Every single political movement promises everything except the one thing libertarianism defends for everyone:
Your right – and everyone else’s right – to be left alone.
Put another way, to be left out of other people’s “plans” – i.e., what other people think you ought to be forced to do or be restrained from doing. The things they think are worth paying for – and expect you to pay for them.
The idea here is that if whatever you’re doing isn’t harming anyone else, then you have the right to do it. And no one else has the right to force you to stop doing it.
It’s a simple idea as well as an appealing one. You’d think most people would like the idea of leaving other people be – and of being free to pursue happiness (as Jefferson put it in that declaration no one reads anymore) according to their own wishes. And yet, the majority of people appear to prefer different ideas.
Or rather, the same idea.
It is the idea that forcing other people to do the things you think they ought to do – and restraining them from doing the things you do not think they ought to do – is a good idea. Of course, it seems to be just that – in the moment – because it is their idea of what is good. It might be sending billions of dollars taken from other people to Ukraine. Many people seem to think this is a good idea, especially when other people can be made to pay for it.
But it’s a very bad idea. Not so much the Ukraine part (per se). Rather the idea that it’s good to use force to make other people pay for what you think is a good idea. Because other people will say they have good ideas you ought to be forced to pay for – and you will have no real argument to counter their “plans.” You may try saying the money would be wasted – or better spent on some other good idea (the one you think is a good one). But you have lost any foundational basis for objecting to the idea of it – in principle.
If you can force others to do a thing you think is a good thing then others can force you to do something they think is a good thing. And here we are. The entire political process can be boiled down to people using the political process to obtain the power – either directly or by proxy – to impose their good ideas on other people, who naturally resent it and await their turn to return the favor.
And that is why – to borrow a line – elections matter. They determine whether someone else’s good ideas are going to be imposed on you. Or your good ideas are to be imposed on others. It means security for no one, as even power is fleeting when it can be voted out of office. And when it can’t, there’s no security for anyone, except those who hold power. They, of course, must be surrounded by security – because otherwise they wouldn’t be very secure, either.
Surely, there’s a better idea.
Libertarianism is it.
Mark the earlier italics. I did not say best – because that would imply perfect and there’s no such thing in this life, especially in politics. People will still, inevitably, cause harm to others – sometimes deliberately. There will be inequality. There will be unfairness. There will be risk.
But what there won’t be is universal harm arising from legalized use-of-force against people who’ve not harmed anyone.
You might have to deal with an uninsured, irresponsible person who runs into your car and cannot pay for the damage he caused. But you would not have been forced to buy insurance from a private business that uses the government to force you to pay for it – and for that reason can charge exorbitantly for it. As a result, you’d probably be able to pay for any damages that someone else causes – and if they didn’t cause it, you’d have all your money, still.
You might get mugged walking down the street. But you wouldn’t get mugged every time you got paid. And you would have the right to resist the street mugger – because you’d be free to carry a gun.
People would suffer hardship. But friends and family and people generally could afford to help them when necessary – because they weren’t forced to bankroll them, perpetually.
Business would fail – but only if they failed to provide what people were willing to buy at a price they could afford. They would not be able to remain in business by using the government to force people to buy what they don’t want or aren’t willing/able to pay for on their own.
Some people would refuse to do business with, hire, rent to or even be civil to people they didn’t like, for whatever reason. But no one would be forced to deal with anyone else (just as no one is forced to be friends with or marry anyone else). Probably, there would be a great lessening of social tension and resentment. Society – in the old school sense of the interplay of individuals – would organize itself naturally rather than artificially, with fake (because enforced) bonhomie. 
There would – and always will be – problems. But they’d be mostly small-scale problems affecting specific individuals in an acute rather than chronic way. Without institutionalized force creating bigger problems, making them everyone’s problems, institutionalizing problems for generations (viz, government schools, reckless government spending) most problems would be resolved because most people have a motive to resolve their problems – and so they’d cease to be a problem. 
It seems to me to be a much better idea to run my own life than to try to run other people’s lives. I know what I want out of life – and what I don’t. I would never presume to pretend I know what other people want (or don’t) and the idea of trying to make them do what I think is best for them is sickening to me. In part because I understand that if I say it is a good idea for me to force them to do what I think is best for them – or Ukraine – then I have lost any basis for objecting when they wheel around and try to force me to do what they think is best for me.
And that is why I identify as a libertarian.
. . .
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Before Christopher Cantrell went full retard, he had some pretty good libertarian articles. In one of the most memorable ones, he wrote a short article titled “Top 10 Reasons Libertarians Aren’t Nice to You”.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/04/christopher-cantwell/top-10-reasons-libertarians-arent-nice-to-you/
Not paying property tax…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj3QgAcKZ7c
from the comments….
All taxes (statutes) etc. are unlawful. Anarchy (rulership or master) does not mean chaos, the word comes from the Greek prefix “an” = without. From the Greek noun “archon” = (master ruler). This word originates from ancient Mesopitamia, in the region of Lavant from the Anunarchy (watchers & rulers) of Sumer.
The controller or rulers believe that they own us all & believe erroneously that they have the right to the true divide in humanity & there are those who believe in statism which is giving the right to a small group to kidnap, imprison, harras, steel from & murder others so that we can feel protected from these individuals.
Anarchist is one who believes that there is no legitimacy in government because these terms are simply euphemisms for coercion, Violence & slavery which can be nothing other than immoral & therefore always in opposition to the natural universal spiritual laws of creation.
Quote: I am me, I am free. I declare my independence as a sovereign human being. I do not consent to be governed, I commit no crime as I harm no other. I do not subscribe to labels or dogmatic ideologies, I treat everybody the same.
I have libertarian SENSIBILITIES and ATTITUDES, but I am not a political libertarian because, like it or not, we no not live an a Jeffersonian republic of agrarian yeoman any more. We have a massive Leviathan government, and SOMEONE is going to control it, and I want people who favor me and my interests to control it.
No Leviathan government ever decided to disband itself and relinquish its power and let the people do what they want.
Moreover, the reason why we have this Leviathan in the first place is because people voted for it. Incrementally, of course. But they voted for it because they thought they could get more from the government than they could get on their own by being free.
It’s almost like the Garden of Eden myth — once we were an empty continent in which anybody could do whatever they wanted and demanded that government leave them alone. Over time, we ate from the forbidden fruit of rent-seeking, special favors, insider deals and political bargains, and once we lost Paradise we can never recover it.
RE: “and once we lost Paradise we can never recover it.”
…So, give up & roll over, belly up?
…Or, lick the military boot?
So in order to effectively counter evil, one must participate in evil?
Talk about falling on your face with your hands in your pockets!
