The Philosophy of Liberty

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The Philosophy of Liberty

• Jeffrey Borrowdale
• Churchill High School
• March 6, 2015

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What is Libertarianism?

• The Liberty or Freedom Philosophy
• As Government grows, liberty shrinks
• Less Government More Freedom
• Both personal and economic freedom

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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

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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

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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!

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Functions of Government Prevent Punish Crime

• Police, Courts Prisons to address crimes
  against
• Persons
• Murder
• Assault
• Kidnapping
• Their Property
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Fraud

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Functions of GovernmentArbitrate Disputes

• Civil Courts of last resort to peacefully
  settle business and property disputes which cant
  be settled privately
• Prevents violent feuding which endangers others

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Functions of GovernmentDiplomacy 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

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Functions of GovernmentInfrastructure

• 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

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The Paradox of GovernmentWho 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

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If you cant trust people with freedom, how can
you trust those who would rule them?
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Government A Great Idea?
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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)

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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)

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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

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Moral FoundationThe Non-Aggression Principle

• Its 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

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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

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Liberty is Self-determinationYou live your own
life

• No one should force you to do anything you dont
  want to do
• You know best how to spend your own money and
  make your own personal choices
• Youre free in your decisions but responsible for
  them

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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 doesnt pick winners or losers people
  do
• Minimal regulations
• No Federal Reserve destroying the value of your
  money!

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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)

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Personal FreedomRight 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

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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

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Flawed Right-Left Paradigm

• Left X Right
• (Socialism) (Fascism)
  
• Middle of the road Goldilocks fallacy of the
  uninformed, unengaged public

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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

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Fascism

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

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• Nazi stood for National Socialist German Workers
  Party - a socialist labor union party - like
  Obamas New Party
• Both advocate State control over the economy
• Both Fascism and Socialism are forms of
  Collectivism

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Corrected Freedom Paradigm

• Collectivism X Individualism
• (Socialism) (Liberty)
• (Fascism)

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Common Misconceptions

• Libertarians treat people as isolated individuals
  when were all in this together
• Confuses government with society
• Family, friendship, churches, businesses,
  charities and other voluntary associations are
  superior, peaceful forms of cooperation

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Common Misconceptions

• Libertarians are greedy, selfish, dont care
  about the poor
• Confuses support for indiscriminate government
  handouts with personal generosity and charity to
  the truly needy
• Economic freedom produces JOBS

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Whos 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

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Common Misconceptions

• Without Government, X wouldnt exist (roads,
  bridges, education, the internet, space flight)
• If people value a thing, the market produces it
  (more efficiently than government!)

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Common Misconceptions

• You should be grateful to Government for all the
  good things its done for you.
• You (or your parents) were already forced to pay
  inflated prices for government services you
  didnt ask for, some of which you may not even
  have wanted)

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• Dont fetishize voting!
• Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding
  whats for dinner!
• If you dont like your parents or peers telling
  you how to live, why do you want 150k or 650k or
  200 million strangers doing it?

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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! - lifes blood
  of the economy!
• Race-card politics
• Nanny-state cheerleaders
• Recent flip-flop on gay marriage - one bright spot

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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

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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

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You never throw away your vote when youvote your
conscience!

• Quit voting for this guy or youll continue to
  get more of the same.

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Libertarian Links

• Learnliberty.org
• Reason.com
• Studentsforliberty.org
• AtlasSociety.org
• Mises.org
• Freetalklive.com
• Libertopia.org
• Lp.org (The Libertarian Party)
• FacebookLCC StudentsforLiberty (NoSpaces),
  Technolibertarians