A major superstition maintained by those who believe in government (the state) is that without their laws, criminals will run rampant in the street preying on anybody and everybody who can’t personally defend themselves. Laws that prescribe harsh punishments on criminal behavior, it is believed, will deter most people from engaging in a life of crime. But I don’t believe that’s true. In fact, I believe the opposite is true: laws don’t deter crime, they create crime. How, you ask as you lean forward and rub your chin?
Tag: markets
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.
Why I’m Bullish on the Future of Capitalism
People love to create, exchange, produce, consume, innovate, improve, and seek material and spiritual progress, happiness, and comfort. The remotest place on earth, if humans live there, will have shops and markets and trading of some kind. Everywhere capitalism has an ounce of oxygen or an inch of space it explodes with a force untouchable by any do-gooder scheme of violence and control.
No One Stole Your Job
People who have chosen to trade with you in the past can decide to trade with someone else instead. While this may be inconvenient for you, this is not an act of aggression against you. It doesn’t make you a victim of anything. You have no right to a “job,” any more than the local convenience store has some right to have you buy lunch from them.
Unsung Heroes of the Market
Now, you may be thinking: why are you going on and on about such utterly mundane transactions? Why are you celebrating this Lucio guy, who after all is pretty much the same as countless millions of other merchants around the world? But that mundaneness, mis amigos, is precisely the point.
The Voice of American Workers Is a Charlatan
Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed voice of American working people, has decreed that the prices of washing machines and solar panels shall rise. So it is written. So it is done.
Delusions of Godhood
What should be the qualities of water? How should DNA be built? How should snowflakes be designed? Who should be in charge of flocks of birds or schools of fish?
The Case Against Education vs. Libertarian Education Reform
Libertarian education reformers have long argued that education is great, but education plus market reforms is even better. The Case Against Education in contrast, argues that the education industry is more like government-sponsored football stadiums: Government support is good for the industry, but bad for society.
Bitcoin Will Stop the Motor of the World
Revolutions do not typically happen overnight, especially one so bold as to question the necessity of a motor as powerful as centralized banking coupled with seemingly limitless government power.
There is No Slowing Down Leviathan
Come over here and sit down for a second conservatives, political libertarians, alt-right people, libertarian universalists, alt-lite people, and many others. You need to come to terms with something … You’ve lost.