A running summary of my posts on topics of libertarianism (left, center
and right) and culture.
Bleeding
Heart-Thick-Milquetoast-Left-Wine Spritzer Libertarians: I was asked
to compile a list of my posts on the above-mentioned topic by someone
interested in the subject. This post offers links to dozens of posts
I have written in rebuttal to prominent libertarians and Austrians who I
believe have distorted or destroyed the philosophy. I am often not
kind.
Is There Hope
for the Bleeding Hearts?: Matt Zwolinski decides to dive deep into
his support for a Basic Income Guarantee. Rest assured, he still
lands at the wrong answer.
Obamacare: Oh So
Libertarian!: Believe it or not.
Libertarians and
Culture: perhaps my first real grasping at this topic, prompted by
the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage.
Family as
Foundation: Somewhere, somehow, society will require – even demand –
governance. I vote for the family as the basic governance unit.
Libertarian
Crusades?: Alexander McCobin, wants to take the LGBT battle
overseas. I suggest he first visits one of the seven where
homosexuality is punishable by death.
Left-Libertarians: A
deep-dive into the history and roots of left-libertarian thinking, through the
writing of a prominent advocate of this view, Kevin Carson.
Antonio Gramsci
Libertarians: It turns out that the left-libertarian desire to
require “libertarian” to mean “libertine,” thus radically transforming culture,
has something in common with Gramsci’s communist plan to transform
society. While the left-libertarians predict an outcome that
conforms to the non-aggression principle, it is the communists who are
realistic about the direction society will take when culture is destroyed.
Hoppe’s
Realistic Libertarianism: Having been quite critical of “thick”
libertarians of the left, I was challenged to take Hoppe on in the same
manner. I was glad I did; it was an eye-opening journey – as several
of the following posts will demonstrate.
Hoppe and
Immigration: The subject of immigration examined through the
lens of property rights. A novel thought, one that more libertarians
might consider.
Dances With
Elephants: A mosquito dares tread on the immigration
battleground of two giants, Hoppe and Block.
Compared to
What?: It is easy to write about immigration in libertarian
theory applied to a libertarian world. It gets a little tougher to
apply this libertarian theory in this world. Jacob Hornberger asks:
Are immigration controls a good thing? I say,
good? Compared to what?
The State and
Land: Who owns government property? Can the state
own land? What does this have to do with immigration and culture?
Open Borders:
Case Study: Merkel gave open borders libertarians their biggest
wet dream ever – a real life case study to see how their theory works out in
the real world. Let’s see how it’s going so far.
Why Culture
Matters: A generally accepted culture goes a long way toward
reducing opportunities for conflict. Culture evolving slowly and
naturally, through voluntary associations, occurs daily and is generally
harmless. Culture changed dramatically, via war or other government
pronouncements for example, is often quite destructive of social order; which
then results in calls for someone to do something – by force. This
might be why government works so hard to destroy culture.
Libertarian Open
Borders: As noted, Merkel gave libertarian open borders
advocates a great opportunity to examine their theory being put into
practice. I have seen not one such advocate take advantage of this
magnificent gift and write a case study using this example in defense of the
position. In this post I ask if anyone else has seen such an
examination.
Borders Neither
Open or Closed: Richman Gets it Right: Sheldon Richman, a
prominent left-libertarian, gets it right: libertarian borders are managed.
The Silence is
Deafening: Noting that I had received hundreds of comments on
my several posts on open borders and culture, my two most recent posts Libertarian
Open Borders and Borders Neither Open or Closed: Richman Gets
it Right, received almost no feedback. Why so little feedback on
these two, after hundreds of comments previously? I wonder….
Borders and
Culture: I respond to a critique offered by one Paul
Bonneau. In it, I am criticized for views that are common to his – I
don’t get it. Further, other critiques are in response to things I
have never written. Still, you might find it a worthwhile read….
The Real Action
is in the Reaction of the Opposition: Imagine my surprise to
find that the clash of cultures in Germany on New Year’s Eve resulted in calls
for draconian police action. Merkel’s open borders: just following
the Saul Alinsky playbook.
The Camp: My
humble attempt at integrating the storyline from the novel The Camp into
today’s real world.
Backlash on Open
Borders: Once again, imagine my surprise to find that open
borders in Europe results in a political backlash, moving toward calls for even
more authoritarian government measures.
Borders,
Culture, and Decentralization: Guess what (although it
shouldn’t be a surprise)? Murray Rothbard understands the value of
culture in checking and reducing the power of the state!
Open Borders in
THIS World: As I introduce the post: “Merkel’s open borders
pronouncement is the gift that keeps on giving in this libertarian debate about
borders and immigration.” It turns out you cannot have open borders
without government intervention.
