The impossibility of utopia through polity

Politics can be accurately described as individuals with power attempting to bend law and reality to legislative will.  Human behavior and the economic fact of scarcity is expected to conform and act in accordance with the social policy and political philosophy of whichever political party controls the government bureaucracy.  Rather than attempt to construct a …

The Wisconsin debacle

Oh, union drama and Wisconsin: how quickly you have caused conservatives to demonize unions, liberals to saint them, and libertarians to choose a side under threat of irrelevance and bi-partisan hatred.  As a result of visiting D.C. Thursday-Sunday for the ISFLC and scrambling to balance classwork, I haven’t had time to follow the events, but …

Individualism through collectivism!

Democratic freedom came to be envisaged not as the preservation of immunity from the State but as full participation in the power of the State.  Democracy popularized and in a significant sense sanctified the State relationship.  The continuous expansion of political power and responsibility that has been inherent in the democratic state would be inexplicable …

The ISFLC, or why I haven’t slept since Wednesday yet feel fantastic

The International Students for Liberty Conference proved inspiring over the weekend.  A quick recap will suffice, then an analysis.  Over 500 students showed up from almost every state and I believe 13 countries (?), but that number may be slightly off.  I cannot locate the source, so take that as you may. Speakers included Tyler …

Sunday Update

Currently reading: The State by Franz Oppenheimer Tradition and Revolt by Robert Nisbet The Ethics of Redistribution by Bertrand de Jouvenel The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald Currently listening to: Public Opinion for Libertarians, a lecture by Bryan Caplan EconTalk interview by Russ Roberts with Milton Friedman from September 2006 Currently watching: Learn Liberty videos …

Libertarian Audio

I’m not super-invested in audio shows.  They usually feel drawn-out and a waste of time.  However, the Harry Browne radio show has made libertarian radio shows, podcasts, etc.,  grow on me.  In that spirit, I thought I’d link some of the better-known (or, in my opinion, at least credible) shows that entertain, even if they …

De Jouvenel, Nisbet, and the antagonisms of individual association and State power

The more I study, the more cynical I become as to any intentional progress by individuals in society.  Reading through Bertrand de Jouvenel and Robert Nisbet, they present to me problems with relying on the State for redistribution and a social safety net, along with the trouble of individuals preventing the rise of a monolithic …