The Individualist

Property and Value

2010-07-31T12:42:00.001-07:00

I think the most common objection made directly or indirectly against private property is that it doesn't provide any "real" value. Those on the left who are generally known for skepticism of private property are probably more likely to make this claim directly, while those on the right tend to make it less directly which is probably the unfortunate reason that we libertarians are viewed as

"The Fringe"

2010-07-27T00:03:00.001-07:00

It seems to me that libertarians in the mainstream are generally painted as the paranoid "lunatic fringe". With probably a few exceptions.This all gets a little irritating. What does pointing out where someone's political positions stand in relation to everyone else have to do with anything?My guess is that this is based on the moderate position that our relationship with the state is something

Stuff I am Learning: Social Science and Methodology

2010-05-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Being the nerd that I am, I listen to economic lectures during work via "iTunes U". If you have any interest in listening to the one that inspired this blog, it's called "On Doing Economic History" by Thomas Woods. I am sure you can search either of those and it will come up.I think that most people would agree that a good scientist or historian, is one that tries to simply take in all the data

Thoughts on Climate Change

2010-04-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am not necessarily a skeptic (or "denier") of climate change, as many libertarians are by default. Climate change is a tricky collective problem, but there are lots of tricky collective problems, such as poverty, national defense, and pollution in general. As a libertarian anarchist, I believe that these problems can't be solved by government, and can be solved privately. The same principles

To Fellow Libertarians: Some Concerns

2010-02-23T17:03:00.001-08:00

I find my self cringing when I hear a fellow libertarian or anarchist talk about the need to look for counter-intuitive truths and evidence when it comes to economics, but then later see knee-jerk rejections of other issues such as evolution and environmental issues.The evidence for evolution is overwhelming. Anyone that takes any time to honestly look at the issue will find that there are simply

My Brothers Questions About Anarchy

2010-01-03T16:22:00.001-08:00

My brother has had some concerns and questions about my position of libertarian anarchism, and thus far I have been fairly unsatisfied with ability to explain my position as clearly as I would like. I often times have difficulty verbally expressing my positions on anarchism because I know exactly how crazy my beliefs sound to other people, and most people aren’t very hesitant to show how

Capitalism and Self-Esteem

2009-12-12T15:41:00.001-08:00

If one examines the various flavors of anti-capitalism they will not be left with the impression that they are dealing with beliefs that came as a result of empirical evidence, and working from first principles. Particularly Marxists seem to base their beliefs on some deeply rooted loathing of capitalism, with using vague terms such as “exploitation” and “alienation” that are never broken down

Defining Terms: Egoism, Individualism, and Libertarianism

2009-11-15T14:55:00.001-08:00

I have decided that it’s time to define my terms and put them into context. I use the terms egoism, individualism, and libertarianism almost interchangeably but I have never really taken the time to explain what I think that the mean. Egoism Literally meaning “self-ism”, egoism is usually meant to mean a way of life, or social interaction such as hedonism or Ayn Rand’s ethical theory rational

Four Arguments Against Authority

2009-10-24T00:07:00.001-07:00

1. Efficiency and Motive. The typical argument often put forward by conservatives (though they never apply it consistently) is that the government is inefficient. The government has little or no motive to to supply you with your needs and interests, and I will even go a step further and say that its motives in general are entirely opposite to yours. There are those with money and influence that

Public “Option” Will Destroy Competition

2009-10-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, sorry its been so long sense I have written, I now right for my school news paper at UVU, and have been writing a lot of papers for school. So getting to my blog has been a little more difficult. But thanks for subscribing everybody. I haven’t quit writing or anything like that so please don’t quit checking! There is a false notion out there that the new public healthcare “option” will

Ayn Rand vs. Academic Philosophy

2009-09-06T13:31:00.001-07:00

I have had multiple encounters with the academic philosopher persona and they are never short of condescending tones and remarks towards Ayn Rand (keep in mind I know that this stereotype can’t be universally applied, but I will use it as if it is for the sake of simplicity). Once again, I encountered this typical passive aggressive attitude from, you guess it, my philosophy professor. For a

Michael Moore Is The Gun At Your Neck

2009-08-26T19:09:00.001-07:00

It takes a lot of work to make people believe that the problem is the freedom to exchange property (capitalism) rather then the monopoly on physical violence that has a gun to your head (government), but they always manage to pull it off. You see, the problem is not that they have power, but that you have too much freedom. In the trailer they point out that all the money from the “bail outs”

Patriotism is B.S.

