Category Archives: Libertarianism

Rick Santorum Criticizes the Flaws of Libertarianism
Rick Santorum asserts that strict libertarianism is foundationally wrong in its thinking and is based on flawed ideas of the nature of society, the nature of...

By: Jeff Morgan

More here:
Rick Santorum Criticizes the Flaws of Libertarianism - Video

Libertarianism The Purpose of Freedom
Discussing the purpose of freedom within Libertarianism This clip from the Majority Report, live M-F at 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://Majority.FM Download our FREE app: http://major...

By: Sam Seder

Read more:
Libertarianism & The Purpose of Freedom - Video

It is a given that politicians will say foolish things. Last week, perhaps one of the most foolish arose in the aftermath of the tragedy of the Martin Place siege.

Introducing Senator David Leyonhjelm. The NSW senator entered Federal Parliament at the last election as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He is something of a rarity in Australian politics in that he espouses libertarianism. It would have seemed to him, we assume, that his comments were a logical extension of this philosophy.

However, whichever philosophy one adopts, it must exist in the real world, and in the real world, say, a busy cafe in Sydney's CBD, there are boundaries.

After two innocent people Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson died during the siege (in which the hostage-taker and gunman Man Haron Monis also died), Senator Leyonhjelm said he believed Australia was a "nation of victims" because of the restrictive nature of the gun laws.

Advertisement

He told the ABC: "What happened in that cafe would have been most unlikely to have occurred in Florida, Texas, or Vermont, or Alaska in America, or perhaps even in Switzerland as well." It would have been probable, "statistically speaking", that some of the victims if the siege had occurred in those places would have had guns on them. They would have been able to defend themselves. Gun versus gun.

The senator argued that recent legislation on tougher security measures against terrorism had no effect in preventing the Martin Place siege. "We've got tougher laws . . . they did nothing to prevent this bloke committing evil acts in the name of Islamism. They didn't prevent him from getting a gun." Obviously, this is true. However, the senator finishes his point with this: "It's just not acceptable that we are all disarmed victims."

There are many questions that need to be answered as to how Monis, given his background and record, slipped through the cracks. Calls are growing for an independent and open examination of all matters pertaining to Monis and the conduct of security and police agencies before and during the siege. This should be established, for the sake of the victims.

However, the answer is not the arming of the citizenry. The LDP considers "the right to own firearms for sport, hunting, collecting andself-defence(our italics) as fundamental to a free society, irrespective of how many choose to do so. It does not believe governments have a general right to limit the ownership of firearms."

After the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 in which 35 people died and 23 were wounded, then prime minister John Howard greatly tightened gun laws, so much so that the senator had to give up six semi-automatic rifles. He also gave up his membership of the Liberal Party.

Go here to read the rest:
More guns are not the answer

One of the most dismissive terms thrown around in foreign policy circles is isolationist. If you are an isolationist, you clearly have not considered the issues carefully and rationally, and need not be taken seriously. Libertarian leaning politicians such as Ron and Rand Paul are frequent targets of this epithet.

There may or may not be a handful of actual libertarians who are isolationist, but the reality is that libertarianism is among the most internationally minded philosophies. Examining several key areas of international relations makes this clear: International trade, diplomacy and the military, and institutions.

The most obvious place where libertarians are internationalists is economic relations. True libertarians advocate the free flow of trade and investment, without government restrictions. This is about as international as you can get. For libertarians, the origin of a product or service is irrelevant. People around the world should be able to buy and sell from each other without government interference.

In the international arena, libertarians can and will have a strong voice and play an important role. That role should not be diminished by simplistic and inaccurate cries of isolationism.

Unfortunately, in most countries today, there is a strong sentiment for favoring domestic economic actors over foreign ones. This feeling manifests itself in various forms, such as tariffs and Buy National procurement policies. Libertarians stand almost completely united against this nationalist feeling, believing that trade and other economic interaction with foreign actors benefits us all.

Diplomacy and the military is a more complicated policy area, involving a number of instances of potential relations between domestic and foreign. Here, though, there is a strong case that libertarians are more internationalist than most others. Of course, in part this depends on what one means by internationalism.

Libertarians are most frequently accused of isolationism when they object to military intervention in foreign territories. That libertarians usually object to these interventions is not in doubt. However, use of the military cannot always credibly be called internationalist. Colonialism and conquest, although they do require contact with foreigners, are not generally a positive form of international relations.

