Many people have objected to libertarian anarchism on the grounds that absent the state, warlords would take over. But what is the state itself but a species of warlord?
Category: Against Leviathan
Missouri River Morality
If you explain to people why the state is a fundamentally immoral institution — among other things, it relies on extorted and stolen funds, gained by threats of violence, for its very existence and nearly every action it takes — and therefore conclude that it ought to be abolished, people will object that alternative institutions might not work, that is, might not supply certain goods and services (e.g., protection of person and property) that the people want.
What Do Judges Maximize?
Public choice analysts did not develop a standard way of analyzing the actions of judges. For the most part, judges were simply ignored. Of course, if the judges were elected, they could be analyzed in the same way as any other elected officials, but in regard to appointed judges, especially those appointed for life terms, as the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are, public choice had little to say.
Responsible Rulers
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.
Immunity and Incentives
Imagine giving someone great power whose misuse can cause harm to people’s lives, liberties, and property, but shielding the power wielders from all personal responsibility to compensate those they harm.
A Continuous Series of Cultural Appropriations
Cultural appropriation has been our salvation and our glory as a species. It is the way in which discoveries and inventions have been disseminated among the human population. To condemn it is stupid.
They’re Just Fools
I lived more than 70 years of my life in the USA, so I know from personal experience that not everyone in that country is a moron. Indeed, some Americans are decent, smart, and well-informed.
Gratitude in an Unfree World
Above all, I am grateful for the people who have loved me and whom I have loved in return. My old friends have been loyal, my newer ones appreciative and kind. Very seldom have I been betrayed or abandoned. I have enjoyed relatively good physical health, with no major diseases or injuries in my life since infancy.
To Do Great Damage
Probably the most significant of the reasons why the state won’t lose its powers is that the great majority of people everywhere want it to have those powers. They also want, of course, the state to use its powers in ways that feather their nests and make life miserable for people they dislike.
Threaten, Bribe, and Bamboozle
Ruling elites have three basic ways to keep the subject population under their thumb: threaten, bribe, and bamboozle. Everything they do is a variant of one or more of these basic actions.