Libertarianism is an Effect, Not a Cause
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Summary
Libertarianism is a no-brainer for people at all levels of society. So why does it consistently fail to achieve its goal? And why is this a problem? In this episode, I try to answer these questions and explain why.
Transcript
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There's been a lot of ink spilled lately, far too much ink in my view, given the gallons
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of blood that are about to be tipped over, over the conflict between libertarian principles
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The former reject the nationalism advocated by the latter, the focus on ethnic homogeneity,
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on foundational cultural values, and the importance of ethos and of having a national direction.
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The latter respond mostly with ridicule, pointing out that libertarians have repeatedly failed
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You can hardly call this a robust argument, but, as observations go, it's damning.
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Within the halls of academia, you can expect to receive partial credit for an argument well
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But outside of those airy towers, failure is death.
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What good is a moral philosophy which leads to extinction?
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After all, an extinct animal has no moral behavior.
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It is particularly worrisome, given how self-evident libertarianism seems to be.
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Free markets lead to a rising tide which lifts all boats, and they are more effective at resisting
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monopoly than governments which fall prey to regulatory capture.
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The recognition of human rights, and principles such as non-aggression, are likewise self-evident.
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Respecting another man's property and right to free thought takes nothing away from any sane
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and ordered individual, and provide much better security in return than that offered by any
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The accomplishments of the free market harnessing human potential are nearly incredible.
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Even something as mundane as a fully stocked grocery store is a wonder to behold, a logistical
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accomplishment that puts army quartermasters to shame, and compared to the breadlines and
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mass starvation of central planners, there's no contest at all.
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Libertarianism offers wealth, peace, and freedom.
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All that we have to give up is dependence, war, and slavery.
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Even the lowliest are granted the ability to own and maintain their own home, free of coercion
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or threat, whether it be through inflated currencies or seizure by state agents.
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All that the managed economy offers is an ever-growing population living in the projects.
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Libertarianism is a no-brainer for people at all levels of society.
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To answer this question, let's take a step back.
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While libertarianism is an obviously superior system, it also involves some radical proposals.
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Asking, but who will build the roads, is a bit of a joke in libertarian circles, one which
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results in frustrated ideologues and extensive lecturing.
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But nonetheless, it is one of the many intellectual barriers for those who are new to the movement.
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So instead of taking the whole grand work of the libertarian edifice in one go,
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Military conflict has always been an expensive activity.
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It requires a massed number of people, operating abroad, using the latest and greatest technology
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Think of the expense that companies go to for annual conferences, and then multiply that tenfold.
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Reuters estimates that the war in Iraq has cost over $1.7 billion.
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It burns up a lot of money for the sake of destroying wealth.
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War is distinct from other necessary evils that all societies must provide for.
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Firemen produce nothing of value, and yet they're an expense that must be paid to mitigate the
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Courts, lawyers, and police officers are similarly unproductive, and yet equally necessary.
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Even on the individual level, we pay for insurance, we stock up for lean times, and we maintain
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a basic level of security on our homes, even though none of these create benefit.
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Five hundred years ago, you could have made a case for it.
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Once upon a time, there was some profit to be found in it.
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The infrastructure was less sensitive and easier to rebuild.
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The disparities of wealth allowed for substantial loot and plunder.
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Installing your own tribe as the new rulers was a distinct possibility, with concrete benefits.
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Granted, very few wars proved to be profitable for anybody, even back then.
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But at least there was an argument to be made for those pursuing rational self-interest.
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War has not been profitable for anybody for several centuries at least.
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Political advantage have been temporary at best.
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And no matter how decisive the victory, the victors have come out of it in worse shape
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All victories are pyrrhic victories in the modern world, and almost everybody knows this.
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It is senseless, destructive, it benefits no one, and we'd all be better off if we stopped
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The challenges of international diplomacy are, much like the arguments for libertarianism,
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Despite most people acknowledging the senseless destruction of war, there are no obvious solutions
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There remains a sense that, even if war is destructive, the alternative is even worse.
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So instead of looking at the world stage, where we fight against the unknown other, let us
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Race riots, where the protesters destroy their own communities.
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Black Lives Matter has been terrorizing the nation for three years at this point, and they
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have utterly failed to advance the cause of black America.
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Their primary effect has been to gut the inner cities, destroying the very businesses that
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blacks rely upon, and engender militancy in the police forces nationwide.