More controversially, libertarians may sometimes object to peaceful aid to foreigners as well. But this is not done out of anti-foreigner sentiment. Rather it is based on skepticism over the effectiveness of aid and its misuse as a foreign policy tool, and a general preference for markets over government support. Libertarians certainly believe in private outreach among civil society groups in one nation to the people of other nations. The objection is only to the mismanagement of governments when they get involved.

Thus, for libertarians, war and government aid do not reflect true internationalism. To some extent, they are really about government bullying and condescension towards foreigners, the idea that we are superior to them and can use our power to re-make them in our image. In contrast, libertarians believe in treating citizens of other countries with respect and acting with humility.

Finally, there is the issue of international institutions. This is the area where libertarians are most likely to reject what is conventionally thought of as the internationalist position, as they worry about the power of these institutions. In reality, libertarians are not rejecting the idea of international institutions, but rather the specific policies pursued by some of these institutions. For example, if the IMF advocates Keynesian fiscal policy, and libertarians object, it is the policy they object to, not the institution itself. If there were international institutions that supported balanced budgets (or protected property rights), for example, libertarians would likely be supportive. There is no fundamental libertarian objection to international cooperation through institutions; the only concern is on specific issues of substance.

Read more from the original source:
Libertarian Internationalism

Encyclopedia of Libertarianism
Encyclopedia of Libertarianism documentaries documentary documentaries 2014 youtube documentaries documentaries online documentaries discovery channel docume...

By: documentary movise 2

More:
Encyclopedia of Libertarianism - Video

Just A Summary | Libertarianism By David Boaz
JUST A SUMMARY - THE SUMMARY YOUR FAVORITE BOOK =--- Where to buy this book? ISBN: 9780684847689 Book Review of Libertarianism by David Boaz If you want ...

By: Just a Summary

Read more:
Just A Summary | Libertarianism By David Boaz - Video

Christopher Hitchens on Socialism, Campaign Financing, Taxes, Politics, Libertarianism 199
Socialism is an economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy. Social ownership m.

By: Ramiro Howard

Here is the original post:
Christopher Hitchens on Socialism, Campaign Financing, Taxes, Politics, Libertarianism 199 - Video

Originally published December 18, 2014 at 2:03 PM | Page modified December 19, 2014 at 12:52 AM

Colorado's top law enforcement official promises to vigorously defend the state's historic law legalizing marijuana after Nebraska and Oklahoma asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional, saying the drug is freely flowing into neighboring states.

The two states filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to prevent Colorado from enforcing the measure known as Amendment 64, which was approved by voters in 2012 and allows recreational marijuana for adults over 21. The complaint says the measure runs afoul of federal law and therefore violates the Constitution's supremacy clause, which says federal laws trump state laws.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said the lawsuit was without merit.

"Because neighboring states have expressed concern about Colorado-grown marijuana coming into their states, we are not entirely surprised by this action," he said. "However, it appears the plaintiffs' primary grievance stems from non-enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana, as opposed to choices made by the voters of Colorado."

The lawsuit says Colorado marijuana flows into neighboring states undermining their efforts to enforce their anti-marijuana laws.

"This contraband has been heavily trafficked into our state," Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said at a news conference in Lincoln. "While Colorado reaps millions from the sale of pot, Nebraska taxpayers have to bear the cost."

Colorado has raised more than $60 million in taxes, licenses and fees from medical and recreational marijuana, which has been sold in stores since January.

The lawsuit says the sales have strained Nebraska and Oklahoma's finances and legal systems. Police are spending more time and money making arrests, housing inmates, impounding vehicles, seizing drugs and handling other problems related to Colorado pot.

Bruning, a Republican, blamed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for failing to enforce the federal law's ban on drugs in Colorado.

Link:
Colorado vows to defend pot law against states' challenge

Will Social Media Make Libertarianism Mainstream 6v1uOMgV9 Q
Socialising.

By: Socialising

View original post here:
Will Social Media Make Libertarianism Mainstream 6v1uOMgV9 Q - Video

Anarchism vs Libertarianism w/ Judge Jim Gray
In this short clip, 2012 Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate for Gary Johnson, Judge Jim Gray joins an episode of Authentic Enlightenment to discuss Anar...

By: CAV Radio Network

The rest is here:
Anarchism vs Libertarianism w/ Judge Jim Gray - Video