Scribbles and Bullshit Rituals

Once upon a time, a group of people, without my cooperation or approval–and in fact, well before I was even born–proclaimed that they were going to forcibly rob and control anyone existing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. To claim that me existing on the continent therefore constitutes me “consenting” to be extorted and dominated is just plain stupid. Apparently all any street gang or Mafia has to do is say, “Hey, this place is our turf now!” and by the statist reasoning, anyone who still decides to stay in that area would be “agreeing” to do whatever the gang says.

The Five Institutions of the Market Economy

Let us see what the basic institutions of the market economy are. We may subdivide them for convenience of discussion into (1) private property, (2) free markets, (3) competition, (4) division and combination of labor, and (5) social cooperation. As we shall see, these are not separate institutions. They are mutually dependent: each implies the other, and makes it possible.

The Trouble With Politics

Politics is of its very nature is biased in favor of intervention and planning. Even in its “minarchist” or “night-watchman” version, politics is based at root on the idea that some decisions must be made coercively and imposed on unwilling minorities – or even majorities, as the case may be. This is contrary to the principle we observe in private life every day: the consent of both parties is necessary for a transaction to take place.