The State Defined

The state is an organization of mere mortals who, by one dubious method or another, have been allowed to don the mantle of political legitimacy and to command obedience on pain of imprisonment even of those who never consented to the preposterous arrangement.

TGIF: We Can Fight Bigotry without the Politicians

Should the government coercively sanction business owners who, out of apparent religious conviction, refuse to serve particular customers?

While such behavior is repugnant, the refusal to serve someone because of his or her race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation is nevertheless an exercise of self-ownership and freedom of nonassociation. It is both nonviolent and nonviolative of other people’s rights. If we are truly to embrace freedom of association, logically we must also embrace freedom of nonassociation.

The test of one’s commitment to freedom of association, like freedom of speech, is whether one sticks by it even when the content repulses.

But does this mean that private individuals may not peacefully sanction businesses that invidiously discriminate against would-be customers?

No! They may, and they should. Boycotts, publicity, ostracism, and other noncoercive measures are also constituents of freedom of association.

Read it here.

Op-ed: Obama Should Steer Clear of Ukraine

President Obama insists he does not regard the conflict in Ukraine “as some Cold War chessboard in which we are in competition with Russia.”

He’d be more credible if he were not following his predecessors in acting as though the Cold War still exists. Although the Soviet empire, including its Warsaw Pact alliance, disbanded beginning in 1989, Republican and Democratic presidents have pursued aggressively anti-Russian policies up to the present.

Read it all here.

An Answer for Hillary Clinton

When Hillary Clinton refers to her husband's presidency, she likes to ask: Which part didn't you like, the peace or the prosperity?

Well, I didn't like his murderous bombing in the Balkans and Iraq, and his child-killing sanctions on Iraq (which helped lead to 9/11). I didn't like his screwing over of the Palestinians and unswerving support for the brutal Israeli occupation of Palestine. I also didn't like his housing-bubble-inflating HUD policies.

What say you, Mrs. Clinton? Do you support those policies?

TGIF: Don't Get Out the Vote

A mass democratic system encourages voter irresponsibility. Because the consequence of any single vote is negligible, individuals have an incentive to vote on some basis other than an understanding of current issues — which would require, among other things, the costly acquisition of a grasp of economics. Voters, then, are free to vote their biases. This voter mentality is known as rational ignorance. If there are no benefits, but only costs, associated with acquiring information, why acquire it? (This could not be more different than decision-making in the marketplace, where people expect to bear the costs and reap the rewards of their decisions. This does not mean that such market decision-making is flawless; but it does imply that people tend to learn from their errors.)

Read it here.

Op-Ed: The Lethal Legacy of U.S. Foreign Intervention

Americans seem to believe that once the U.S. military exits a foreign country, its moral accountability ends. But the deadly consequences — and culpability — continue long after the last soldier leaves.

Read the details here.

The US Prevents Peace in Palestine

But it is hard to imagine what kind of progress can ever be made toward a just and lasting settlement between Israel and Palestine until Washington quits arming one side to the teeth.

 Chase Madar says what needs saying.

TGIF: The Cruel Joke of Sacralizing Voting

By now we’re used to MSNBC’s adoration of government, expressed not only on its programs but also through in-house promotions.

These are often heavy-handed, such as Rachel Maddow’s spots asserting that only governments can accomplish “great things.” Sometimes, however, the promos are more subtle, such as one currently running. Voiced by prime-time All In host Chris Hayes, the spot shows a series of colorful shower curtains backed by a sappily whistled tune; the final curtain turns out to be not for a shower but for a voting booth — at which point Hayes says,

In America there are many ways to express yourself, but only one that counts. Speak out.

The message: vote or you have no voice.

Intended or not, no message could more effectively instill passivity toward the ruling elite and the status quo. As Emma Goldman said, “If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.”

Read it all here.

Op-Ed: Give America a Raise?

The standard economic argument against legislating a minimum wage is that no worker who is unable to produce an equivalent amount of value will find a job at that wage. So any wage mandated above the market-set level would harm the very people that the mandate is supposed to help.

We can see the logic of this argument, while recognizing that markets, being composed of people (who in fact don’t only care about money), never respond infallibly and instantaneously. Moreover, it may be difficult to ascertain what a given worker’s contribution is, so it’s possible that he or she might be paid less than is economically justified. But none of that supports a government mandate.

The only way to maximize the market’s tendency to accurately reward people for their productivity is to remove all government barriers to competition and self-employment. This includes occupational licensing, land-use restrictions, permitting, intellectual property, and more.

Alternatives, not political machinations, are what maximize workers’ clout and ensure their just reward.

Read it all here. The op-ed was picked by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Op-Ed: Obama and Kerry Jeopardize Peace with Iran

Why are President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry rattling their sabers while they are negotiating with Iran? Could it be that they don't want peace?

Read it here.

Daily Paul Radio Appearance

I'll be on Daily Paul Radio at 7 pm EST today.

TGIF: Rights Violations Aren't the Only Bads

The erroneous belief that only conduct for which a coercive response is appropriate — that is, rights violations — may be condemned leads too easily to the corollary error that if some conduct is deserving of condemnation, it must somehow be a rights violation. The initiation of force is not the only bad thing in the world.

The rest is here.

IP's Purpose Is to Encourage Innovation? Ha!

See this.

Libertarian Papers

I'm happy to announce that I have joined the editorial board of Libertarian Papers. I am honored by this recognition.

One of the Great Antiwar Songs

Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Oliver's Army (1979) from MTVClassic1 on Vimeo.

Op-ed: They Don't Mean Well

Americans have a strange need to believe that their “leaders” mean well. Nowhere is this more true than in foreign policy. Even when the horror of some government operation is revealed (usually after being kept from the American people), solemn pundits and elder statesmen will drone on about unintended consequences and the fog of war, while admonishing against “pointless” recriminations. Typically, the harshest accusation leveled against those responsible for a calamity is incompetence, and even that’s rare.

Yet when one examines the U.S. government’s bloody record in foreign affairs, it is tough to come away thinking that the long trail of death, mayhem, and devastation is anything but the result of malevolence in the pursuit of political and economic interest.

Read it here.

Finally Something to Admire in Obama

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates writes in his new book, Duty, that Barack Obama was suspicious of the senior military leadership. Finally! A quality in Obama I share and admire!

Ariel Sharon

Good riddance. He was a monster who saw Palestinians as subhuman creatures who defiled Jewish land. He thought nothing of overseeing, if not ordering, the slaughter of noncombatants. He was thoroughly despicable. His demagogy is well captured in this quote: "There are people out there who don't understand the true intentions of the Palestinians. I am not one of them. They want to destroy Israel. They want our country."

David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, was far more honest: ‎"Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country.... We have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?"

TGIF: Intellectual Property Fosters Corporate Concentration

Right here.
Also, "U.S. Foreign Policy Is a Shambles"

How to End Poverty Corporate State-Style

1. Erect countless state-backed tollgates along the road to personal success, starting with the schools. 
2. Filter tens of trillions of dollars through a humongous bureaucracy staffed by middle-class and upper-middle-class people, letting just enough money through to give the appearance of compassion, to avert civil unrest, and to create multigenerational dependency. 
3. Send low-income kids off to fight and die in periodic wars in foreign lands. 
4. Repeat as necessary.