Try as I may, I see no Libertarian (to say private property) solution to, say, environmental/stewardship. The only thing I can think of that comes close is tort law, to punish evildoers who cause loss to others by way of pollution. The standard here would have to be demonstrable cause and effect for the loss incurred. A high bar, indeed. So then if you get into the realms of limiting “pollution”, then you need pollution standards, etc. Who will set the standards? If you say government, then you have just created the regulatory apparat that ends up choking freedom
MDP,
In a Libertarian world there would be no corporations (As corporations are a “creature” created government for the purposes of limiting the liabilities of individuals). A Libertarian world is a world of unlimited liability– Instead of giant corporations (whose acts often come down to the efforts of a single person or small group of people) wreaking havok, only to have to pay a fine [or no punishment/restitution at all] imagine a world where individual participants, owners and decision-makers would be directly accountable for their actions- down to everything they own, and even their very lives. It would be quite a different world. We are just so used to government and the abuses that it has so long permited, that it is hard for us to imagine such a world…but that world used to exist until fairly recently.
This was a forum users signature/calling card I always found rather concise:
Can anybody delegate an authority they don’t have?
Was anybody born with innate authority over anybody else?
Then how did authority nobody had get delegated to those who call themselves government?
Show me my personally signed contract wherein I consented to be governed.
Do you have a SSN? If so CFR 20.36/part e states that “those holding a government issued ID number (SSN) are hereby considered to have agreed to abide by all rules, regulations, laws, and amendments, heretofore listed in the Federal Register. And will under penalty of law risk fine and/or imprisonment for any violation thereof.”
My mother and father are dead, if these are the contractees you speak of, that contract died with them, if it was even a contract.
The SSN is the property of the SSA, like the public roads are private since you need permission to use them. But you’re free to ride your private automobile on private roads. (In whose mind does this even work?)
Lyspooner writes:
“Do you have a SSN? If so CFR 20.36/part e states that “those holding a government issued ID number (SSN) are hereby considered to have agreed to abide by all rules, regulations, laws, and amendments, heretofore listed in the Federal Register. And will under penalty of law risk fine and/or imprisonment for any violation thereof.”
This is bullshit. One cannot be bound to a contract signed under duress or that was agreed to by other parties without the informed consent of the person involved – as in the case of a newborn baby/child whose parents obtain the SS number for their kid.
Worse still, the mother is bought thinking she is getting a tax credit for registering her child when in fact she is signing the child up for a lifetime of either taxation or enslavement, for a tax that wasn’t hers to begin with. The first income tax (1862-1863) was upon the tax collectors themselves. It’s all there in the federal register.
Not true! Under Maritime law, which we are still under due to an executive order signed by FDR (never rescinded) it states: “a parent may assign contractual responsibility to their lawful children if in view of the controlling authority it is deemed in the best interest of all parties to said agreement”. Confirmed by the Supreme Court in Wilson et al. vs. IRS.
Lyspooner –
You miss the point (again). You cannot (morally) and (usually) legally be bound by a contract made by others contrary to your knowledge or consent. A minor child cannot consent to a contract as a matter of law.
Who is this controlling authority? Why would this need to be so ambiguous? Nevermind.
Its called a birth certificate.
Eric wrote: “It seems to me to be a much better idea to run my own life than to try to run other people’s lives”
Truer words have never been spoken. But isn’t that what politics is all about? Narcissists and psychopaths are attracted to the power to run other people’s lives. It isn’t enough for them to screw up their own lives.
Neither political party is working for us. So many on the right were happy when the Rs took Congress. I had a discussion with a friend who said now we can get the appropriations bills passed separately and yada yada. And here it is, close to the end of the fiscal year, and once again there are threats of government shutdowns. And there’s hardly any stomach to remove the billions in grift that are going to Ukraine.
I’m not voting for Orange Man this time around. He had his opportunity and he squandered it. Not one thing is better because Trump was elected president, and things are plenty worse because of his covid policies and profligate spending.
I used to think that voting for anyone other than an R or a D was a wasted vote. No more. It doesn’t matter. Both parties are screwing us.
In the absence of possibly a Kennedy third party run or something cataclysmic, I am voting for Trump the third time. Not because I like him. I don’t really. I don’t buy into the Republican rap on immigration. He squandered an assload of opportunities. He has a political blind spot the size of a semi.
Trump promised and did more than any president in the last 60 years. Hands down. It s a far cry from what we had prior. I hadn’t voted D or R from 1992 to 2012. There was no difference. Trump was different.
On the other hand, circumstances were a lot better. He did good things like imposing needed tariffs on China and other countries on steel and aluminum, saving close to 30k jobs.
His foreign policy was largely crap, but he did keep us out of conflicts. If he had remained president, we wouldn’t be facing complete dedollarization and imminent war.
The biggest opportunity missed was not detecting the election fraud that became apparent in 2017. Solid red districts were flipping and Soros supported AGs were being elected. He refused to pardon Assange and Snowden. He refused to address big tech censorship and he tossed RFK out to head up the Vaccine commission while pushing the stupid COVID vax.
All that said, the leftists are in full control of this government, so anything is preferable, even trump with his flaws. A qualified Trump 2024 endorsement
This is well-said (again), Swamp!
I will also likely vote Orange in 2024. Not because I like or trust him; indeed, I deeply distrust him. But I do like that he drives the Left berserk and that may trigger some salutary changes.
‘Both parties are screwing us.’ — Howard
From our ‘not the Babylon Bee‘ department:
‘U.S. taxpayers will pay the salaries of thousands of Ukrainians, even as the United States faces a government shutdown at the end of September.
‘A federal government shut down will effectively begin on October 1 if Congress isn’t able to pass a funding plan that Biden signs into law. If that happens, federal agencies have to stop all nonessential work and will not send paychecks for as long as the shutdown lasts.
‘While employees deemed essential still have to report to work, other federal employees will be furloughed—although they will receive back pay once the funding issues are resolved.
‘That would create a situation where U.S. federal employees will be waiting on paychecks, while U.S. taxpayer money will be paying the salaries of Ukrainians.’
https://www.newsweek.com/america-pay-salaries-ukrainians-government-shutdown-1829505
Now you know why ‘Biden’ speaks of the ‘Israel model’ for Ukraine: actual Americans here in America are the last on the list, when the fedgov’s pilfered loot is handed out. 🙁
I’m Joe Biden and I am going to fuck things up like never before.
We’re deep state shitheads and we are going to make sure that Joe fucks it all up.
They’re all fuck ups, clearly for all to see. You have to face the obvious, denial and defeat have to be on the minds of the idio-crats, kakistocrats in charge, the best money can buy.
Total mayhem and chaos, what else is new?
You want a good car to drive? Well, you can’t have one! Roll over and die already, take a hike, good riddance.
We’re in ‘intelligent barbarism’ mode, just like Mark Twain quipped about the settling of the West. Samuel Clemens deserted his Confederate unit in Missouri and booked it to Nevada. Thought the Civil War was nonsense or something.
All taking place in Ukraine. Not much change in the human psyche, just fuck it all up any way you can. Hundreds of thousands of graves in Ukraine, you know, hey. Sad stuff.
Gets old then the ennui sets in, after that you say fuck it. It wasn’t me. Joe is somewhat to blame. Sow the wind, reap a whirlwind.
