Category Archives: Libertarianism

By Chris Klimek October 24 at 11:17 AM

Season of the WitchAt the beginning of Season of the Witch, Peter Bebergal sketches an autobiographical scene right out of the movie Almost Famous: Hes 11 years old and his brother has left for the Air Force, leaving behind a superb, previously off-limits collection of rock LPs for him to discover. He sits on the floor of his brothers bedroom, transfixed by the adult mysteries nested within the vinyl grooves and gatefold sleeves of albums such as Led Zeppelins Houses of the Holy and David Bowies Diamond Dogs.

But this isnt a memoir, its a dissertation a weirdly dry one, given its lurid topic on how the occult has informed a half-century or so of popular music. Surveying artists timeless (the Beatles) and now-obscure (the Crazy World of Arthur Brown), with stops at usual Satanic suspects like Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne, Bebergal argues that the artists openness to the supernatural made their music more adventurous and imaginative, and that the coalition of parents and politicians who have periodically sounded the alarm about this are hysterical and silly.

Despite the rich material, Bebergal repeatedly drains any sense of urgency from his work. Barely a third of the way through, he says that Jimmy Pages insistence that the maxim Do What Thou Wilt be inscribed in the lacquer of the master recording of Led Zeppelin III serves as a microcosm of the entirety of the influence the occult would have on rock and roll. If the invocation of dark forces is just libertarianism with the occasional bit of blood-drinking, why should we keep reading?

Occasionally, Bebergal rewards the dutiful reader with a zinger, as when he describes the Age of Aquarius as having ended not with a whimper but with a stabbing at the Rolling Stones 1969 concert at the Altamont Speedway. But he doesnt drop nearly enough of those gems to make up for his annoying habits his abuse of groove as a verb, for starters. His halfhearted discussion of Jay Z (At one time his clothing line offered a number of shirts with unambiguous Freemasonry symbols ) feels like a desperate explanation of why his book wasnt published in 1984. Likewise, his evaluation of Madonna via her Super Bowl halftime show in 2012 easily 20 years after her peak.

The musicians whose work Bebergal dissects with the greatest vigor the Beatles, the Stones, Pink Floyd, Bowie, Black Sabbath are dinosaurs, not dragons, no disrespect intended. Meanwhile, the 21st-century popularity of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones has done more to drag the occult into the light than the 30-plus years of heavy-metal albums that preceded them ever did. Bebergal grew up lighting black candles and playing Dungeons & Dragons, he says, but somewhere in the writing of this book, his adolescent enthusiasm got replaced by a deadening academic scrupulousness. Dr. Strange, heal thyself.

Klimek is a freelance writer based in Washington.

Season of the Witch

How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll

by Peter Bebergal

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Book review: Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll

Millennials Don #39;t Understand Libertarianism...
Thom Hartmann don #39;t truly understand what it means to be Libertarian. If you liked this clip of The Thom Hartmann Program, please do us a big favor and share it with your friends... and hit...

By: thomhartmann

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Millennials Don't Understand Libertarianism... - Video

Tom Woods Champion of Libertarianism
Tom Woods is King in that realm of Philosophy.

By: PolakFury

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Tom Woods Champion of Libertarianism - Video

Libertarian Senate Candidate discusses social, economic policy by Will Marshall | Oct 02 2014 | 10/02/14 1:52am

Libertarian Virginia Senate candidate Robert Sarvis spoke at a Students for Individual Liberty event at Clark Hall Wednesday, outlining his platform in the upcoming midterm election.

The Annandale native broke into the spotlight when he ran as a third-party candidate in last years Virginia gubernatorial election, defining his brand of libertarianism as a best of both worlds, striking a balance between what he considers the Republican and Democratic parties best policies.

Generally speaking, Sarvis said he identifies with the rights fiscal policies and the lefts social policies.

Sarvis began his political career as a GOP candidate running for state Senate, eventually dropping his Republican affiliation and taking up the Libertarian mantle.

After I ran in 2012 as a libertarian Republican, I learned that the GOP is not a good vehicle for liberty candidates, Sarvis said. They are hypocritical on economic issues and strident on social issues. I feel like the two-party system is broken. I could have run as an independant, but thats not leaving behind something that outlasts you.

Sarvis emphasized what he considers the most urgent issues libertarian candidates need to address the dwelling on the long, costly drug war, which he blames for saddling the nation with excess expenditures in the last 50 years.

Thanks to the drug war, we have millions in prison the highest incarceration rate in the world, Sarvis said. A third of those are for nonviolent crimes, which, a) costs money, and b) is wasted human potential.

Other issues topping his list of priorities included reforming certain entitlement programs and deregulating areas where he believes the free market would be a more effective solution.

Obamacare is a problem but weve also had 100 years of misregulation of the health care system by both major parties, Sarvis said.

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Sarvis addresses students

Jeff Deist: This week were joined by Mises Institute Senior Fellow Dr. David Gordon, the man who Rothbard claimed knows everything about everything. Our topic is the life and times of the late Dr. Murray Rothbard. David Gordon was both his friend and associate and if you are a Rothbard fan, youll really enjoy this weeks show. We discuss Rothbards life from an insiders perspective, touching on his experience founding the Cato Institute, his relationship with Mises and the areas where they disagreed, his time with Ayn Rand and her objectivist followers and much, much more. Stay tuned.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to Mises Weekends. Im Jeff Deist and Im very pleased to be joined this weekend by none other than our own David Gordon who is visiting us from Los Angeles, so hes in the studio here. Im face-to-face with him and David, thank you very much, its great to see you.

