The Philosophy of Liberty

Jeffrey Borrowdale

Churchill High School

March 6, 2015

What is Libertarianism?

• The Liberty or Freedom Philosophy

• As Government grows, liberty shrinks

• Less Government = More Freedom

• Both personal and economic freedom

What is Libertarianism?

• The Libertarian philosophy includes• Anarchists, who believe in no government• Minarchists, who believe in limited government• Our focus: the minarchist version supported by the

Libertarian Party

What is Government?

• A monopoly on the legitimate use of force in a geographic area

• (Ideally) protects life, liberty and property

• (Ideally) prevents force and fraud

• Not a good but a necessary evil

Government is force!

• “Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” - attributed to George Washington, probably spurious but a great quote!

Functions of Government: Prevent & Punish Crime

Police, Courts & Prisons to address crimes against:

• Persons– Murder– Assault– Kidnapping

• Their Property – Theft– Vandalism– Fraud

Functions of Government:Arbitrate Disputes

Civil Courts “of last resort” to peacefully settle business and property disputes which can’t be settled privately

Prevents violent feuding which endangers others

Functions of Government:Diplomacy & Defense

The Military to protect against foreign aggression or invasion, NOT– Over 130 bases around

the world– Propping up dictators– Defending corporate

interests abroad– Nation-building

Functions of Government:Infrastructure

Basic infrastructure everyone benefits from

• Water, power, roads, bridges, ports and parks

• Not subsides for shopping malls or stadiums for sports franchises!

• Fire Dept, Garbage, Post Office? Wifi? Volunteer and private options here

• Libertarians disagree on this one

The Paradox of Government:Who Guards the Guardians?

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

If angels were to govern men...[no] controls on government would be necessary.”

- James Madison, Federalist #51

If you can’t trust people with freedom, how

can you trust those who would rule them?

Government: A Great Idea?

Solution: Limit Government

Because Government is force, it should only act against free people when absolutely necessary, e.g. to protect them from force (criminals, foreign armies), plague, toxic pollution)

Solution: Decentralization

Local control - access to officials

A Union of Sovereign States (see the Constitution, esp. 10th Amendment)

A Federal Government with a few limited, specific enumerated powers (Article 1, Section 8)

Taxes: Pointing Out theGun in the Room

Because taxes are extorted through the threat of violence, their only legitimate use is to prevent greater violence; they should be equally proportioned and kept low

Moral Foundation:The Non-Aggression Principle

It’s wrong to initiate force against another person (or their property) except to prevent them from using force on others, or to protect them from the force of others

Justifies criminal & civil justice system, military, but difficult to justify govt. infrastructure on this basis

Positive Version of the Non-Aggression Principle

“You have the right to do anything which does not involve using force or fraud on others.

• All voluntary and peaceful actions should be allowed in a free society

Liberty is Self-determinationYou live your own life

• No one should force you to do anything you don’t want to do

• You know best how to spend your own money and make your own personal choices

• You’re free in your decisions but responsible for them

Economic Freedom

• Free enterprise (free market capitalism)

– The choices of individuals and the law of supply and demand determine wages, prices, the rules under which businesses operate, not government bureaucrats

• No corporate welfare, bailouts, subsidies

• Government doesn’t pick winners or losers; people do

• Minimal regulations• No Federal Reserve destroying

the value of your money!

Economic Freedom

• No saddling future generations (YOU!) with trillions in debt (18Tn +!!??)