Russia is not going to put up with it, any of it.
There’s roosters layin’ chickens
Chickens layin’ eggs
Farm machinery eatin’ people’s arms and legs
I ain’t hurtin’ nobody
I ain’t a hurtin’ no one – John Prine, I Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody
‘I’m Joe Biden and I am going to fuck things up like never before.’ — drumphish
Well, Joe, you really topped your own legend with this one:
‘The California Independent System Operator is preparing for a reduction of over 9 GW of renewable generation during the Oct. 14 annular solar eclipse as solar-powered generation accounts for the vast majority of supply during the middle of the day.
‘Renewables account for roughly 70% of supply during midday peak with solar making up over 80% of renewable generation at its daily peak, according to CAISO data.
‘The grid operator’s short-term forecasting team detailed the eclipse’s impacts to the region in a recent technical bulletin that shows grid-scale renewables generation is expected to decline by 9.374 GW, while at the same time, gross load will increase by 2.374 GW.
‘The ISO will coordinate with Reliability Coordinator West, utility distribution companies, and WEIM entities to ensure stable market operations to support reliable system operations on the eclipse day.’
https://tinyurl.com/dy5ehtfy
Like primitive tribes who fear extinction under the blood-red light of the eclipse, we moderns now cower in fear that the grid will go down because of the awful shadow dimming the solar panels.
Well played, sir! Can we have another glass of renewable energy Kool-Aid?
Mark Twains: War Prayer-
https://www.people.vcu.edu/~toggel/prayer.pdf
I hope you guys are all catching the stuff, ‘OFF GRID with DOUG & STACY’ are tossing your way. The world needs more of, people like you all.
Here’s their latest, ‘Live’ episode, lotsa good crunchy, Primal, Eff-U empire, bits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3uzershZP8
The non Libertarians……
World Economic Forum Futurist: ‘We Just Don’t Need the Vast Majority of the Population’
Klaus Schwab’s eugenicist lieutenant, Yuval Noah Harari – the Himmler to his Hitler – said the quiet part out loud in a recent TED interview.
“People realize — and they’re correct in thinking that — that, ‘The future doesn’t need me.
The elites view us as an industrial resource, not peer citizens
we just don’t need the vast majority of the population because the future is about developing more and more sophisticated technology, like artificial intelligence [and] bioengineering.”
Harari explains that your only utility to the technocracy now is as a data reservoir:
“Most people don’t contribute anything to [artificial intelligence and bioengineering], except perhaps for their data, and whatever people are still doing which is useful, these technologies increasingly will make redundant and will make it possible to replace the people.”
NOTE: Harari explains that your only utility to the technocracy now is as a data reservoir……now you know why they are collecting all your data 24/7/365…..
The elites view themselves as Gods, bestowing and extinguishing life at will
The unelected WEF technocrats have anointed themselves transhuman demigods and bestowed upon themselves the concomitant ultimate power:
“Science is replacing evolution by natural selection with evolution by intelligent design, not the intelligent design of some god in the clouds, [but] OUR intelligent design, and the design of our ‘clouds’. These are the new driving forces of evolution.”
The ruling class, headed up by Klaus Schwab and advised by the likes of Bill Gates, has a solution: eradication of what it considers the “surplus population” – the eating, shitting, fucking hordes of useless humans it no longer needs.
They’re obsessed with curbing population growth and, beyond that, dramatically cutting down the population.
Here’s Bill Gates at a 2010 Ted Talk:
“So you’ve got a thing on the left, CO2, that you want to get to zero, and that’s going to be based on the number of people, the services each person is using on average, the energy, on average, for each service, and the CO2 being put out per unit of energy. So let’s look at each one of these, and see how we can get this down to zero. Probably, one of these numbers is going to have to get pretty near to zero.”
“The world today has 6.8 billion people. That’s headed up to about nine billion. Now, if we do a really great job on new vaccines*, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that.”
for the few remaining useless eaters, after their 7 billion cull…..they see people as animals…no rights, no soul nothing……
turning people into appliances plugged into an all-seeing internet, more transhuman robots than people, dutifully following orders but unable to produce anything beyond what is programmed into their quantum microchips, bereft of the sparks of inquiry, innovation and joy in a electric panopticon that’s sterile and joyless, you are better off dead.
they implant an operating system in you and connect you to the grid, they also connect an AI robot to the grid, this is so you can train the robot to do your job. you won’t be needed then = soylent green.
the dissenting and disenfranchised will find themselves branded as “terrorists”, gathered up into the box cars, and shipped away to be disappeared by the millions.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2022-09-06/world-economic-forum-futurist-we-just-dont-need-vast-majority-population
gates, schwab and harari….some of the demons revealing their faces now….
Dr. Natasha Campbell Mcbride has the exact opposite view of people……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he4WGcsUJ5A
Most excellent, Eric!
I’d love to get little pamphlets printed up with this article…hand ’em out to people who look befuddled or ask what a Libertatian is when I mention that I’m one.
Thanks, Nunz!
It’s not a bad idea; I keep meaning to look into this PDF business (formatting). But then something needs to be fixed… or I need to write about something . . . and then there went the day!
Just pointing out that Jesus is a benevolent monarch. Lot of people get lost in the “detached watchmaker” deal and other problematic paths.
I flirted with the libertarian thing some time ago, but it seemed to not have a firm plan on dealing with evil, or at least tried to ignore it to a degree I was uncomfortable with.
Sometimes I’m libertarian, then I’m a monarchist, then a national socialist, then a constitutionalist. It all pretty much gets to the character of whoever is in control. I’d rather live under a benevolent king than a republic full of grifters.
True, Scooter- Jesus is a monarch- and as Creator of this world and of us, He has the right to be. Those of us who follow Him now, live by God’s law because as Christians that law is supposed to be “written in our hearts and minds”- but we are not required to take it upon ourselves to erect a theocracy….as that, when not done under the direct auspices of God (viz-a-viz Ancient Israel) always results in disaster and injustice. God pretty much leaves the world-at-large alone to do it’s own thing….until “the sins of the gentiles come to the full” [We’re about there now], then He will establish His direct rule on earth, personally.(And even then, it will be quite libertarian- as when you read God’s laws, they primarily deal with major violent, property, and societal/familial crimes….and not pre-emptive laws, but only punishment for actual harms caused- and no fines paid to “the state” but rather punitive damages paid to the actual victim. Can’t wait!).
“Sometimes I’m libertarian, then I’m a monarchist, then a national socialist, then a constitutionalist.”
That’s, mixed Up!
…Hope you find your way out of the knot you’re in.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/author/bionic-mosquito/
No knot, just an honest assessment. Now that I’m in my mid-60s, I see that we have lots of tendencies within that don’t need to be placed under a label. People get themselves in knots by bending their will to fit external man-made philosophies. I’d rather take whatever proves useful.
Amen, sir, amen.
Better yet, just forget the labels entirely. We are who we are.
