This episode features an interview of post-academic historian and education entrepreneur Thaddeus Russell from 2017 by Nick Gillespie of the Reason podcast. Russell talks about discovering the Austrian School of economics only long after he left the academy, why actual Marxists hate postmodernism and why libertarians should love it, the insidious nature of America’s Protestant work ethic, and how the Democrats are reviving the Cold War.
Tag: libertarian
Far Left Utopia, Billionaires, Censorship, & “Government is Good” (31m) – Episode 321
Episode 321 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following entries to r/shitstatistssay: ross-cross writes, “libertarianism is a childish far left utopia it doesn’t include much from right besides guns”; Franklin Veaux writes, “Libertarianism can be summed up as ‘I want to profit from group cooperative effort that benefits everyone, but don’t you dare tell me that I should have to contribute to the cooperative effort from which I am making money!'”; steveandthesea writes, “There is literally no ethical way to become a billionaire”; EatTheBugsBigot writes, “Corporate censorship is worse than government censorship”; and Jshbone12 writes (and the_Blind_Samurai elaborates on), “Government is good.”
A Modest Proposal for Compromise on “Confederate” Military Bases
Don’t rename those “Confederate” bases. Instead, shut them down. Completely. Move or destroy the weapons, move or discharge the troops, and sell the real estate (with contract clauses forbidding use of the bases’ names or namesakes in subsequent uses).
Rothbard’s Conceived in Liberty: The New Republic
I’ve been waiting to read the fifth volume of Murray Rothbard’s Conceived in Liberty for over 30 years. Now my former student Patrick Newman, professor at Florida Southern College, has miraculously undeleted this “lost work.” Patrick’s quasi-archaeological efforts are nothing short of amazing, but how does the actual book hold up?
Afghanistan Bounties: Pot, Meet Kettle (and Turn Off the Stove!)
First, reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan to zero. If there aren’t any US forces in Afghanistan, no US forces in Afghanistan will be in danger due to supposed “Russian bounties.” Second, ignore — forget! — the slim possibility that Russian bounties were behind any American deaths. Problems solved.
Contra The Short, Simple Dismissal Of Libertarianism: Philosophy and Society (32m) – Episode 317
Episode 317 has Skyler giving his commentary on the subtopics “Philosophy” and “Society” from Mike Huben‘s “The Short, Simple Dismissal of Libertarianism“. He writes, “99% of libertarianism is obviously untrue or unacceptable for one or more of these reasons… How can we know that so easily? Here are some simple principles that make it obvious.”
Walter Block: Defending the Drug Addict (12m)
This episode features an audio essay written by economics professor and Austro-libertarian Walter Block from 1976, and which comprises Chapter 5 of Defending the Undefendable.
Stop Blaming Russia, China for US Disarmament Failures
On June 22 and 23, Russian and American diplomats met in Vienna to discuss New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty which expires next year. The treaty provides for an optional five-year extension. Alternatively, the parties could negotiate a new agreement as has happened several times in the past. A third possibility involves one or both parties playing silly games like insisting that China be brought into the negotiations despite Beijing’s complete lack of interest in participating. Which is exactly what happened.
COVID-19: Freedom Means That We Can Do Stupid Things, Not That We Have To
Yes, as freedom returns, some people will throw caution entirely to the winds. They should be free to act like idiots, right up to the point they actually — not prospectively, not hypothetically, ACTUALLY — cause harm to non-consenting others. They should also be free to refrain from acting like idiots.
On Bootstraps
Libertarians are often strawmanned as uncaring assholes who think that all that is necessary for anyone, even the most unfortunate among us, need to do to succeed in life is to pull themselves up by their own “bootstraps”.