One type of statist wants to protect society from some liberties, while other statists want to protect society from the other liberties. Until there is no liberty left– and the moralizing bullies still will never be content. It’s never enough for them.
Tag: order
To “Advocate”
No one has the right to advocate the initiation of force or property violations. If you are libertarian, this is something you know. But, what exactly does it mean to “advocate” something?
Influences IV
This is another disparate group of influences, R. Buckminster Fuller, Edward Tufte, Douglas Hofstadter. The first is from the 60s, the second from the 90s, and the third from the first decade of the 21st Century, in the order that they came into my life. But all three think outside of the boxes which have contained so many of us.
One Simple Shift to Turn Life Into an Adventure
When I was young, I would run barefoot through the jungles of Guam, being chased by bad guys, imagining I was on an Indiana Jones-style adventure. The world was filled with possibility, excitement, discovery, exploration, and a delicious sense of danger and the unknown lurking in the darkness. It was fun, play, and curiosity. Adulthood and the responsibilities of family and work all did their best to beat out this sense of adventure, and create a sense of routine and discipline in me. But I’ve always still become lit up by a sense of adventure.
The Transition from Slavery to Freedom
I sometimes hear people, including freedom advocates, pondering how society might “transition” from an authoritarian system to a stateless society. The implication is that there could be some sort of gradual, peaceful phasing in of freedom, and a phasing out of governmental controls. But that is not how things works, and not how things will ever work.
Nonsense on Stilts
An English proverb holds that a lie can be halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on. It also appears to be the case that a government can be shot through with corruption before the ink is dried on its Constitution.
Words Poorly Used #129 — Specialization
There is no single task in making a pencil that requires rocket science, but there are lots of tasks that require the opportunity to do something in an optimum return situation. A lone pencil maker would have to switch jobs and be proficient in each. But in the real world it is not practical for the person who harvests the wood to also fashion the lead and to formulate the paint and affix the eraser.
Powerful Courageousness: Practices to Expand Yourself & Your Gift
Imagine a woman who has a powerful gift to give to the world, a song to sing that will lift others up … but she only lets herself give that gift when the sun is shining and she’s happy and the moon is in perfect alignment with Jupiter. The world would be robbed of her song. Her narrow range of when she’s willing to offer her gift would be a devastating loss to those she serves.
Fear of Modernity and Progress?
The contention, held by many libertarians, of expertise isn’t in the accruement of specialized knowledge by dedicated and brilliant individuals. The contention lies in the contemporary social belief that these individuals knowledge shouldn’t just be a tool in our choices to refine ourselves, our lives, our companies, our products, and our world around us, but rather unquestionable truth with overt or covert implications on social norms and government policy.
How Much Worse Will We Allow it To Get?
Every day, without exception, I learn about people being kidnapped, caged, and even killed by the state. They do not meet these fates because they hurt anyone. They are not targeted because they pose an imminent danger to their fellow men. No, these people are victimized by the state solely because they make choices which go against the preferences of politicians and bureaucrats.