As I understand it, the case for the welfare state is the sense that “negative” liberty (being free from the coercive interference of others) is not an adequate condition for achieving a successful, flourishing life. Rather, “positive” liberty — the notion that liberty has its genuine virtue to the extent that one possess the power [...]
On ethical grounds, my rejection of the state was based on the idea that the state’s claim to a monopoly on the enforcement of rules of conduct within a given territory was arbitrary if no individual has ultimate decision-making authority over property to be delegated to the state in the first place. However, I am [...]
On the surface, a recent post on Walking Upstream called “Libertarianism: Coercion Seen Through a Fun House Mirror” may not look like something libertarians should embrace. Upon deeper reflection though, it is exactly the kind of thinking about our current corporatist economic system that libertarians need to embrace (and are doing more of) [...]
The media’s portrayal of the debt ceiling debate is essentially the same kind of scare mongering that preceded the 2008 Bush bail outs. This time, we are told that the federal government’s credit rating would plummet and interest rates would skyrocket.
But what sense does that make? First of all, maxing out your credit limit [...]
OK, I am not condemning all liberals, but anti-authoritarian liberals should call out this blatant power grab for what it is.
It even includes a reference to Hayek’s “Who, Whom?” question. Bernanke’s double is great too.
… and never will. So Frédéric Bastiat calling government “the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else” was more fitting than even he realized.
Who plans whom, who directs and dominates whom, who assigns to other people their station in life, and who is to have his due allotted by others? — Friedrich HayekArchives
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Central Planning Undermines Democracy
Part of the appeal of a democratic electoral process are the ideas that it helps to maintain accountability and legitimacy of the presiding governing structure. With that in mind, some advocates of a state hold that the primary function of government is to maintain a democratic process, as opposed to defending individual rights as minarchist [...]