Without an underlying moral philosophy and set of beliefs, one can become reactionary and fall for demagogues. Libertarianism is simply a short hand way of saying you live by the non-aggression principal (NAP).
It seems to me that being a monarchist, national socialist or constitutionalist (as opposed to a libertarian) might mean that you may be abandoning the NAP from time to time. If not, then your just a libertarian.
“libertarian” is a word largely crapped all over by the Libertarian Party.
I agree Mister, without a framework of moral foundation and ethical standards there is nothing preventing any one from going off the deep end of men with guns forcing others to abide your will. Which all three of these “alternatives” embrace.
Sociopathic situational ethics? :
“I’d rather take whatever proves useful.”
“Better yet, just forget the labels entirely.”
Or, is it moral relativism?
Seems like a knot to me.
Being principled is hard. Might lead to you having less in certain circumstances. Might require a tough look at how you conduct yourself compared to those principles.
To quote the rapper TI from 15 years ago, “if you ain’t livin’ what you kickin’ then your worthless.”
It is neither moral relativism or sociopathic situational ethics, helot. Shouldn’t moral code/absolute principles be the same throughout? Does one group hold a higher standard of morality? Who makes this concession? Other men?
I believe there are universal truths. An example, stealing is wrong. If one is not identified by a label or group does that make the individual believe that theft is not bad?
Sure, there are some that will say theft is okay depending on the situation. I disagree. I can sympathize with a mother stealing food to feed her children, but that does not make her an ethical person.
One does not need a label to be a moral person. They need a conscience and integrity.
Morning, RG!
One of the things I like about libertarianism as a moral system of value is that it is based on self ownership. The non-aggression principle follows naturally from this. If I own me – and you own you – then neither of us has a “claim” on the other’s person. And from that follows morew than just leaving other people alone. It includes not taking what’s theirs – which by definition isn’t yours.
Libertarianism is thus the only system of moral teaching I am aware of that coherently/consistently rejects all forms of theft (no matter what they are called) as morally wrong and defends the absolute right of the individual to be left in peace so long as he is peaceful himself.
The problem with “conservatism,” in my view, is that it has no such irreducible, foundational principles. It seeks to “conserve”… what, exactly? The way things are? So we “conserve” some socialism? Isn’t that like pretending a woman isn’t pregnant – and that she won’t progress in her pregnancy and eventually give birth? This is why “conservatives” lose – politically. At best, they hold the line for a little while. Socialists/communists, on the other hand, always progress – because they have an end goal and they are always pushing forward, to make it so.
Libertarianism is an antidote to this. Or at least, it can serve to effectively challenge the premises of it. And also of “conservatism.” And that is probably why the Left and the Right sneer at libertarians!
PS: Hope your doggy is doing better; also that you find some better help. We lost a really good “country” vet when she retired and haven’t found anyone comparable yet.
Hi Eric,
Except libertarians make the same argument that Christians and other religions have made for years, which is “you can’t be as righteous as us, because you aren’t one of us.”
Politics is nothing more than another form of religion.
You and I share a similar version (aversion) to theological sacrosanct. Does that mean we are not people of integrity?
Some would disagree with me, but I believe an individual can be principled and hold a high code of ethics because they abide by a universal code of what is right vs wrong not because they are part of a group that promotes it, but doesn’t always practice it.
If you find such a universal code of what is right and what is wrong, please post it. The only thing I know of that approaches that is the NAP. And if you abide by that, you are a libertarian, whether it please you to acknowledge it or not.
Hi RG,
I agree it is important to not be “holier than thou.” To be aware of our own shortcomings and to be careful about thinking we’re the duck’s guts and others are not. That said, I do think it would be wonderful if most people consciously accepted that no one owns anyone else – even a little bit – and all that follows from that. Is that “utopian”? Maybe so. Human nature is human nature. But I think it’s a wonderful thing to promote and aspire to!
Lots of people would like to live in a libertarian society. Getting there is the issue. It seems impossible to imagine any existing sovereign country moving in that direction. In fact all the signs indicate going in the opposite direction.
The internet and computers have made it easier to track and monitor people. Not to mention the ability to influence people.
Perhaps an island could be secured for such a purpose. Various libertarian groups have proposed construction of an artificial island in the sea somewhere.
Maybe the collapse of a government somewhere might be an opportunity, although that scenario usually leads to even worse forms of government.
Probably the best option is to try to become independently free, as much as circumstances allow.
Libertarian Jesus? Let me think a minute, yep Jesus was one of the first Libertarians because he did not preach force in relationships. Never thought of Him that way, but yeah, I think he was politically a Libertarian.
The entire western world was built around this one man – who never even existed – as he was the creation of the Flavian State which pressed Josephus into service to write a new myth – to tame the Zealots – who were at war with Rome.
Josephus was a Jewish intellectual who was caught in one of the first battles when Rome invaded Judea after the Zealot revolt, in 66 AD. By 70 AD, the campaign was over, Jerusalem was sacked, the temple leveled, Vespasian and Titus returned to Rome with all the loot, and Josephus to boot.
Josephus was made an honorary Flavian, as Vespasian had become emperor – and in Rome at that time the Caesar was literally God. And worshipped as God. The son of “God” was Titus, whose military campaign from 68 – 70 AD is recorded in code as the Jesus’s 3 year ministry. This is all detailed in the must read book, ‘Caesar’s Messiah’ by Joseph Atwill.
If you do not know that material, you are way behind.
Josephus, cleverly writing the new myth, cast himself into the mix as the savior of Jews, by using his own name as the name of the new fictional savior, Jesus.
J o S E p h U S = J E S U S
The idea and plan was to convert Jews to the new myth, writes Atwill. Jews were to believe in the new way to behave, be like the gentle Jesus and not be like the fire breathing sky god Yahweh. Unfortunately, very few Jews converted, being suspicious and tribal. But the Gentiles (which means gentle peoples, a derogatory term like nigger) loved the new myth, and soon the entire Roman Empire became Christian. In 332 AD the Roman State officially morphed into the Church.
Atwill covers that in detail also. The Pope’s official name is Pontiff Maximus is also the exact term for Ceasar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex_maximus
The rest is history. Rome fell into a deep dark religious trance, and almost no progress was made – generations lived in a zombie like state – their eyes fixated on heaven – while the Church ruled over Europe. The purpose of heaven (which does not exist) is for you to put up with the horrendous conditions in this life – while you imagine some wonderful life in the next. It is literally a psychological trick to get you to behave the way the state wants.
And the big joke? It was all myth, just made up myth written by the state. Like George Carlin says, what they want is obedient workers. And the new myth’s target audience was Jews, not Gentiles, for Jesus came to save his own people, the Jews. Salvation was for the Jews, and not for you, because you see, if you are gentle, you do not need to be saved.
This may be the silliest thing you have posted, the historical case for Jesus is better then many of the people you mentioned in your post.
The clearly fictional story you recount of some massive conspiracy amongst the Romans to hoodwink the Jews into being more passive is laughable. The Romans did not do mind games with their conquered peoples. They ruled with the sword and terror. The Jews were clearly under their control and didn’t need to be pacified, they were slaves.
