How does one become a principled non-voter? It was an evolution that occurred alongside my journey toward voluntaryism. I know plenty of libertarians and voluntaryists that still vote, however, so I don’t believe it’s inevitable that this journey will result as it has for me. So here it is, the step-by-step guide to explain exactly why I didn’t vote this November.
Tag: reading
Train Your Mind Using the Puppy Method
The mind can be trained to do almost anything. It can be trained, for example, to get used to any situation, like sitting in silence for a long time, or concentrating on a task. However, usually we’re training our minds to do what we don’t want: be distracted, give in to cravings and urges, complain, avoid discomfort, procrastinate.
Keep Some Self-Sufficiency In Your Life
I used to dream about becoming “self-sufficient” – growing and making most everything myself. And I put in a good amount of daydreaming time and real work toward that, raising all kinds of poultry, growing a garden, reading books on farm skills. Then I learned economics.
Birthright Citizenship – Just and Justified
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. So says section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. With the impeccable timing we’re accustomed to, Donald Trump says he will sign an executive…
Sexual Assault vs. False Allegations
By modern definitions, I have been sexually assaulted. I have been grabbed, and groped in uncomfortable ways that were highly unwelcome. People have tried to kiss me that were unwelcome. Let me talk about some of the instances.
Let’s Stop the Merchants of Death
It’s safe to say that America’s major military contractors would not exist — or exist in anything like the size and form we know them — were it not for the U.S. government and its mammoth military establishment.
Stubborn Detachments
I’ve known Tyler Cowen for 25 years. Straussian misreadings notwithstanding, I assure you that he has little patience for open borders and even less for my brand of pacifism. But given the general moral theory that he embraces in his new Stubborn Attachments, it’s hard to see why Tyler doesn’t already agree with me.
To Hell in a Handcart
I have watched wave after wave of politicians run on platforms of educational fixes. In Kentucky, we are now more than 1/3 of a century downstream of a thing called KERA (Kentucky Education Reform Act). When will these know-it-alls quit fixing a thing which cannot be fixed?
Does Immigration Shrink the Welfare State?
People normally assume that immigration will expand the welfare state. The lazy version says (a) immigrants are net beneficiaries of the welfare state, and (b) people vote their self-interest. The better version says that immigrants’ countries of origins favor more redistribution than natives – and immigrants’ bring their political culture with them.
The Insidious Wiles of Foreign Influence: Trump, Bin Salman, and Netanyahu
Even if the Saudi monarchy or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in particular did not murder journalist Jamal Khashoggi, that regime is an especially evil one in both its domestic and international conduct. To see that, one need only consider the horrendous Saudi war against the people of Yemen, with the backing of the U.S. government starting with Barack Obama.