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Showing posts from August, 2013

Prison, Plantation, and Indoctrination Center

Imagine a place where you aren't allowed to leave for certain hours of the day, most days of the week, most weeks of the year; where you aren't allowed to go to the bathroom when you needed to; where you aren't allowed to eat when you want, or even to chew a piece of gum; where your movement from area to area was determined by a loud ring. Also imagine a place where you must labor without pay; where you must perform tasks that others have assigned for you; where your worth as a person is determined by how well you perform those tasks. Now imagine a place where other people have decided what you should think about; what and how much of it you should know; where you are required to memorize certain facts and processes, in order to pass tests that you are required take; where you aren't allowed to question or disagree with the facts or processes being memorized. Can you imagine these kinds of places? I can. In fact, it's quite obvious to me that the first place is a p

My Family Culture

I read recently that, "If you change the culture, you change the people." At first that seemed backwards. Don't we need to change the people, before their culture is changed? But after more thought, I think that if we put the focus on the second word, you, then the rest follows. The only way that you can change a culture is by first changing yourself. Want to get rid of a culture of rudeness to strangers? Start being kind to strangers. Then you can start advocating that others do likewise. What about a culture of punishing children for undesirable behavior? Stop punishing your own children for undesirable behavior, and then advocate that others do likewise. What I would like to share with you is where my family culture is two years after we decided to make some major changes in how my wife and I are raising our children. Read the rest of my latest column at EVC.

Left Libertarian, Right Libertarian

You may have heard about the political philosophy known is "left libertarianism." This philosophy mostly agrees with all of the political left's (progressives, Democrats) complaints and goals about our society, but differs in that its solutions are based on libertarian principles. In other words, "leftist ends, libertarian means." I sympathize much with left libertarianism. I also, however, sympathize much with what we could call "right libertarianism," or "rightist ends, libertarian means." Let's talk about both. Read the rest of my latest column, at EVC.

Department of "Justice"

My latest column is now live . It begins: What is justice? A seemingly subjective concept. For voluntaryists, justice is being made whole when you've been aggressed against. What is aggression? For voluntaryists, aggression is an unwanted invasion of a property boundary. What is property? For voluntaryists, property is, at least, one's body and personal possessions. For many, property is also what one's body appropriates from a state of nature (movable or immovable), or trades for from other property owners. So in other words, for voluntaryists, justice is having one's property restored to them after it was taken by aggression. Do the various "Departments of Justice" around the world serve justice? Methinks not.

LPL - July 2013 Update

In July 2013, LPL sold 229 books across North America and Europe. Here are the top 5: 28 copies,  Our Enemy, the State - Albert Jay Nock 22 copies,  For a New Liberty  - Murray N. Rothbard 17 copies, Principles of Economics - Carl Menger 13 copies, The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality - Ludwig von Mises 9 copies, The Mystery of Banking - Murray N. Rothbard LPL's all time top 5 bestsellers are: 518 copies, For a New Liberty - Murray N. Rothbard 330 copies, Our Enemy, the State - Albert Jay Nock 200 copies, Principles of Economics - Carl Menger 118 copies, Great Wars and Great Leaders - Ralph Raico 95 copies, Organized Crime - Thomas J. DiLorenzo