Peaceful Anarchism 034 features an interview of Mary J. Ruwart, author of Healing Our World: The Compassion of Libertarianism, by Danilo Cuellar. Topics include: justice, the not so wild Wild West, prisons, the broken window fallacy and the state, modern poverty, economic freedom, battered citizen syndrom, neighbors, economics, private security, love, charity, and many more.
Tag: charity
Capitalism vs. Socialism: The Bruenig-Caplan Debate
“Capitalism” and “socialism” – what do these words even mean? You could just say that capitalism is the economic system of countries like the United States, and socialism is the economic system of countries like the former Soviet Union. In that case, I’d say that capitalism is at least ok, while socialism is hell on earth. Perhaps my opponent would even agree! It’s more fruitful, though, to treat capitalism and socialism as positions on the ideal economic system. Something like: the capitalist ideal is that government plays very little role in the economy – and the socialist ideal is that government plays the leading role in the economy. In that case, I say that capitalism is awesome, and socialism is terrible.
Property and Self
It seems to me that this is a central economic question confronting the human species, but to resolve it is to put statist and interventionist footprints all over the question. Voluntaryists are stuck on the fence of believing the resolution while being restricted in implementing much of its implications.
Communism vs. Compassion
Many millions of well-intentioned yet muddle-headed people (along with a much smaller number of opportunistic megalomaniacs) have put forth a “philosophy” that has ended up getting tens of millions of people murdered. How could that possibly happen?
Find Work-Life Balance With More Life, Not Less Work
I’m not going to get on your case and tell you to start using your Netflix time to do more work for your company, or even for your own “professional development goals”. I am going to tell you to use that time to do more “work” to develop the other parts of yourself that matter.
Them Furriners
Those who focus on, or obsess over, “immigrants” without making the distinction between people who archate and those who don’t, regardless of where they were born, are harming liberty. Badly!
Only the Rich
The government gives an excludable good away for free: roads, parks, education, medicine, whatever. Then some economist advocates privatization of one of these freebies. Technocrats may offer some technical objections to privatization. Normal people, however, will respond with a disgusted rhetorical question: “So only the rich should have roads / parks / education / medicine / whatever?”
Without Government Welfare
In a world without government welfare, every individual would be required to either provide for themselves, or rely on private charity. “But what if they can’t get private charity?” cries a bleeding-heart liberal.
Insurance, or Forced Charity?
On a Facebook thread (not mine) that I saw recently, someone wrote, as an objection to the idea of turning health care over to the market, “In a totally free market for healthcare, people with pre-existing conditions would be denied coverage.” Well, yes.
Who’s Responsible?
If you sell a car and some time later the guy you sold it to (or someone he sold it to) uses that car to plow into a group of kindergarteners, injuring hundreds and killing a bunch of them, should you or your insurance cover the medical and funeral expenses?