In the battle of ideas, Austro-Libertarianism – either in spite or because of its logical consistency – is lumbered with several burdens that are not always shared with opposing philosophies. Some of these – such as the fact that libertarianism is not a complete moral philosophy and can look, at best, cold and emotionless, or, at worst, a recipe for rampant selfishness and egotism – we have examined elsewhere. Let us explore a few more of them and suggest reasons for how they can be overcome, or at least mitigated as much as possible.
Continue readingMonthly Archives: August 2022
How Land Comes to be Owned
Some years ago, I decided to cease any participation in online discussion forums. While such engagement was far from fruitless, it can very quickly become a net burden if, like me, one lacks the willpower to prevent all of the waking (and many non-waking) hours from being consumed by back-and-forth arguments on every single little detail of Austro-libertarian theory that happens to arise. Far more productive, I tell myself, to spend the time I have available reading and writing original material for outlets such as Free Life.
Continue readingEvery State is in Anarchy
One of the most frequent objections to positing a world without states is that a free society will be devoid of any kind of law and order. Wouldn’t we all descend into lawless chaos? Isn’t it part of human nature that we will all up fighting each other? Can a free society actually work, or is it just a utopian dream?
Continue readingOur Enemies are Not United
The enforcement of draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, vaccine mandates and vaccine passports – together with the resulting economic catastrophe from which we are now reeling – has alerted many people to the likely nefarious agendas of our governing authorities. It has been difficult to conceal the fact that the wholly disproportionate response to what, in effect, was a relatively mild affliction, has served as a mere prelude, or opportunity, to achieve massive societal transformations in an increasingly shorter space of time.
Continue readingParallel Networks = Echo Chambers?
Part and parcel of the effort to resist and reverse the present onslaught of technocratic tyranny is the fostering of parallel networks, the aim being to achieve a decoupling from channels that are under the control of the state and corporate behemoths. In the realm of free speech, this includes the setting up of alternative platforms such as Gab, Parler, Truth Social and others.
Continue readingAltruism, Freedom and Prosperity
The virtue of altruism is held in immeasurably high esteem in our society today. Selfless benevolence is regarded as the pinnacle of human endeavours, with societies and cultures often reserving their most coveted honours and elevations for people who have apparently demonstrated a level of unparalleled generosity.
Continue readingSaving, Investment and Prosperity
In a recent article for Free Life, I noted that, for me, the urge to pen a rebuttal to the work of others come not from trawling through the drivel of a statist, leftist or mainstream pundit. Rather, it comes in response to a libertarian who has spouted some piece of nonsense in spite of being in a position to know better. Today, we will address something similar of this ilk in the realm of economics from Alistair MacLeod, Head of Research at Goldmoney.
Continue readingWinning Debates – A Simple Tactic
As much as I would like to be, I am not an especially keen debater, either face-to-face or online. In responding to critical comments made by another person, I find it very difficult to suppress the urge to blast them with everything I think I know, drowning them in a flood of (probably quite irrelevant) information that leaves neither of us with much time to draw a breath.
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