I chat to Andy Duncan about one of my recent articles, Toward a Libertarian Political Strategy.
Continue readingThe Libertarianism.UK Podcast: Duncan Whitmore
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Tag Archives: Liberty
Toward a Libertarian Political Strategy
In my most recent article for Free Life, I discussed a number of ways in which libertarianism differs from many statist philosophies at the fundamental level. One of these ways is the fact that it is more accurate to regard libertarianism as a behavioural ethic rather than as a grand, political system. This present article will echo and develop this particular theme in order to lay some basic groundwork for a libertarian political strategy.
Continue readingMaking the State Irrelevant
Much of the pro-liberty movement (myself included) tends to focus on the role of education as the prime driver towards a freer world. Given that, ultimately, any regime is cemented in place by the will of the people, such a world is unlikely to thrive unless people are motivated to embrace their freedom while rejecting all forms of force and coercion.
Continue readingWhy Libertarianism is Different
A recent article of mine concerning the libertarian approach towards rights over land was written in response to the raising of the topic on a discussion forum. A separate, recent thread on the same forum has brought up another interesting discussion concerning the nature of libertarianism itself. I will attempt to address this in full here.
Continue readingOptimism for Liberty
Browsing through a single day’s worth of articles on the libertarian website lewrockwell.com is enough to confront one with a smorgasbord of despair:
- The bankruptcy of Western nations and their collapsing economies;
- Increasing wars and overseas intervention;
- Desperation to maintain Western-led hegemony;
- Increased state censorship and invasion of privacy;
- The dangers of state-sponsored medicine and disease control;
- Digital enslavement;
- The lack of integrity of the political class; official lies and corruption.
Leave Me Out of It!
Debates between libertarians and those who advocate any kind of statist intervention frequently take the form of “X should happen vs. X should not happen”. For example a budding libertarian might argue “the post office should be privatised!” whereas his opponent may cry “the post office should be state owned!”
Continue readingLifeboat Situations: Freedom in Times of Emergency
From time to time, the fundamental right of each of us to our individual liberty is challenged by the notion that such a right shouldn’t necessarily apply in emergencies. In the regular, fair weather of societal relations, it is easy enough for us to agree that we should, for instance, have no right to physically injure or steal from other people. But what if an emergency could be resolved only by a breach of the non-aggression principle (NAP)? What if that situation was so desperate that the only way to avoid almost certain loss of life (or severe bodily harm) was to violate the property rights of another person?
Continue readingOut-Innovating the State: Entrepreneurship and the Fight for Liberty
A key question for libertarian activists is the extent to which the circumvention of unjust laws imposed by the state can serve as part of a political strategy. A prominent, if somewhat extreme example from recent times is Ross Ulbricht, who went as far as actually breaking a whole plethora of narcotics laws by operating the darknet (i.e. black market) site “Silk Road”. As a result, he was convicted, in February 2015, of a whole raft of offences, including conspiracy to traffic narcotics.
Continue readingMyths about Freedom
Shattering the Statist Lies
Freedom enthusiasts usually take pride in their understanding of the ethics of liberty and the evils of statism. It is difficult not to read and be enthralled by the works of distinguished libertarian authors such as Murray Rothbard, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Walter Block, and from earlier generations the likes of H L Mencken, Albert Jay Nock and Frank Chodorov, before we even mention Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich von Hayek.
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Duncan Whitmore 