Criticism of my work seems to be immune from the skeptic process. The mental conditioning of statism appears to be so strong that those who claim to be skeptics forget these principles and rely on logical fallacies to support their preconceived conclusions. I thought it would be instructive to demonstrate how some pseudo-skeptics have criticized my work.
Tag: statism
Coffee and Markets
Why is it that in Ireland, the UK, and Western Europe you can buy coffee in a jar, whereas here in the USA you can only find ersatz coffee in a jar? For once, I am not going to blame the state (although I suspect it is behind this somewhere). The market is here, it’s just not evenly distributed, to paraphrase William Gibson, the cyberpunk writer.
Rule Yourself
Recently another sociopath took power of the greatest criminal institution in the world, the US federal government. Another megalomaniac sits on the throne and will attempt to dictate how you can live your life. The problem is not whether this person is black, white, male, female, Christian, Jewish, rich, poor etc. The problem is that the throne and the institution exists at all AKA the State.
Is the Non-Aggression Principle Self-Negating? You Decide!
A person named Jared emailed me out of the blue about a week ago with the following letter. It contains a request for feedback followed by an argument that the Non-Aggression Principle as made popular by Murray Rothbard was self-negating on the grounds that the creation of private property is an act of aggression. What ensued were several letters back and forth in which we both flesh out the other’s argument and offer our critique. In the end we understood each other better, but alas no consensus was reach.
The Role of War in a Voluntaryist Society
Most voluntaryists understand that war is one of the most terrible, wasteful, horrific tools at the state’s disposal. There can be no doubt that the death, devastation, and warping of the mind caused by war are terrible evils. But the question remains: “Is war ever justified?” Before a coherent answer can be given, we should first define war. If war is defined as a purely statist activity, then war is never justified for the simple reason that statism is never justified. However, if we include private, large-scale military operations in the definition of war, then war could be justified under certain specific conditions.
Polar Opposites, or Two Sides of the Same Bloody Coin?
The alt-right and the ‘leftists’ (broadly speaking) see themselves as polar opposites despite embracing nearly identical tactics of dehumanizing their opponents and using violence against them. Both sides believe that peace can be achieved only after the streets run red with the blood of their enemies.
Statism is an Unmistakable Measure of Social Vice
Every step in the direction of nationalism is an implicit admission of low self-esteem. Every step in the direction of protectionism is an implicit admission of low work ethic. And every step in the direction of statism is an implicit admission of generally low character.
An Open Letter to a Statist
If you have an opinion about politics that differs from mine, I can’t just ignore the difference and get along with you. Why not? Because any “political” opinion that differs from mine necessarily includes you wanting men with guns forcing me to live my life, make my choices, and spend my money according to your preferences and whims. There is no such thing, and can be no such thing, as a tolerant statist. If you want peaceful coexistence, you have to stop advocating violent aggression against your fellow man.
Who Anarchists Are Actually
Thanks to the media’s portrayal of masked malcontents kicking over trashcans as “anarchists,” I believe some clarification is in order. I am an anarchist because I recognize that the institution of the state is fundamentally based on violence and coercion, not because I punch people in the face for exercising their freedom of speech.
The Political Cycle
A couple years ago, back when I was in the limited government phase of my political belief progression, I wrote down a very brief outline of what I believed to be the cycle of politics in most nations throughout history. Today I rewrote that outline based on voluntaryist principles.