Jesus wasn’t even liked by his own people, he would have had no effect on pacifying them.
You can read ‘Caesar’s Messiah’ free online or watch the movie:
There is nothing silly about what I wrote, Jesus is a fictional character inserted into a sun god myth. He never existed, and no scholar has ever been able to prove that Jesus existed as a real historical character.
There are 2.2 billion Christians on the planet, and many believe the story hook, line, and sinker. Why they believe is the most fascinating story in itself, Christians believe because they want to believe, not because of any fact, as the soul, afterlife, judgment are also unproven, they believe because life on earth sucks and they want out. The entire goal of Christianity is to get out of this hell and get to a better place called heaven, which is also completely undefined.
Christianity is the greatest story ever sold. And it has fooled billions for the last 2,000 years.
“ All we ask is to be let alone.”
President Jefferson Davis
Or Colin Hay, at least back when he was the front man for the Aussie band, “Men at Work”…
“All I wish is to be ALONE. Stay Away! Don’t you INVADE my home!…” (0:35 to 0:40 in the video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SECVGN4Bsgg
While good, I also like Overkill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7S6EgSlCI
One last bit before I end the night. I dunno why, I thought of the old, ‘Spy Vs. Spy’ when I saw this:
“Somebody is trying to kill you, and your job is to figure out how to make sure they don’t. You have to reorganize how you manage your time and how you manage your money where you have disaster capitalists coming at you and can make money from killing you.” […]
fight back and stay alive in a world where people are dreaming up ways to kill you for cash.” …
https://usawatchdog.com/somebody-is-still-trying-to-kill-you-dont-let-them-catherine-austin-fitts/
…It’s no wonder the Jellyfish don’t wanna know what’s going on.
Liberty Mutual Insurance company had an ad on the TeeVee tonight, “only pay for what you need”.
IF only, …eh? And, how ironic. …Right?!
“Liberty. Liberty. … Liberty.” is their catchy slogan song.
…Seems kinda mocking, if ya think about it.
Another ad from, I think it was, Midwest Bath Co, said (paraphrasing ?~) “235,000 slips in bathtub/showers each year”.
What happened to that Green fella? He thought it was almost funny to require helmets & harnesses in the bathroom ala, ‘The Darwin Awards’. For sure, our El Presidentia needs to wear such,… how ’bout you all, too?
…Under camera, by law, under threat of J6 political prisoner/GITMO anti-American! …But, I digress.
…I saw a Star Trek episode tonight which I’d never seen before,… they used the phrase, “space madness”.
…If ya been following along on EPA, draw your own conclusions from that. I’m beat from the First Day of Fall. Looking forward to reading the comments here, tomorrow.
‘Boots on the Ground…Sept. 23rd… Inflation and hard times for many in America.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHfelpvdfKM
Good morning, Helot!
Yeah, I’ve seen those Liberty insurance ads, too. Absurd. “Pay for what you need”? Ok, I don’t need anything. Oops! It seems I need to pay for what they say I need. So much for “liberty.”
At least the dorky Liberty Mutual spokesman’s ride is a 1973 Plymouth Duster. Give him that.
Mandatory auto insurance is a JOKE, anyway. I have it, but NOT merely because California requires it…what the formerly “Golden” State of Calipornia actually requires is 30K/15K/5K, which is RIDICULOUS. I carry comp and collision ANYWAY, due to my ride being worth as much (in inflated dollars, of course, never mind that I’ve lost significant purchasing ‘powah’ in four years), and with my age (64) and driving record (excellent, but, as “Bugs” would often retort, “dey don’t know me vewwy well, do they?”), it’s not actually all that much. As for the liability…well, again, the increments to go up really aren’t all that much, but as my agent showed me (she bought the famed Eugene C Yates insurance agency in Sacramento when the late Eugene’s son, Michael, retired, but she’s kept the name), it’s due to having enough favorable factors: age, driving record, reported mileage, home ownership, veteran status, being a licensed engineer, all of which point out to my being the “risk” they WANT.
If anything, mandatory insurance laws work AGAINST a purported goal of “financial responsibility”, since they bring into the “pool” quite a few HIGH-RISK drivers. They can be mulcted for only so much, then either they drive “bare”, hoping to not get caught (and if their vehicle registrations are suspended due to a report of insurance cancellation w/o replacement, they just drive ANYWAY). The underclass here in CA in effect have become “scofflaws”, and it’s not due to some high-minded “Libertarian” principles, it’s just that they have NOTHING and don’t give a SHIT. What would the County do, put them ALL in JAIL? No, the only “solution” is for those that have something to lose to get UNINSURED/UNDER-INSURED coverage, it or doing without becomes part of the inherent risk of getting on the road. An infamous example happened about thirty years ago to former Sacramento Kings guard and present-day ASU basketball head coach Bobby Hurley; who had a collision with some itinerant carpenter’s station wagon in December of 1993. There’s still disagreement as to whether the practically derelict wagon had its light on or not. That accident sidelined Hurley for the rest of his rookie season, and could be blamed for shortening his promising career. What COULD Hurley or the team do about it, even IF the struggling carpenter was completely at fault? He certainly did not have the means for any meaningful compensation. This is yet another example of why the MARKET provides a better solution for life’s challenges and problems, far better than any state or federal “diktat” possibly could.
One thing I’m comfortable with about libertarian ideals, they occupy the moral high ground. Being in the small control group, wanting to be left alone/willing to leave others alone, its a good place to be. Thats something that cant be said about the Donks/Pubes system.. Fact is, you see just how far your country has fallen, when you realize the Taliban holds the moral high ground over your own corrupt Government.
In a moral sense, we are not responsible for never ending, no win wars, and murdering of innocents. Not responsible as well for the mindset currently sweeping the land, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Sadly, the libertarian philosophy will never have more than small amount of followers as long as the TVs stay on. I’m OK with that, being an outlier my entire life, its nothing new.
Libertarianism, and the Libertarian Party, is so feared by the
Republicans and Democrats that they come together to
do everything in their power to keep the LP off voting
ballots.
Then there are the “helpers” who denigrate the Libertarian
Party at every opportunity, for whatever absurd reasons.
Competition improves everything, and is why the duopoly
of the Rs and Ds doesn’t want any stink’en competition,
be it the Reform Party, the Constitution Party, the
Green Party, etc.
“America would like to have more choices but the Republicans
and Democrats have gotten together, colluded in essence, to
keep competition out. If we did that in the private sector, people
who did it would be in jail. But it’s almost impossible to get third
party movements going now in America because the Republicans
and Democrats have rigged the rules.”
– Richard Viguerie
Libertyx,
I only wished they feared the Libertarian Party, but because Dems and Reps have this exclusive control of the political process, they aren’t the least bit concerned.
I’ve voted for the LP Presidential candidate every since I could vote. One exception would’ve been Ron Paul, but he wasn’t nominated (of course).
