Tag: rulers

Hey Tough Guy, I Call BS; They Will Take Your Guns from Warm Compliant Hands

Shepard, The Voluntaryist

For many years I have heard the tired old comments about government agents prying guns from cold dead hands. I recall a man with 300 partners on a mountain pass once said something similar, but he demonstrated through his actions that he actually meant it. I don’t think YOU really mean it. Your contemporary bravado is fine if we accept it for what it is. In truth, are YOU really THAT resolute & tough?

Their Own Personal Political Benefit

Robert Higgs

When government officials order certain types to business to close or to operate only at no more than 25 or 50 percent of capacity, those orders in many cases are tantamount to a death sentence, because many businesses cannot afford to close completely for an indefinite period or to operate far below capacity. The permanent closures of small businesses entail unemployment for many employees and a loss of investment for owners, many of whom worked and saved for years in order to go into business for themselves.

Responsible Rulers

Robert Higgs

I have often heard people charge libertarian anarchists with being irresponsible for wishing to get rid of the current system of government and replace it with genuine self-governance. It’s as if — however difficult it may be to believe — these critics actually believe that rulers in the current setup are responsible.

Silence Is Not Consent in Politics, Either

Thomas L. Knapp

When you undergo a medical procedure or volunteer for a research study, you’re presented with forms to sign, outlining what’s going to happen (and what bad things could happen), and expressly consenting to have those things happen. If you’re accused of rape, “he or she didn’t physically resist” isn’t an acceptable defense. In fact, express consent is the emerging standard, sometimes to seemingly ridiculous degrees (i.e. re-requesting consent at each stage of an encounter). Consent, I think we can agree, is a big deal in America today.

Overlords of The Deplorables

Robert Higgs

Political divisions in the USA now appear to have taken an unusually rigid form. There are two large blocs, the pro-Trumpers and the anti-Trumpers, who share little except each one’s hatred of the other. Trump’s policies, whatever they have been or failed to be, have relatively little to do with these divisions, which spring from a deeper source in the culture wars.