Libertarian Anarchy

“The true test, then, of the radical spirit, is the button-pushing test: if we could push the button for instantaneous abolition of unjust invasions of liberty, would we do it? If we would not do it, we could scarcely call ourselves libertarians, and most of us would only do it if primarily guided by a [...]

Are humans smarter than yeast? In this interview about peak oil, Richard Heinberg tries to show us a parallel between yeast and humans: “If we put yeast in a bottle of grape juice, they’d be eating up the sugar in the grape juice, consuming their energy source, and at the same time they’d be giving [...]

According to standard homesteading theory, just as an individual can homestead and establish a property right in unowned land, they can also homestead and establish a pollution easement in unowned land. Whereas traditional homesteading gives a full property right, i.e. ultimate jurisdiction over land, pollution easements only give a limited property right, namely the right [...]

An educational strategy for achieving anarchy I’ve thought up is community conversions: teaching anarchism to specific intellectual or cultural communities, like atheists, gun nuts, 9/11 Truthers, anti-war groups, personal development gurus, spiritual teachers, cannabis activists, etc. The best communities would be ones with a distinct leader, who could directly influence their followers. Web-savvy communities would [...]

“It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a “dismal science.” But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.” – Murray Rothbard There is no [...]

Introduction Democracy is universally held up as the sacred political ideal. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that democracy is a secular religion. Observe: We fight wars for it (“Making the world safe for democracy”). We are implored to blindly participate in it (“It doesn’t matter who you vote for, just vote”). And [...]

The first obvious strategy for anarchists is education: we need to teach people that government is immoral, unnecessary, and doesn’t work. But how do we achieve this? Do we convert the masses or the intellectuals? Do we emphasize morality or practicality? Hans Hoppe has provided the answer to such questions with his strategy of “Anti-intellectual [...]

This article is a sequel to my previous post “Root Causes and the Libertarian Immigration Debate”. Continuing the discussion on what strategy libertarians should follow with regards to immigration, I will argue that even if we accept the Hoppean argument for closed borders, the conclusion still violates libertarian principles. Toward a Theory of Strategy for [...]

My paper “A Rothbardian critique of Cuzán and Ostrowski and a Typology of Anarchy”, has been posted in the Mises Institute Working Papers. Here’s the abstract: With his 1979 article “Do we really ever get out of anarchy?” Alfred Cuzán provides us with a wonderful insight: “Anarchy, like matter, never disappears – it only changes [...]

Whenever I am arguing with someone over the merits and morality of anarchism versus the horrible tragedy of statism, I am almost always confronted with the inevitable question: “What about the poor?” These ignorant statists (I’ve yet to find one aware of economics) are operating under the assumption that the government helps the poor, and [...]