One issue is the “Never vote, it only encourages the bastards” people, who are almost exclusively libertarian in philosophy. The greatest challenge, however, is the steadfast, unshakeable binary-bind which is the idea that if you vote for a 3rd party, you’re throwing away your vote; that a 3rd party can’t ever win.
More crucially, if you do vote 3rd party, you’re actually voting for the party which opposes your beliefs. That is to say, If you’re a Libertarian, you’re only depriving the Republican Party of your vote, and thus effectively voting FOR the Democrats. This is nearly perfect divide and conquer strategy, for those who are even somewhat aligned with the Republican illusion are desperate to NEVER let a Democrat attain power, and vice-versa.
This works. Instead of my response to it, which is being absolutely infuriated at a “duopoly” forced upon me (really a monopoly), severely limiting my range of choice, most people just accept it as inevitable. That’s the true nemesis of 3rd parties, including Libertarians.
From BaDnOn:
“…but because Dems and Reps have this exclusive control of the
political process, they aren’t the least bit concerned.”
See: Ballot Access News http://ballot-access.org
Constantly erecting roadblocks to keep others off the ballot.
Presidential “debates” are now run by the Rs & Ds –
taken over from the League of Women Voters.
At this point it wouldn’t matter who you vote for. The system is locked in place. It’s not controlled by the ones elected so electing other people wouldn’t change anything. The elections are just a charade to create the impression that voting matters. The system is run by shadowy international groups, powerful NGO’s and the deep state bureaucracy.
Politicians don’t write the laws, don’t read them and are told how to vote on them. They have very little effect other then a few with power over the others.
We agree, Lyspooner –
We aren’t going to vote our way out of this. The only way out is for people – enough people – to stop voting for their own enslavement as well as that of others. In other words, a moral awakening is what will get us out of this. It will take time. It may not happen in our lifetime. But it can happen – and my hope is that, in time, it will.
If voting actually effected MEANINGFUL change, it’d be OUTLAWED.
I can see that if, next year, there’s enough of an actual grass-roots movement to “fire ’em all”, then, “magically”, we’ll have another “variant” of the dreaded ‘Rona, which will be employed as an EXCUSE to suspend the election, and keep the bastards ruling not by law, but by FIAT.
It may actually come to civil war, and insurrection in order to topple these bastards from power, and then, WHO KNOWS? Everytime I keep saying, “couldn’t get ‘worse’ “, I get proved WRONG.
The other means, of course, is to “secede” on an individual basis, that is, become as self-sufficient as possible with respect to the basics of life, food, water, shelter, finances. When the PTB can’t take what we’re not “contributing”, they’ll perish due to starvation.
Most people want to be left alone but can’t stop from the interfering with others part.
Many of those who claim to want to be left alone, really want to be taken care of, and have others pay for it.
If we all did live in a libertarian world, we would associate in more homogenous groups, eliminating many of the forced interactions that cause strife and problems.
It may not be the way the do gooders in DC and academia would construct our lives, but it is the way that society has formed itself for thousands of years.
The late great Walter Williams summed that up nicely, (paraphrased) “Almost everybody is quite happy with their own liberty, not so much with yours.”
I found most Libertarians to be just wishy washy middle of the road people. Like a hippie with a few conservative values. I personally find them a waste of time. They aren’t going to save this country.
And goose-stepping authoritarians get things done, right?
Okey-diddly-dokely, Ned!
Perhaps Ned’s experience is with the Libertarian Party, in which case I would somewhat agree. They think the system is fine, if they could just get their people elected.
Hi Ned,
“middle of the road”?
“Like a hippie with a few conservative values”?
Which libertarians are you talking about? The ones I know – including me – are the only ones I know who have a logically consistent, coherent set of principles. The chief one being that it’s wrong to interfere with anyone who isn’t harming anyone else – or to take a cent of anyone else’s money.
If more people held to such principles, the country would not need saving.
PIE IN THE SKY.
Quote from the article: “The idea here is that if whatever you’re doing isn’t harming anyone else, then you have the right to do it. And no one else has the right to force you to stop doing it.”
And what if what you’re doing IS harming others? What do neighbors do about your factory spewing poisons into the air and water? What does one person downriver do, or what do many people downriver do, when you poison the river? What do people upriver do when you net the river and take all the fish?
Quote from article: “But no one would be forced to deal with anyone else… .”
What do you do about the bullies and the monopolies? If jews own all the car manufacturers — and prevent competition by force — aren’t you forced to deal with them or never have a car?
What do you do if a well-armed bully family decides they hate you, or want you gone, and they follow you wherever you go and interfere with your travel, buying groceries, visiting friends, whatever?
What do you do ANYTIME meaner or better-armed enemies harm you, deny you of your rights, or steal from you?
MY POINT is that going from one extreme (the jew-controlled multi-racial situation we now have) to the other extreme (Libertarianism) is obviously, how can I put it gently, doomed to fail for certain.
History PROVES that jews will infiltrate and destroy whatever we Whites build unless we FORCEFULLY exclude them. History also proves that allowing other races to live freely in our White societies that we establish will erode our societies.
We must organize and establish a structure that protects us from known enemies and protects our rights, AND punishes violators. And the people must stay educated and vigilant forever to make sure that the “structure”/government never morphs away from its written role.
Signed,
Jim Laffrey
https://mywhitetv.nfshost.com
Ah, yes, the straw man.
Yikes. You’re thinking in terms of groups, which is antithetical to libertarian philosophy.
Where we’re born, and what “tribe” we’re born into, is an accident of birth. For example, it’s wrong to paint all Jews with the same brush.
Hey Myles,
It’s rampant. While I think it’s simply a vociferous minority who maintain adherence to these ideas (anti-Jewish bigotry, true racism), you find a high concentration of them on libertarian and free-speech sites, as they aren’t allowed to exist in other areas. So, while many of these people have philosophies antithetical to “live-and-let-live”, they are “well represented” here.
Of course, I’d still much rather fervently defend the right of people to speak freely than have them censored.
Indeed, I would far rather such expose themselves than be censored into the darkness.
Well-said, John –
Collectivism is collectivism, however styled – however justified. And it always relies on force and so always leads tyranny over the individual.
Well, none of the critics responded to any of my questions nor my verifiable factual statements. Also, of course, none of them put their real name and reputation on the line as I do.
But I’ll respond to Myles’ 2 points, as he didn’t descend to factless, empty name-calling.
1. “Yikes. You’re thinking in terms of groups, which is antithetical to libertarian philosophy.”
Oh, so groups don’t exist. There won’t be any groups of blacks doing any BLM on you. There won’t be any group of nasty neighbors who want your land or your daughters or your cattle. All individuals will forever act as reasonable intelligent individuals and never form groups to get their way. I see, that whole area of REALITY is forbidden to be recognized.