• Replace pyramid schemes like Social Security and Medicare with personal savings accounts invested in the economy

• Low, simple flat and fair taxes

• Right to work (no forced union membership or dues)

• Health care choice (no Obamacare, no Romneycare)

Personal Freedom:Right to Privacy

End the Patriot Act• No government spying

without a warrant (4th Amendment)

End FCC Censorship• No longer regulates content

of broadcasts (free speech!), only registers frequencies, settles disputes

End the TSA• Let airlines make security

decisions; no more scan & grope or “security theater”

Personal FreedomAdults should make their own choices

• Support right of self-defense with a firearm

• End marriage regulation (allow gay marriage, decriminalize polygamy)

• End the Nanny State– Drinking age of 21 (!)– Sin taxes, bans on

transfat, 32 oz sodas

• Legalize gambling, prostitution, drugs, Dr-assisted suicide

Flawed Right-Left Paradigm

Left X Right

(Socialism) (Fascism)

Middle of the road Goldilocks fallacy of the uninformed, unengaged public

Socialism

• The State owns and controls the means of production

• Supposedly an intermediate step between Capitalism and a stateless society of pure Communism

• Rhetoric: The Worker, the People

Fascism

• The State controls the means of production, but nominal ownership and some independence is given to private corporations

• Rhetoric: The Fatherland, Progress

• Nazi stood for National Socialist German Worker’s Party - a socialist labor union party - like Obama’s New Party

• Both advocate State control over the economy

• Both Fascism and Socialism are forms of Collectivism

Corrected Freedom Paradigm

Collectivism X Individualism

(Socialism) (Liberty)

(Fascism)

Common Misconceptions

• Libertarians treat people as isolated individuals when “we’re all in this together”– Confuses government with

society

– Family, friendship, churches, businesses, charities and other voluntary associations are superior, peaceful forms of cooperation

Common Misconceptions

• Libertarians are greedy, selfish, don’t care about the poor– Confuses support for

indiscriminate government handouts with personal generosity and charity to the truly needy

– Economic freedom produces JOBS

Who’s “greedy” or “selfish”

• Those who want to keep money they earned providing goods and services to others via free and voluntary exchange?

• Or those who want to take other peoples’ money to provide “free” services?– to use the services

themselves– To avoid having to give

their own money to charity

Common Misconceptions

• “Without Government, X wouldn’t exist” (roads, bridges, education, the internet, space flight)

• If people value a thing, the market produces it (more efficiently than government!)

Common Misconceptions

“You should be grateful to Government for all the good things it’s done for you.”

• You (or your parents) were already forced to pay inflated prices for government services you didn’t ask for, some of which you may not even have wanted)

Don’t fetishize voting!Democracy is two wolves

and a sheep deciding what’s for dinner!

If you don’t like your parents or peers telling you how to live, why do you want 150k or 650k or 200 million strangers doing it?

Democratic PartySimply Dreadful

• Socialism, “spread the wealth” mentality, class warfare, runaway spending and debt, printing and borrowing money (will make us like Greece, struggling Eurozone)

• Corporate, State bailouts, union payoffs, “green energy” boondoggles (e.g. Solyndra)

• Hands off energy policy hobbling the economy - no oil, natural gas, coal or nuclear! - life’s blood of the economy!

• “Race-card” politics• Nanny-state cheerleaders• Recent flip-flop on gay marriage -

one bright spot

Republican PartyA lesser evil, but still bad!

• The Religious Right - wants to legislate morality

• Supports bloated military, interventionist foreign policy

• Lots of RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) and Moderates: wishy-washy, have Big Government views like Democrats, even President Bush had many such policies!

• Libertarians like Ron Paul, Rand Paul, others with strong libertarian leanings

• Anti-Nanny State in many ways

Libertarian PartyPrincipled, Consistent

• Biggest third party

• “The Party of Principle”• Democrats: Little economic

freedom, some personal freedom

• Republicans: Some economic freedom, fewer personal freedoms

• The Libertarian Party: Believes in freedom across the board and to a much greater extent

You never throw away your vote when youvote your conscience!

Quit voting for this guy or you’ll continue to get more of the same.

Libertarian Links• Learnliberty.org• Reason.com• Studentsforliberty.org• AtlasSociety.org• Mises.org• Freetalklive.com• Libertopia.org• Lp.org (The Libertarian Party)• Facebook:LCC

StudentsforLiberty (NoSpaces), Technolibertarians