Property,
Discrimination, and Exclusion: A brief, self-administered quiz,
aimed to help you explore your own views on the topic.
The
Preconditions: An exploration of one of the responses to the
above, self-administered quiz.
Libertarian Open
Borders: Oxymoron in Theory and Practice: In this post, I
examine the harsh reality when open borders in theory butts up against Angela
Merkel’s open borders policy in practice.
Dialogue (Such as it is) With
Jacob Hornberger on Open Borders
Libertarian:
Left, Center, and Right: Recognizing that the application of
libertarian theory in a world populated by humans needs to take into account…humans.
Culture and
Liberty: A common culture – and a culture beyond merely the NAP
– is necessary if we are ever to move closer to a libertarian society.
Finger Food:
where I comment on Nicholas Sarwark, Libertarian Party Chair, and his inability
to see the connection of libertarianism and states rights.
Nicholas Sarwark
Replies: well, the title explains it – frankly, he only makes things
worse for himself.
Apparently Some
Confusion?: Someone asks Walter Block about something he
believes is contradictory on my part. I decide to respond anyway.
The Logical
Inconsistency of Open Borders...: Inconsistent in anarchism,
impossible in minarchism.
Food for Thought:
Culture and kinship; something will govern.
Get Off (on) My
Lawn: Culture matters if you want peace.
Evolving Culture
and Adherence to Abstraction: Sheldon Richman defines
libertarianism into a one-person phone-booth.
Jacob Hornberger
Carries Sheldon Richman’s Water: Hornberger decides to reply to
the above post on behalf of Richman.
I Will Keep This
One Simple: Libertarian theory does not hold a simple, yes / no
answer on the topic of immigration and borders.
Open Borders: No
Answer in the Non-Aggression Principle: An answer to open borders
and immigration cannot be deduced via the non-aggression
principle. For anarchists, as there is no state and therefore no
state borders, the only borders are private – and these, most certainly, will
not be “open.” For minarchists, how will the state serve its
“defense” function without knowing who crosses its borders and for what
purpose?
Rothbard and
Open Borders: Rothbard on open borders and culture.
Uncomfortable
Questions: Questions that should be faced by any libertarian
theorist attempting to provide application to the real world.
Immigration:
A Human Right?: Bryan Caplan is more left-wing than the United Nations on this
topic.
Why They Hate
Rothbard: The libertarian left (meaning, mainstream libertarians)
hate Rothbard because he does not embrace every conceivable,
culture-destroying, made-up, positive “human right.”
Mises on
Immigration and Nation: Joe Salerno has done an excellent job of
capturing and summarizing Mises’ view on this topic. Given his
background, Mises is rather qualified to speak on both.
Sloppy Language
Results in Sloppy Thinking: Words have meaning; the term “nation” is
an important concept.
Nation:
What do communists, global democrats, and many libertarians have in
common? According to Rothbard, it is hate of the nation.
Musings on
Immigration and Running From the Truth: One of the aforementioned
libertarians writes openly about his hatred of nation; other, more polite,
libertarians want to pretend such hatred is not at the base of the open borders
crowd.
Kulturkampf!:
Rothbard writes of the culture war – finally taken up by the right (in 1992).
The “Future” of
Whose “Freedom” Foundation?: Immigration as a human
right? Not again!
Liberté sans
Fraternité?: Is liberty possible without fraternity, some other
cultural aspects that bind community together?
NAP Time:
My response to several topics raised on the value of culture. My
frustration comes shining through, as in the face of overwhelming evidence to
the liberty-destroying results of destroying culture in Europe, such can be
denied.
No True Scotsman:
It is acceptable – and some would say required – that a true libertarian would
support all manner of libertine behavior. One thing and one thing
only is not allowed to receive support from a true libertarian:
religion. Really. Why?
Success!:
My first breakthrough with Walter Block on the topic of immigration and open
borders. This post specifically deals with the vast expanses of
government controlled land: who owns this?
And the Dying
Cheer: Man is most free when law comes from God (or common,
historical, culture), and not when man is invented by the enlightened.
Block and bionic
Duke it Out: My second breakthrough with Walter Block, wherein he is
at least considering that his libertarian position on immigration and borders
might not be libertarian after all.
Man Destroys God:
Friedrich Nietzsche, of “God is dead” fame, understands the negative
ramifications of this better than most.
The Story of a
Donkey: A tale of when guests start deciding that they own the place
The Soros
Dilemma: If George Soros privately financed one million [insert your
choice of peoples from Africa, the Middle East or Central Asia] immigrants into
your county (county, not country), would you – as a libertarian – object?