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The secondary effect, which they will soon come to regret should it occur, will be the nationalization
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of police forces, turning them into an impersonal bureaucracy, rather than a representative local
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And yet, despite all of this, belief in the movement remains high.
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According to Pew Research, 65% of blacks support the movement, with only 12% opposing it.
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Black Lives Matter is hardly occurring in a vacuum.
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George Soros' Open Society Institute has funded the movement to the tune of $670,000.
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The corrupt media establishment has misrepresented the situation, exaggerating and outright manufacturing
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the supposed racism of various police departments, while covering up the senseless destruction being
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The Democrats have been very effective in keeping blacks on the reservation, denying them political
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agency through the gimme dat and spread the wealth around culture.
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And finally, there's the fact that your average black American scores lower on IQ tests and
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has a higher time preferences than their white counterparts.
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All of this is true, and yet it's also completely irrelevant when we consider the obvious solution
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What could blacks do to improve their lot in life and their standing in America?
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Stop slinging drugs, having children out of wedlock, and burning down local businesses.
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The biggest problem in the black community is the degenerated culture.
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And the number one solution is to rebuild that culture.
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Stable families, employment, home ownership, entrepreneurship.
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These start to look like the ideal society that libertarians talk about.
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They're certainly a step in the right direction.
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And yet, libertarianism has nothing to do with creating this solution.
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Focusing on individual morality and community direction are the tools through which black success
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Talking about voluntarism and the non-aggression principle will do nothing but get you mugged.
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When we zoom out from the particular, and look at Western civilization in general, the solution
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Yes, there are hostile forces out there who seek the degradation and enslavement of Western
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peoples, and their primary tool of coercion is state bureaucracies.
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Abolishing the state would take that particular tool away from them, but there are plenty of
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others, and our people would remain just as vulnerable, if not more, to the weapons at
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Socialism preys upon broken people by incentivizing their bad behavior, thus producing more broken
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When your society is full of broken people, only a monopoly of force can keep their negative
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In the ideal, realized world of libertarianism, the negative fallout from exploitative businesses
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and broken individuals would be minimal and swiftly corrected.
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But in the interim, we're left with questions of practicality and realistic policy.
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And when it comes to libertarian proposals, which ones are going to be adopted first?
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That, whatever their negative effects might be, they're not so great an evil as the state-run
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But outside of political conjecture, is drug legalization a high priority?
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Is it a sensible policy to introduce when heroin overdoses have quadrupled since the turn
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Will legalizing drugs move us closer to, or further away from, the free society that libertarians
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Now consider the fact that drug legalization has become one of the few topics which active
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libertarians are able to agree upon, the other being their celebration of pornography and
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The problem in our civilization aren't caused by a lack of liberty.
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Rather, the erosion of liberty is a result of the problems with the general population.
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There is a statement from John Adams, founding father and second president of the United States,
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which many of you have heard in snippet, that is worth quoting in full.
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While our country remains untainted with the principles and manners which are now producing
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desolation in so many parts of the world, while she continues sincere and incapable of
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insidious and impious policy, we shall have the strongest reason to rejoice in the local
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But should the people of America once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another
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and towards foreign nations, which assumes the language of justice and moderation, while it
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is practicing iniquity and extravagance, and displays in the most captivating manner the
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charming picture of candor, frankness, and sincerity, while it is rioting in rapine and
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insolence, this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world.
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Because we have no government armed with power, capable of contending with human passions
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Avarice, ambition, revenge, and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our constitution
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Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
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It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
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It may not be understood in its full philosophical glory, but nonetheless there is a realization
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that freedom without community is nothing more than atomization leading to tyranny.
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Freedom is a desirable state of affairs, but it is an end, not a means.
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At present, the demands for more freedom will only be granted in cases where greater freedom
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These are all being made readily available, and they just so happen to be the types of freedom
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which the bulk of libertarians most vociferously demand.
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What they celebrate are the heroic virtues which purify not only the individual, but the
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To achieve liberty, we must first return to discipline.
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We must embrace the social norms which are decried by the globalists.
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We must rediscover our soil, and we must rediscover the blood pumping through our veins.
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Libertarianism offers a hospice, pleasing distractions during the inevitable decline.
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The alt-right offers toil, sweat, blood, tears, and hope for a better tomorrow.