Guest post by William Vandersteel. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, February 1985. We take it for granted that the ordinary business contract — perhaps the most vital element of modern commerce — would be completely ineffectual without the vigilance of our courts and legal system. But as George Gershwin once wrote, “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”…
Tag: business
Free-Market Healthcare Solutions Are Already in Place
Guest post by Riley Risto. How many health care professionals would trade a small portion of their incomes or leisure time for the satisfaction of joyfully practicing their craft without worrying about malpractice lawsuits or insurance collection? Apparently enough of them to staff at least 1,200 clinics throughout the USA. The DVC has a part-time,…
The Universal Product Code
Guest post by Stephen Gross. Have you ever wondered who regulates the Universal Product Code (UPC) and barcode industry? Probably not. Because of its complexity, there must be a central authority that administers these product identification numbers and the zebra-looking line segments on almost every product sold around the world. Even products imported from tiny…
Raw Milk, 3D Printing, and Kid Scientists
Send him mail. “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” is an original weekly column appearing every Monday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here. OVP-only RSS feed available here. The reason this column is titled “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” is because that’s all I am. My positions are not the…
A Voluntaryist Approach to Abortion
I wrote this as a response in a Facebook discussion. I thought I’d share it here. There’re two ways to approach libertarianism: 1) legal philosophy, and 2) political philosophy. 1) is *what* laws should be made, and 2) is *how* those laws should be made. Liberty, hence libertarians, hence the non-aggression and self-ownership principles, demand…
Government in Violation of Antitrust Laws
Guest post by Chris Brown. Government antitrust laws have caused significant damage to consumers and businesses, all in the name of “consumer protection” and “promoting competition.” Unfortunately, government views on antitrust come from a fundamentally flawed understanding of economics – neoclassical economics, the view that is taught in most university economics courses today. In this…
Drug Law Nullification and 47%ers
Send him mail. “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” is an original weekly column appearing every Monday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here. OVP-only RSS feed available here. Welcome to the inaugural edition of “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective,” a column I really, really hope to write every week. The…
The Voluntary Good
Guest post by Lou. A question came up in the comments section of a previous article. “Do businesses always have the best interests of the nation in mind when making business investments or do they have the best interests in their business?” My answer came quickly, “No. Businesses do not always have the best interest…
Individualism, Collectivism, and Other Murky Labels
Imagine the following person. He believes all individuals should be free to do anything that’s peaceful and therefore favors private property, free global markets, freedom of contract, civil liberties, and all the related ideas that come under the label libertarianism (or liberalism). Obviously he is not a statist. But is he an individualist and a capitalist or a socialist and a collectivist?
Jesus Christ, Pirate
Guest post by Kevin Carson. After reportedly feeding a crowd of five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, Jesus Christ of Nazareth was recently served with formal legal notice from industry trade associations, demanding that he cease and desist from what they charge is an illegal food-sharing operation under the terms of the Miracle…