Reset with Anonp:
a conversation intending to summarize, to some degree, my view on open borders
and immigration in this world.
From Immigrants
and Refugees to Terrorists: The title says it all, but it is not a
story about today or the future; we have seen this play out before.
Who Leads When
There Are No Rules?: For anyone who desires to live with and amongst
humans, I argue that the only viable choices in answer to this question are
either a) custom and culture or b) dictate. And when there are no
rules, the worst will become the dictator.
By Whose Standards?:
Value is subjective. This applies to far more than economic
transactions. Application of the NAP requires turning the subjective
into objective. By whose standards is the objective to be defined?
For Than:
My continued dialogue with a feedbacker. Among other topics, we both
recognize that liberty and utopia are not synonymous on what we each choose to
compromise is quite different – and, I believe, the important question.
Where There’s
Smoke There’s Fire: A thought experiment, putting to the test the
intersection of culture and the NAP in a world occupied by humans. Must be read
in conjunction with this,
for those who cannot understand fiction writing as a tool.
Better Dead Than
Traditionally Wed: Left-libertarians prefer nuclear war to
traditional Christian values.
My Journey So
Far: Many libertarians fail to deal with the spaces in between, the
gray that defines life. In this post, I attempt to summarize my
journey through the gray.
Libertarian
Neo-cons: Reason Magazine doubles-down on the call
to war with Russia.
Libertarian
Neocons for McCain: Another Reason Magazine piece,
the title says it all.
Paradoxe de la
Lumière Noire: Jeff Deist gave a talk at the 2017 Mises
University. Libertarians who ignore the fact that people have ties
to family and geography are foolish libertarians. I refer to them as
communists.
Communist
Libertine Trigger Warning: The reaction from left-libertarians to
Deist’s above-mentioned talk. Needless to say, they didn’t like it.
“It’s Just
Tyranny!”: Jordan Peterson suggests that those who complain about
the patriarchal order really don’t understand what they are talking about.
The Controlled
Opposition: Jeffrey Tucker’s reaction to events in
Charlottesville. My title says enough.
Open Borders for
Israel: I offer four prominent libertarian advocates for open
borders (Jacob Hornberger, Sheldon Richman, Steven Horwitz, and Jeffrey Tucker)
the chance to make the same case for Israel. As of this moment,
almost three weeks and no response.
Jeffrey Tucker
for National Review: Tucker first defines the term “nation” out of
existence, before finding some way to describe the United States as a nation.
Jordan Peterson
and the Bible: He touches on many aspects of the importance of
culture to a surviving and thriving society.
Charlottesville:
Beginning with the events in Charlottesville, I move through the relationship
between libertarians and the alt-right – and wonder why no one has to apologize
for being a communist?
Musings on
Left-Libertarians: Open borders libertarians are anti-Semites, no
way around it.
The Closing
Chapter: My reflection on this topic of libertarians, culture, and
the liberal tradition. I decide to take a pause, as it is possible I
understand less about this topic than I might have thought.
Let’s Try a
Little “Direct”…: An individual that knew me (the virtual me) about
as well as anyone wondered if I am after a white America – this prompting the
post immediately above. I decide to be very direct in my response as
opposed to my normal Socratic discussion with the audience.
Més Que un Club:
The secession vote in Catalunya has split libertarians. I offer my
thoughts.
Secession:
Libertarians who disapprove of the possibility of Catalunya secession should
face the consequences of sitting in fantasyland – the state employed violence,
enforcing this “libertarian” position.
The Conundrum of
Liberty: Libertarians can be very good on property, but leave
unstated the implication: the right to discriminate.
Libertarianism
and the “Alt-Right”: A brief overview of a speech by Hans Hoppe at
the 2017 Property and Freedom Society conference; this speech is covered in
extensive detail in the next post.
I Love Hans
Hoppe!: Does this need explanation?
A Woman of the
Winnili: After writing 2000 fawning words about Hoppe,
immediately above, I receive a comment that begins: “Hoppe is a
mess...” Now, I don’t mind contrary opinions, but it this the best
way to start a constructive dialogue given my position?
Walter Block
Solves the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Philosophy: Is it beneficial
– no, even necessary – to maintain a certain type of culture if one wishes to
move toward and maintain a libertarian society? Walter replies “yes,
and it is a conservative culture that values tradition.” Sounds like
Hans Hoppe!
NAP Time II:
Conversation 1,275,893 on the point that there is no libertarian answer to
borders and immigration in a world of state borders.
