A common objection I have seen is that in a free society, where one would contract voluntarily with a private fire department, if your neighbor’s house catches fire and your fire contractor fights it in order to save your house from damage, the neighbor has benefited from your contract without paying anything. Your neighbor is a “free rider.”
Tag: order
Key To Conflict Resolution: Property Rights
The association of humans with their subjective choices is only natural, and identifying how these choices fit in as a part of social cooperation leads to reciprocity and a mutual recognition of property rights and human rights. Both human rights and property rights are understood in that context of reciprocity.
Obedience Is The Enemy Of Morality
It is very difficult to judge law enforcement officers and soldiers on the basis of their individual actions because they pride themselves on not acting as individuals, but rather as being the physical manifestations of the State. Nevertheless we must make the effort.
Zen of Busy: Continual Letting Go When You’re Overwhelmed
I see it as a Zen practice: whatever you think you know, let go of it. Whatever you are sure of, let go of it. My mantra is: You know nothing. The result is that when I remind myself of this, I try to see things from a fresh perspective. I realize that I think I know something but I don’t really, and so I try to see it as if I don’t know.
“Protecting Our Freedoms” is as Real as Santa Claus
Are we to believe that, if not for U.S. soldiers mindless terrorizing people on the other side of the world, some band of militants from some third world dictatorship would have conquered, enslaved and oppressed 300,000,000 Americans, 100,000,000 of whom are armed? The implication is idiotic, yet countless “patriotic” Americans proudly repeat the fairy tale on a regular basis.
Ten Fundamental Laws of Economics
In the midst of so many economic fallacies being repeatedly seemingly without end, it may be helpful to return to some of the most basic laws of economics. Here are ten of them that bear repeating again and again.
Complaint Dismissed in Indiana – Prosecution Withdraws
A big congrats to Dale in Indiana for taking a principled stand against the predators and getting a prosecutor to withdraw their false charges. Not only am I really grateful Dale sent me the documentary proof (during the show!), but he called into the show to give his first hand account of what happened in court.
Why Our Coercive System of Schooling Should Topple
I’ve been called a crazy optimist, a Pollyanna, a romantic idealist. How can I believe that our system of compulsory (forced) schooling is about to collapse? People point out that in many ways the schooling system is stronger now than ever. It occupies more of children’s time, gobbles up more public funds, employs more people, and is more firmly controlled by government—and at ever-higher levels of government—than has ever been true in the past. So why do I believe it’s going to collapse—slowly at first and then more rapidly—over the next ten years or so?
Minimum Wage? Won’t Someone Think of the Children!?
I was quite proud of my 12 year-old recently. She bought her own iPad with money she had saved from babysitting her younger sisters (a joint-effort with her 13 year-old sister) on the nights that I have class. It reminded me of my first job working at the gun range where my dad shot skeet & trap. I earned about $55/week, paid the same way; in cash. I would do simple stuff, like load targets, ‘pull’ for shooters, maintain the grounds, etc. At its core, the minimum wage is a coercive extraction of resources from one party to be given to another.
Voluntary Only
Among the whole world of ideological labels that I could potentially attach to myself, there is one in particular that I feel called to talk about. Voluntaryism. This is a label that I have for a long time now felt affinity with, and in recent times have been cozying up to more and more.