tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post6807288154236302696..comments2023-12-28T10:03:45.273-08:00Comments on The Dragon's Flagon: President Evilwaywardwayfarerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00338700537762637962noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-90905433109132920062012-11-07T13:24:42.741-08:002012-11-07T13:24:42.741-08:00Here's the other blog. http://inlibertywetrus...Here's the other blog. http://inlibertywetrust.wordpress.com/<br /><br />I wrote a new post today, though it's more a rant against voter stupidity than anything else. I'll write more on economics and libertarian/market anarchism theory as the mood strikes.waywardwayfarerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00338700537762637962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-41045543241899035092012-11-07T07:52:20.340-08:002012-11-07T07:52:20.340-08:00If you do, please post a link to it here - like I ...If you do, please post a link to it here - like I said, I find exploring these matters through discussion very interesting and stimulating.<br /><br />Similarly, if you'd care to continue this discussion off-list, or point me to some basic articles reflecting your rebuttals, I'd be very interested.Charles Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00941603544547428940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-52491046354905107852012-11-07T07:21:39.319-08:002012-11-07T07:21:39.319-08:00The thrust of your argument seems to be based on a...The thrust of your argument seems to be based on a very popular, but very mistaken, fallacy about how money and wealth circulate in a free economy, and my mind is fairly swimming with rebuttals, but you're right, this isn't really the forum for that.<br /><br />Seriously thinking now about reviving my liberty and economics blog...waywardwayfarerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00338700537762637962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-50948706287097552052012-11-06T22:47:47.313-08:002012-11-06T22:47:47.313-08:00Thanks for the link - I'm always interested in...Thanks for the link - I'm always interested in learning more about this stuff. To be honest, I found that analysis wholly unconvincing... <br /><br />And the idea of an unbridled free market (especially where defence, police, and justice are "freely" traded) is just about as bad as warlords, to be honest. Without a government to siphon money off the top and reinject it at the bottom, all money and capital (and therefore power) pool in a few hands, and again, you don't have anarchy, but plutocracy (and, eventually, a descent into aristocracy, as wealth and poverty are passed down generation to generation). This is not far off from what you see in the States. Insufficient taxation, social programs, and regulation of the market has allowed concentration of enormous wealth in the hands of very few to the detriment of the vast majority of the population.<br /><br />Anarchy just isn't a stable state - it will always devolve into a concentration of power, whether by military or economic force. It is simply inevitable.<br /><br />I mean, the proof of that is in the pudding - before society existed, humans lived in anarchy. But everywhere round the world, that initial anarchy has devolved into a concentration of power. It is only when we see strong, benevolent states that people are freed from abuse of that concentration of power.<br /><br />With that in mind, anarchy is a terrible system if freedom is your goal. Meaningful freedom (as opposed to theoretical freedom that cannot be expressed due to economic or social reality) is only possible in a strong state with an excellent social safety net that ensures wealth disparity never grows too large. Anything else will (sooner or later) end up as an economic dictatorship, or be conquered and subjugated by superior force.<br /><br />I'm happy to continue the discussion, as it is one that is endlessly fascinating to me, but it might be just as well to agree to disagree, and get back to thinking about D&D!Charles Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00941603544547428940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-4707216383923179702012-11-06T17:39:50.964-08:002012-11-06T17:39:50.964-08:00Austrian school economist and prominent anarcho-ca...Austrian school economist and prominent anarcho-capitalist Robert Murphy responds pretty well to the warlord/gang warfare argument. http://mises.org/daily/1855waywardwayfarerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00338700537762637962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-25900418807312843092012-11-06T16:52:18.147-08:002012-11-06T16:52:18.147-08:00The idea that Hobbes posits this awful view of hum...The idea that Hobbes posits this awful view of human nature is a common misreading. He's talking of what is permissible, not of human nature. His point is that in the state of nature, everything is permissible. <br /><br />He's not saying that everyone is going to go around murdering and stealing for fun if someone doesn't stop them - simply that it would be permissible. If a group decides that murder is not permissible, they have de facto created a state and left the state of nature by giving up the right to murder, and giving it to the group (the state need to exercise this right, but they still have it).<br /><br />In all sincerity, though, are you proposing anarchy as an alternative to statehood? It seems clear to me that anarchy would exist for an exceedingly brief period before being replaced by warlords.<br /><br />It doesn't even require that everyone be bad, it really just requires that *anyone* be bad for anarchy to not work. That one person will become a warlord, and anarchy has been replaced by dictatorship.<br /><br />Really, the advantage of democracy is not that there's some magic to the people's choice. The people are terrible at making choices. The advantage is that there is a method for regularly changing who's in charge that tends to encourage moderation and finding solutions that are palatable to a broad base.Charles Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00941603544547428940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-63066081460129322252012-11-06T15:54:16.559-08:002012-11-06T15:54:16.559-08:00I don't have the time or inclination to act as...I don't have the time or inclination to act as my own tailor, either, but it does not follow that a coercive monopoly is the only, or even the most efficient way to accomplish that task.<br /><br />There are various lines of thinking as to how contracts would be enforced without a monopoly enforcer, but it's been done before. The Law Merchant of Renaissance times is an example of an extragovernmental body of law that merchants followed voluntarily. It's likely that without the state, people would rely much more heavily upon trust and reputation than on forcibly collecting on violated contracts. Someone who developed a reputation for disregarding the terms of agreements would soon find it very difficult to find any respectable people or organizations willing to trust him, and would find his transaction costs greatly increased, either from paying premiums up front or from dealing with similarly shady individuals.waywardwayfarerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00338700537762637962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-80765203752716094392012-11-06T15:44:37.763-08:002012-11-06T15:44:37.763-08:00The way I see it, government is compromise for sec...The way I see it, government is compromise for security and division of labor. I don't have the time or inclination to act as my own security force. It is true that this results necessarily in some restriction of freedom.<br /><br />You are an economic libertarian, no? Who or what enforces contracts if the government does not have a monopoly on force?Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-59299453479378989872012-11-06T15:38:31.771-08:002012-11-06T15:38:31.771-08:00Not at all. If you start from the premise that hu...Not at all. If you start from the premise that humans is corrupt and incapable of peaceable coexistence without supervision, there's no logical way from that point to the conclusion that allowing them to choose overlords from among their own number will ameliorate the situation.<br /><br />waywardwayfarerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00338700537762637962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719982689257640248.post-17812420543732443972012-11-06T15:33:20.390-08:002012-11-06T15:33:20.390-08:00Not a Hobbesian, eh?Not a Hobbesian, eh?Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.com