Leftist or
Libertarian?: A prominent left-libertarian takes issue with
libertarians who pay attention to Jordan Peterson; the reasons he offers have
nothing to do with the NAP and everything to do with a leftist agenda.
The
Left-Libertarians and the 0.000001%: a follow-up to the post
immediately above; it turns out that the left-libertarian in question is Steve
Horwitz. His arguments will be meaningful to exactly two people.
Borders and
Property: Jacob Hornberger makes my case regarding borders and
immigration.
What I Learned
at Murray’s Knee…: Murray Rothbard, in his essay “Nations by
Consent,” offers an examination of “nation” and open borders. Guess
what? Men are bound by much more than market
exchange. Guess what else? You cannot derive open borders
from the non-aggression principle.
An Adult Enters
the Room: I examine as essay by Jesús Huerta de Soto in which he
describes a libertarian theory of free immigration. (Hint: it isn’t
“open borders.”)
Negative
Liberty’s War on Nature: negative liberty buries the possibility of
finding liberty; a world of “thou shalt not” is insufficient as it ignores and
even attempts to destroy human realities.
NAP Time III:
My third dedicated post to this same commenter, “The NAPster” (you will find
the other two above). A discussion on open borders, the lack of a
pure libertarian answer in a world of state borders, and a review of the
various transitional positions. Once again, The NAPster asks many questions and
answers none in return.
Circumstances:
perhaps a successful strategy to move toward a libertarian world might not
include advocating for all of the various leftist and libertine aspects opened
up by the principle and instead focus on a couple of simple points.
The One True
Faith?: Is it really possible that libertarianism is the one true
faith? Which is more likely to occur: a well-crafted theory of law
in search of a society to adopt it or a tradition and culture that provides the
foundation for good law to emerge? As good law does not come forward
from a bad culture and tradition, which one should be upheld as the one true
faith?
Israel: 7
Percent Legitimate: An example of libertarian cognitive dissonance
that does nothing other than turn reasonable people off from considering the
non-aggression principle.
Tribe for Me But
Not for Thee: A continuation of the topic regarding
Israel. Three libertarians recognize the value of tribe for
Jews. At least one of these three does not recognize the value of
tribes for anyone else. To my knowledge, none of the three have
suggested open borders for Israel.
Principle and
Tradition: I am very grateful for many of those who comment at the
site. The best ones get me to think of things in a different way,
move me to change my views, or force me to better put into words my
thoughts. This is an example of the last point.
Dilly Dilly:
Hans Hoppe on getting libertarianism right, in other words…not
left. Hoppe includes an examination of the culture and tradition of
the Middle Ages.
An Open Letter
to Walter Block: This one is a doozy. Walter
offers that it was OK to keep Jewish refugees out of Canada in the 1930s
because they were socialists and communists. When I ask him how this
squares with his open borders view, he says, no, they should have been let in –
even though they are socialists and communists.
Trade Winds:
It does not help the libertarian cause when prominent libertarian thinkers are
unable to consider the secondary and tertiary consequences of their actions. Here
is one prominent example.
The Libertarian
Movement: A series of exercises offered to examine the question: is
the difference of left / right more important toward achieving liberty than the
difference between those who label themselves libertarian or not?
The Imbecile:
Murray Rothbard examines the idea that freedom need not be the highest or only
end in life for a libertarian.
Impractical
Ethical Ideas: Murray Rothbard offers that the difference of theory
and practice is fallacious. If a theory can’t work in practice, it
is bad theory.
The Errors of
Classical Liberalism: I am tired of getting brow-beaten for my views
on this; you can blame Jesús Huerta de Soto for this view. De Soto
hints at a couple of significant errors; I expand on these hints.
Integrating
Classical Natural Law and Libertarian Theory: An examination of this
intersection via an essay written by Carlo Lottieri.
A Couple of
Comments: A look at the relative value of culture vs. NAP purity,
and also a look perhaps a healthy view of victimless crimes.
Rothbard and
Customary Law: An examination of Rothbard’s consideration of ethics
and morals (both terms derived from the word “custom”) and the relationship of
these to law. Part Two of this examination can be found here.
Community Found:
One in a series of posts reviewing The Quest for Community: A Study in
the Ethics of Order and Freedom, by Robert Nisbet. To summarize:
the advance of individualism and “liberties” for the individual has
corresponded to and has in fact supported the growth of the
State. The full series can be found here.
A Touch of
Velvet?: An examination of the value of common tradition and
community, through the real world events of the 2018 peaceful revolution in
Armenia.
This Will Be
Entertaining: Jordan Peterson asks the question: what [from the
Enlightenment] do you toss out the window before things get ugly? I
suggest that it is the wrong question. Instead, the question that
should be asked: what is required to be reintroduced that the Enlightenment
destroyed?