2. “Where we’re born, and what ‘tribe’ we’re born into, is an accident of birth. For example, it’s wrong to paint all Jews with the same brush.”
a. The jewsmedia — tv, magazines, newspapers, movies — taught you the “accident of birth” lie. It was no “accident” that my parents each chose a fellow White person to unite with and to combine their DNA to produce a White child. It’s no “accident” that I’m White and carry my parents and their bloodlines’ coding for intelligence, organization, creativity, discernment, and desire to punish deliberate evildoers. There was no way that my parents’ union could produce an “accidental” nigger or indian or arab or jew.
b. It’s wrong to paint a whole race “with the same brush” when one remains ignorant of racial reality and ignorant of that particular race’s history and behavior from top to bottom. It is a CORRECT assessment of REALITY to “paint” or describe a race based on sufficient knowledge. The White race is quite gullible. The black (congoid) race is low-IQ, violence-prone, and least likely to understand the rights of others let alone respect them. The jew race is anti-White, as proved by the anti-White agenda of every institution the jews control, from Hollywood, through the media, to governments. The jews use the other, lower-IQ races as tools to help them destroy White societies and the White race. Notice that the jews encourage and defend every nonWhite race to speak of their pride in their people, etc., but declare any White who says so little as it’s “ok” to be White a “heinous racist.”
I could, of course, continue with verifiable facts assembled as knowledge and write a “book” here for a comment. But I know that the anonymice critics ignore verifiable factual evidence and just repeat their absurdities and name-calling. So, I’m done with this comment thread. Whoever responds, if any, will get the last word.
Well, I do use my real name.
While the parents of a particular person may have say in their children’s race and culture, the children do not. So affixing blame to those children is a moral error. Even after they grow up. Tell me, what color were the only ones ever to drop nuclear weapons on those of another color? Not badgering white people, just sayin, none are without sin.
What was the only race capable of creating an atomic bomb?
Go to a libertarian get together. That group is as white as the Klan. The only people on the planet that will ever set up a libertarian minded society will be European descended.
How many of these” libertarian get togethers” have you been to and which ones were they? What is a libertarian?
Stop polluting this site with your nonsense!
And when used, we were RIGHT to do that! As awful as the atomic bombings were, their role in convincing those maniacal Japanese that they’d lost the war, and it was in THEIR best interests to give up, is undeniable.
Please consider two factors: (1) how many Japanese civilians were already dying in conventional air raids, or of starvation-related disease as the Home Islands were effective blockaded, and (2) given the very recent experience of how desperately the Japanese fought on THEIR soil, in places like Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and how they heartlessly threw CIVILIANS into the fray, can one imagine the carnage, had we declined to use the atomic bomb (or simply had the Trinity test not been successful), if we had to go through with “Olympic”, the planned invasion of the southernmost island of Kyushu (which has the second atomic bombing target, Nagasaki, as well as what had been the intended target, Kokura), which would have then been the largest amphibious operation of all time? That, followed, if Japan still fought on, “Coronet”, the invasion of Honshu itself, near Tokyo? While there were monumental diplomatic screwups that had backed the Japanese into the proverbial corner, including threats to put their sacred Emperor on trial for war crimes, I’m satisfied that the atomic bombings were the LEAST cruel way, though I’m sure what few survivors and their families might feel differently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall
1. The smallest minority is the individual
2. Man seems to originated from Africa, to become English, French or German these people would have had to have passed through palestine, how certain are you that you have absolutely no hebrew/semite DNA hiding within you?
The truly WHITE Man originated in the fertile crescent. The Whites(a.k.a. hebrews, not jews) spread east(i.e. Parthians, Persians) and south to Aethiopia, Yemen…yep sunburned whites) West(Egyptians were white and tanned) & north(white phoenicians sailed to Iceland/NOrth sea becoming celts, vikings etc). They were bred out in most parts of your modern mongrelized regions of the world. North/south America would have still been white 2500 years ago had white phoenicians not mixed with their non-white slaves…thus creating “Native Americans, Aztecs, Mayans etc.” So the whites were indeed Semitic,unlike the turkic-mongol “Ashkenazi” jews who claim the land as their own.
Bravo, Eric! Excellent points in a succinct and well-presented article.
It’s astounding how many don’t understand these principles, or are simply opposed to them for various, usually self-serving, reasons.
Thanks, eric! (Lower-case l libertarian speaking)
I also recommend reading David Friedman’s The Machinery of Freedom for how to let the free market do things that over-reaching government has loused up for centuries.
https://archive.org/details/TheMachineryOfFreedom/page/n1/mode/2up
(Also available on Amazon for those who would remunerate David for his work.)
‘It seems to me to be a much better idea to run my own life than to try to run other people’s lives.’ — eric
Practically speaking, the only places on earth where one can be left alone are developing countries whose poor, weak governments deploy only tenuous civil authority outside the capital.
This has its downsides: 1. Cultural impoverishment: norte americanos may miss the hand-crafted bread and streaming-video circuses of the West; 2. All over Latin America, criminal cartels run rampant, taking advantage of the vacuum of law enforcement; 3. Third World currencies are notoriously prone to collapse.
Earlier this month, a woman in Miami who for decades had lived in a treehouse — concealed in thick foliage behind a conventional house — was compelled to demolish it: too many code violations (electrical, plumbing, fire protection), impossible to fix.
For awhile, with careful planning, great effort, and some quality of life compromises, one can elude the seamless Matrix of the US imperium. But it can all go ‘poof’ in a bad-luck instant. American culture, hopelessly contaminated by the 24/7 Woke media feed, has curdled, and can’t be unsoured.
Jim,
“All over Latin America, criminal cartels run rampant, taking advantage of the vacuum of law enforcement”
So instead we get a criminal cartel called government, that employs armed goons called law enforcement to do the exact same thing? And employs armed goons called military to spread it world wide? Compared to government, common criminals are an inconvenience. Government kills by the millions.
Exactly my sentiments on that, Mr. Kable.
I believe there also has to be something cultural, in that, when some group comes out attempting to exercise coercive power, the general populace reacts to stop them. I believe individualism and voluntarism must be cultural norms in order for a libertarian society to thrive.
We had that culture, and Lincoln killed half a million to dispose of it. Looks like he might have succeeded.
‘So instead we get a criminal cartel called government, that employs armed goons called law enforcement to do the exact same thing?’ — John Kable
I’m painfully aware of the contradiction, and it’s perfectly fair for you to point it out. Then I think of places such as Costa Rica and Ecuador, which were being promoted as idyllic retirement havens for Americans just a few years ago. Now they are overrun by violent gangs.
Is there a third way, besides criminal cartels and Big Gov cartels — Pinkerton muscle? Five millennia of recorded human history have been an endless struggle among self-serving cabals, administrating calibrated violence.
Let us hope the promised next world is not a carbon copy of this one, with palace intrigues and highwaymen and sashaying short-skirted Sirens, with their pimps lying in wait round the corner, wielding billy clubs to relieve the foolish punter of his preciousss fiat.