David Gordon: Great to see you too, Jeff. Thanks for inviting me.

JD: David, last weekend we spent some time with Guido Hlsmann, going inside the mind of Ludwig von Mises. This week, wed like to talk to you in a similar vein about Murray Rothbard. So tell us first and foremost about your relationship with Murray.

DG: I met Murray in 1979. Id actually read Man, Economy and State when it came out in 62 when I was in junior high and I didnt get to meet any of the major libertarians till 79. I met him in 79 when I attended a conference at the Cato Institute in Eugene, Oregon in June and he and I hit it off right away and I met also his great friends, Ronald Hamowy and Ralph Raico and right after that conference, thanks to Murrays influence, I was offered a job at the Cato Institute and I was there briefly. As you probably knew, Murray split with the Cato Institute and I went with him, but I always got along very well with Murray.

What impressed me the most about him was he had an endlessly curious mind. He was always absorbing new information and he would keep up with the latest books and of course, hes best known for his libertarianism and his work as an economist. He kept up with all sorts of subjects. He knew philosophy, history, trends in art and music, anything you wanted to talk to him about, he would have new ideas and know all the new books on it and he would be very fast in the way he talked and want you to have to keep up with him and sometimes hard to do it. Id always be on the phone with him, sometimes several times a week and I knew him for 17 years.

JD: So, did you ever spend any time in his New York apartment and did you know Joey Rothbard as well?

DG: Oh yes, well I knew Joey very well. She was very protective of Murray. They had met when they were both at Columbia. She was very, very smart, very well read. She knew American history very well.

JD: And of course, she was protective of him and then he ultimately found himself in hot water with the Ayn Rand circle over the fact that Joey was not rational enough for them in the sense that she was religious.

DG: Oh yes, yes. I remember she told me that one of the things they wanted her to do, they didnt want him to divorce her right away because she was religious, but they wanted her to listen to their stuff and they thought if she did, then she would convert to their views. Nathaniel Branden apparently had done a series of tapes on the existence of God and proofs of God and they wanted her to listen to them and she didnt do it. She said something like, why do I need to listen to these tapes? She was a quite devout Presbyterian. She kept up with that all of her life. There was a minister, I think Dr. Reed in the church in New York she thought very highly of.

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David Gordon: The Life and Times of Murray Rothbard

Libertarianism and Derk Pereboom. Summer school "Free will and Moral responsibility". Part two

By: Moscow Center for Consciousness Studies

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Libertarianism and Derk Pereboom. Summer school "Free will and Moral responsibility". Part two - Video

Dumb arguments against libertarianism are increasing, as guardians of the expansive state begin to worry that the country might actually be trending in a libertarian direction. This may not be the dumbest, but as Nick Gillespie said of a different argument two weeks ago, its the most recent:

The deadly drug war in Long Islands Hempstead ghetto is a harrowing example of free-market, laissez-faire capitalism, with a heavy dose of TEC-9s

Were looking to market, sell and profit off drugs the way any business would handle their product, Tony says. Only our product is illegal, so more precautions need to be taken. Its all systematic and planned, all the positions and responsibilities and assignments. All of thats part of our business strategy. Its usually real smooth and quiet, because thats the best environment for us to make bank. But now, we at war, man. Aint nothing quiet these days.

Deutsch describes the competition between the local Crips and Bloods in terms not usually seen in articles about, say, Apple and Microsoft or Ford and Toyota:

As for strategies, they seem to have settled on a war of attrition, aiming to kill or maim as many of their enemies as possible.

Theyre far better armed and willing to use violence than the smaller neighborhood cliques scattered throughout Nassau County.

Theyre also able to keep out other competitors through use of brute force.

Continued here:
Newsweek: Back in Print, Confused as Ever

Q A with Jeremy Arney - Libertarianism and CAP Policies

By: Canadian Action Party

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Q&A with Jeremy Arney - Libertarianism and CAP Policies - Video

Liberty. Its a simple idea, but its also the linchpin of a complex system of values and practices: justice, prosperity, responsibility, toleration, cooperation, and peace. Many people believe that liberty is the core political value of modern civilization itself, the one that gives substance and form to all the other values of social life. Theyre called libertarians.

If youre new to libertarianism and want to learn more, the items below will give you a good start.

David Boaz

In just 20 minutes, David Boaz introduces libertarianism, explores the ideas behind it, and the policies it leads to. If you want to know what libertarianism is all about, this is the place to start.

November 3, 2011 Essays

Aaron Ross Powell

Libertarianismits theory, its practiceis an awfully big topic. This reading list gives you a place to start. A combination of newcomers and established classics, these books offer accessible introductions to variety of libertarian thought, from philosophy to history to economics.

April 5, 2012 Columns

Aaron Ross Powell

In this essay, Aaron Powell and Trevor Burrus explain how big government not only makes us poorer and less free, but also undermines our moral character and turns neighbor against neighbor.

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What is Libertarianism? | A Libertarianism.org Guide

Individualism, A Hole* In Right Libertarianism
So big i could stick my head through it.

By: RedScare TV

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Individualism, A Hole* In Right Libertarianism - Video