Name Your Poison:
Robert Nisbet examines the related events of the increase in individualism and
the increase in state power. The following posts all cover this
topic and Nisbet’s book:
Heresy:
Frank Van Dun presents the case that the non-aggression principle must be only
a subset of functional libertarian law.
What Happened to
the Promise?: Frank Van Dun examines the relationship of classical
liberalism and Christian Orthodoxy.
It Isn’t
Cultural “Marxism”: Marx went after the means of
production. It was Antonio Gramsci that went after culture.
Libertarian
Communists: Brian Doherty is excited about his twice-in-a-lifetime
“evidence” of Ron Paul’s supposed bigotry. Doherty proves my point
that the line between libertarians and communists is not very wide unless one
understand the important difference (no, it isn’t property).
Medieval Libertarianism:
a thorough examination of the connection between the Catholic Church and
liberty, offered by one who began his research as a sceptic.
Contractual
Community: Is a “contract” (which I do not equate with “covenant”)
sufficient to create a libertarian community? The dialogue
continues here.
All Men Are
Created Equal: an examination of this very dangerous phrase.
Centrally
Planned Decentralization: Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t
it? Bryan Caplan doesn’t think so.
Christianity:
Gerard Casey examines the relationship of Christianity and
liberty. Guess what? There is one.
Give Me Liberty
or Give Me Property Rights!: Frank Van Dun suggests that these are
not the same, despite the view of many libertarians.
The Words of the
Prophets: Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn suggests we can choose one and
one only: liberty or equality. An additional post on the same
topic: The Fatherland
of Philosophy
Leftism: A
Perfect Track Record of Failure: Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn examines
the left. Further posts include the following:
Enemies of Liberty:
Open borders libertarians keep dangerous company, along with the likes of
Antifa, Democratic Socialists, and New World Order types. I wonder
which side has a better grasp of the implications of this scheme.
Finding Freedom
in an Unfree World: Gerard Casey examines the freedom in medieval
Europe after the fall of Rome.
Thomas Aquinas
and Law: Aquinas lays the moral foundation for natural law.
What Moves You?:
if libertarianism is rooted in individualism, we are in trouble.
The Peace of God:
it was the moral authority of the medieval Church that drove peace in
decentralized Europe.
Liberty Without
God?: We look to many ideas of the Enlightenment as giving birth to
western freedom; instead, perhaps, it is what was lost in the Enlightenment
that cost us our freedom.
Is
Libertarianism Sufficient for Liberty?: Short
answer? No. There are specific cultural and moral
foundations necessary if liberty is our objective.
Conclusion…: Call
it interim. My version of a strategy for liberty.
Open Borders:
As several thousand migrants travel north to the US border, it is worth
considering: libertarians who shout “open borders” are thinking about liberty –
but not your liberty.
Finding That
Which is Lost: An examination of liberalism through the lens of
Ralph Raico.
Two Sides of the
Same Coin: Individualism and the state, could these be two sides of
the same coin?
The
Enlightenment’s Critic of Reason: Edmund Burke offers a criticism of
reason unbound by tradition, reason fully individualized. It is an
important lesson if one desires to achieve liberty.
The Journey’s
End: Gerard Casey’s, not mine. Western cultural norms
must be replenished if we are to once again recover liberty.
Natural Rights
and Morality: Can one have natural rights without natural moral
law? And what if that natural law included some aspects not quite
compatible with the non-aggression principle?
Anorexic
Libertarianism: How much thinner do we need to make
libertarianism? We have purified libertarian theory based solely on
the non-aggression principle enough already. Let’s work on finding
liberty.
A Parallel?:
Hans Hoppe offers an outline of the value of universal money (gold) with
multiple, competing institutions producing it (banks). This seems
quite similar to the social / political order of Medieval Europe.
A Libertarian
Grand Narrative: Hans Hoppe introduced the idea of introducing a
Libertarian Grand Narrative; this is extending by Daniel Ajamian via a lecture
given at the Mises Institute.
The Argument for
Open Borders: You will be shocked to learn that I agree 100% with a
libertarian proponent of open borders; the reason why I agree wont shock you.
It Depends:
Is it possible for an anarchist to also be Christian? I guess it
depends.
Libertarianism
or Liberty?: Is it our objective to purify theory, or is it to find
liberty? The convergence of natural law, Christian ethics, and the
non-aggression principle; I believe this is where liberty will be found.
Universal
Libertarians: It’s no longer hidden like that crazy uncle on
Christmas: left-libertarians value the left far more than they value
“libertarian.”