‘Suddenly dignified, and somewhat morose, [Quilty] started to walk up the broad stairs, and, shifting my position, but not actually following him up the steps, I fired three or four times in quick succession, wounding him at every blaze; and every time I did it to him, his face would twitch in an absurd clownish manner, as if he were exaggerating the pain; he slowed down, rolled his eyes half closing them and made a feminine “ah!” and he shivered every time a bullet hit him as if I were tickling him, and every time I got him with those slow, clumsy, blind bullets of mine, he would say under his breath with a phoney British accent — all the while dreadfully twitching, shivering, smirking, but withal talking in a curiously detached and even amiable manner: “Ah, that hurts, sir, enough! Ah, that hurts atrociously, my dear fellow. I pray you, desist. Ah — very painful, very painful, indeed … God! Hah! This is abominable, you really should not –”
‘His voice trailed off as he reached the landing, but he steadily walked on despite all the lead I had lodged in his bloated body — and in distress, in dismay, I understood that far from killing him I was injecting spurts of energy into the poor fellow, as if the bullets had been capsules wherein a heady elixir danced.’
— Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
Some people are only happy when they make you miserable. It must have something to do with being overly empathic or something. They know what you’re thinking, know why you’re doing whatever you’re doing, know that your actions will result in tragedy.
Of course, libertarians are no different, aside from the fact that we don’t take action when we see “stupid” behavior, other than constantly pointing it out, Cassandra style, to anyone who will listen but no one who gives a damn.
“There are two types of human beings: people who want to interfere in the way other people live their lives, and people who are content to mind their own business. Which type of people do you think go into politics?” Ed Crane
Great article Eric:
But but but but but, what about the roooooooooooads!
Private industry has brought us the telegraph, the automobile, the telephone, the radio, the television, and the personal computer, among many other highly complex inventions.
However, they are apparently unable to mix aggregate, sand, water, and Portland cement, prep the road base, and lay it down to create a path for automobiles to travel. They apparently haven’t mastered that technology yet. Only government has the skill to do that (even though government hires government-connected private contactors to do it).
But but but but but who would PAY for the roooooooooooods, or actually build any?
Easy: those who see an opportunity to profit from people’s desire to get from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently as possible.
You would not see years long road construction projects just to resurface a road if a private enterprise was losing profit every day the traffic was throttled to less lanes than normal. Less cars per mile per hour = less profit for them.
They would have a very big incentive to get the job done as quickly as possible. As a bonus, they would also tend to not want to piss off their customers during said construction by ever allowing “VIP” drivers to cut in front of hundreds of cars causing multiple mile backups before the chokepoint. I expect a very steep, heavily (privately) enforced “no passing under any circumstances” rule would be set up several miles before any construction chokepoint.
If I owned a private toll road, my “Penalty” for passing in the no passing zone 5 miles before any construction chokepoint would be .50 BMG API fire at the offending vehicle, a $25,000 fine (to to distributed back to everyone they delayed), and lifetime ban from my roads.
Lifetime ban for not maintaining at least a 10mph speed differential between lanes a well. This 10 mile to pass someone would not be occurring on my roads.
Not yielding to faster moving traffic within 5 seconds would also result a lifetime ban.
Roads would look different for sure, since eminent domain cold not be used, but the roads would be so much better.
Would you pay more for roads designed to be safely travelled at 120+ mph? I sure would. There would be many different levels of roads and many different levels of permission doled out to use those roads.
Let’s agree to stop using the term “public roads” and call then what they are: Socialist roads
Technology is rapidly facilitating the ability to BUILD toll roads, since the means to assess tolls and COLLECT them are ever more automated. But it’s getting BEYOND even THAT! Now, I can see that tolls ARE a form of “user fee”, but the COUNTER argument is that we ALREADY pay a “USER FEE”, in the form of Federal and State FUEL taxes. Since in general a heavier vehicle that imposes greater wear also drinks more fuel, it’s quite “proportionate” ALREADY.
Here in Cali(porn)ia, there’s already been serious proposals to impose a “Mileage” tax, which would ALSO be a de facto “toll” road, only the “road” would be EVERYWHERE. The “old school” odometers, it’d be tough to enforce, having to rely on self-reporting, and heavy fines and even imprisonment for falsifying the “return”, akin to the annual mulcting on our incomes every April 15th. Obviously at present, only a small amount of vehicles could be audited, although with applications like CarFax, where even my oil changes at Midas (I have them do it b/c the nominal cost of bringing my own oil and filter, Ford’s own “Motorcraft”, and paying a professional to do it is firm documentation to keep the powertrain warranty in effect, it’s only about $60/year extra cost over doing it myself, and I don’t have to fuck with disposal of spent oil and a dirty filter, and have the nosey government trying to accuse me of improper disposal of “hazardous” materials) are dutifully logged in. Even that 2020 Fusion has its own dedicated “sail fawn”, aside from whatever I’ve got aboard, as it reports back to “Ferd” and “Gawd” knows who ELSE, WHERE I go, WHEN I go, and HOW FAST I’m going, as well as other operating parameters. Who’s to say the means don’t ALREADY exist to record said mileage for purposes of collecting the new style of “toll”, i.e., a MILEAGE fee?
There was once a witty editorial cartoon, showing a beleaguered motorist, his car heavily laden down with a gaggle of seedy guys, each with a sort of “fee” or “tax” label…the caption? “The TROUBLE with ‘hitchhikers’. Been trying to find it for years.
Blake,
Who would build the roads? the same people who build them now, only cheaper and of better quality. Government is the problem, not the solution.
Blake,
Although I’m amenable to “user fees” and private roads as solutions, few people would be traveling yours.
The menacing and draconian tone of your regulations would be enough to turn me around.
Just having .50 caliber rifles trained on their vehicles would cause people to avoid your roads. It appears the rest would be “lifetime banned” before too long. :p
Eric, you realize that by openly proclaiming yourself as a “Libertarian”, you’re probably figuring prominently on some FBI list, since LPers were identified by a prominent member of the former Obama (mal)administration was “domestic terrorists”. That’s right…your profession of personal liberty and adhere to NON-aggression is somehow a “THREAT”. Only to the Clowngress and that nutty world inside the Capitol Beltway.
Of course, since you’ve also preached self-sufficiency, what with your duckpen and henpen (do those birds share the same enclosure? That could make for some “interesting” eggs…), and your disdain of EeeeVeees, why, I’m almost surprised there isn’t a Hellfire missile coming your way, as with that Iranian general. Can’t have those preaching independence from “The Collective”…and what’s YOUR “designation”? (Note particular 1:00 to 1:25…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRc8EyPoxOU&t=120s
Hi Doug!
Yeah, I know. But I don’t care. Or – rather- I care more about speaking (and writing) my mind, something I place high value on, for myself and others. If they come, they come. I will never bend.
Big Thumbs Up, eric! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks, John!
I’m of the same mind Eric. I’m probably on a FedGov shit list for what I read and write every day. No sense getting paranoid about it. They will come for me or they won’t.
“almost surprised there isn’t a Hellfire missile coming your way”. No Doug,
First they would come and collect all his assets.
True. Even “Secret Policing” for PROFIT.