2009-08-12T20:45:00.001-07:00

When the loyalties remain constant, but the content inconsistent, you know that something has gone wrong. Patriotism 200 years ago, is not the same thing as patriotism 10 years ago, and patriotism 10 years ago is not the same as patriotism now. During slavery, there was patriotism, during the quasi-libertarian era of the 19th century there was patriotism, during the confinement of the Japanese

The Captive God

2009-08-01T23:15:00.001-07:00

I remember when realized these chains were self inflicted and I was buying your approval for my slavery Look in the mirror… Were we meant to live like this? Your fear is the only thing they have and they thrive off your guilt As they praise your weakness and laugh at everything that makes you strong Only you can justify your own existence Release the captive god Destroy, reject, and walk

Selfish, Close minded, and Judgmental

2009-07-30T13:50:00.001-07:00

I have been called these three words repeatedly, and what it always boils down to is “do what I want”, “don’t disagree with me”, and “don’t hold me responsible for my actions and beliefs”. If by selfish you mean hedonistic, with no capacity for empathy, then no I am not selfish. However, if by selfish you mean I have self respect, and I don’t owe you anything simply because you exist, then yes I

The Radical vs. The Nonconformist

2009-07-18T14:59:00.001-07:00

Blind anger and passion do nothing to threaten establishment and authority but rather validate it. Those such as Nietzsche who by default rejected anything accepted by culture norms or those that accept nonconformity for the simple sake of nonconformity, only confirm authority and the status quo. The oppressors simply state “ You see! the opposite of obedience is insanity!” It simply confirms the

Sober (why I am)

2009-07-14T21:39:00.001-07:00

Considering that I am an anarchist and an atheist its interesting that my most controversial subjects that I deal with are drugs and animal rights (I am opposed to both). Many of my friends have decided to regularly use drugs or alcohol and I suppose its time to further clarity my position. If the point of philosophy is to develop a healthy relationship with the truth, then what is its opposite?

Limited Resources

2009-07-11T12:43:00.001-07:00

If limited resources are the cause of poverty and starvation what exactly would we expect? Poverty and starvation would be independent of geography If there is a limited amount of people who have the vast majority of the resources there is no reason to assume that they would all be in one geographical location All or nearly all known resources are currently being exploited

False Dichotomy of Practicality and Idealism

2009-07-09T17:05:00.001-07:00

As an anarchist it is generally assumed that I hold my beliefs as an impractical ideal with no relevance to human nature or reality. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hold my political beliefs (or rather anti-political beliefs) as thee most practical, realistic and relevant to human nature there are. Other wise I would not advocate them. What is being inherently admitted by those that

The Failure of Minarchy

2009-06-27T19:01:00.001-07:00

Ayn Rand claimed that there should be a "separation of economy and state". Which sounds quite reasonable (for the capitalist of course) but on further examination it is clear that there is no such thing as a separation of economy and state. Because a true separation of the two would be anarchy. Rand claimed the 3 roles of government were: 1. Army 2. Police 3. Justice System But

Stateless

2009-06-27T18:59:00.001-07:00

The state always grows, and always will. Its a parasite that feeds off the productive work of its host until it consumes as much as it can and collapses. Its the natural conclusion of the fallacy that we can't be trusted with freedom, but they can be trusted with power. We need gun control, but they can be trusted with the power to declare war, and hold nuclear weapons. We can't handle our own

The Left, and False Tolerance

2009-06-05T23:59:00.001-07:00

If you find this blog worth while, it might not hurt to send it to some of your friends that tend to lean to the left. The left has claimed a monopoly on term tolerance that is not completely unwarranted. The reasons for this are obvious considering that there is no competition offered from the right who generally openly rejects the term and principle all together. I would ask those of you

Truth-Values

2009-05-23T14:54:00.001-07:00

I just recently came out to my family about being an atheist. So I thought it might be worth while to state my position clearly. For those of you that read by blog already, you are probably pretty familiar with most of these positions but this probably will be my most in-depth argument against god, as well as what it takes to establish truth-values. I think it will be worth your while. When

A Miracle Test

2009-05-02T23:07:00.001-07:00

Usually when a supposed miracle is suggested to me the implication is something about how I should change my world view and life style quite significantly. This is usually goes something along the lines of: “Miracle X proves that god Y exist so therefore you must do Z”. There are of course problems with such claims but we will ignore them for the sake of simplicity and argument. Considering this

The “Will/Power” Proposal

2009-04-23T20:34:00.001-07:00

This is based on Stefan Molyneux ethical theory “Universally Preferable Behavior” (shortened to UPB) which I highly recommend reading, and fully support. Please visit www.freedomainradio.com for more information. If you are not familiar with the theory this blog might not make much sense to you… sorry. Also this is a response to a youtube user by the user name of luke12000 posted below