you who your ancestors were before, and who your brothers are now. The government passes laws that encroach heavily into the areas of morality, with nothing but the concept of patriotism to lean on. And religion, holding veto power over them all, offers the most complete system of morality, and therefore garners the most control.

Through his brief book Molyneux deftly exposes these false moralities for what they are: useless, destructive and evil. Parents with no real concept of virtue turn to religious or cultural definitions (more often that not, an entirely inconsistent hodge-podge of both) to provide a framework for ethical behavior, and in doing so cut off their children from their ability to reason the truth behind action and consequence.

At times, particularly when he discussed religion, I felt certain that Molyneux needed to qualify his statements, to assure us that not all religious figures are seeking a sense of control over their own lives by demanding the obedience of others. But it was quickly apparent what a mistake that would be. Such an abdication would serve as the apology his readers needed, and they would quickly throw themselves into that tiny minority of “not all.” Molyneux is unyielding, and as well he should be, because he is right.

Perhaps his most startling insight is the application by the power hungry of what Ayn Rand called “the sanction of the victim.” Those who wish to control do so by appealing to right and wrong, sin and virtue. In order to be good, they say, you must do as they command. And in doing so, Molyneux shows us that they are “using goodness in the service of evil.” By appealing to the drive in those under their control to be virtuous and moral, they succeed in fulfilling their own evil ends.

By the end of the book Molyneux leaves no question as to what isn’t a reliable source of virtue and morality. As he points out, we would not trust a doctor who does not heal, and so we should not heed the teachings of the unlearned. I expected that the second half of the book would discuss what should be the source of virtue, and I gather from his epilogue that Molyneux expected that as well. But the books power lies partly in its brevity, so that answer is saved for another read, one I hope to get to as soon as possible.

On Truth: The Tyranny of Illusion is available from Lulu as a paperback book or audio download. Stefan Molyneux is the host of Freedomain Radio. (Cross-posted at New Height Books)

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