Free, Not Flim-Flammed

In the Introduction to the Freedom Pages I emphasize this is not a place to look for “shortcuts” or “secret keys” or “magic formulas” to freedom, or wealth, or success, or anything else. The reason for that emphasis is because independent individualists are subject to a certain kind of naivete.

The independent individualist is basically optimistic and enthusiastic about all of life. Their self-assurance and self-confidence lead them to embrace every opportunity and challenge with the certainty there is nothing they cannot accomplish or achieve if they choose to.

Since reason is the only means they know in dealing with others and they have no desire for any relationship with others that is not of mutual benefit to those others and themselves, all their relationships with others are guileless and honest.

It is natural for the independent individualist to accept others at face value, to assume that others are as benevolent and sincere as themselves, and, even when other’s actions are questionable, to give them the benefit of the doubt.

It is the independent individualist’s very enthusiastic optimism about life that makes them vulnerable to that kind of deception I described in the Daily Freedom article,”You Cannot Do That and Be Free—The Military.” In response to that article, David has provided a good example on the Freedom Forum: “My close shave with the army.”

It is the independent individualist’s benevolent acceptance of others that makes them vulnerable to another kind of deception.

If It Seems Too Good To Be True

In the Freedom Pages article, “Money,” I wrote, “Money is a tangible representation of one’s independence, the symbol of his productivity, as well as a means to freedom itself.” It is never money itself that is an objective for the independent individualist, but what money represents is very important, because it is the material representation of his virtue.

Oddly, there are a number to schemes presented as legitimate businesses that often ensnare the most sincere of individualists because they promise great wealth in exchange for hard work and the application of some supposed secret financial methods. They are especially appealing to the freedom seeking individualist.

There are several of these schemes being promoted, but they all have the following features:

1. They are promoted as the means of establishing one’s independence, or freedom, or individualism, or sovereignty.

2. They are described as a means to virtually unlimited wealth.

3. They require a small investement which provides you with “the secret financial information,” or “a membership in the organization,” or some other vague necessity for your success.

In some cases there is a “product” involved, which is somewhat nebulous, like “vacation plans for the wealthy,” but in many cases the only product is the scheme itself. In all cases these schemes are what are called “multilevel marketing,” or “MLMs.”

All these schemes sound too good to be true, which ought to be the tip-off for the individualist. They are all scams. It is because so many of these schemes are being put over in the name of individual freedom or individual sovereignty and because there are so many WEB pages today, that look like Expat, or PT, or Investment, or Offshore pages, but are actually fronts for these MLM schemes I wanted to make everyone aware of them.