Author: Doug Casey

You’re likely aware that I’m a libertarian. But I’m actually more than a libertarian. I don’t believe in the right of the State to exist. The reason is that anything that has a monopoly of force is extremely dangerous. As Mao Tse-tung, lately one of the world’s leading experts on government, said: “The power of the state comes out of a barrel of a gun.” There are two possible ways for people to relate to each other, either voluntarily or coercively. And the State is pure institutionalized coercion. It’s not just unnecessary, but antithetical, for a civilized society. And that’s … Continue reading →

The post Anarchy and Voluntaryism appeared first on LewRockwell.

Justin’s note: Imagine not being able to board a plane because you forgot to pay your water bill… or being denied access to a train because you jaywalked. It sounds like something ripped from the pages of George Orwell’s 1984. But this will soon become reality for people living in China. That’s because the Chinese government is getting ready to roll out a social credit system. Basically, the Chinese government will soon prevent people from accessing everyday services if they aren’t deemed “good citizens.” It’s one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever read. Still, most readers won’t care about this. That’s because … Continue reading →

The post The Coming Comfortable Dystopia appeared first on LewRockwell.

This article is entitled Chung Kuo, which means Middle Kingdom. The Chinese have long seen themselves as superior to every other race (like almost every race does) and the center of the world. It’s because they were so confident of this that they never ventured out as Europeans did, with a brief exception in the 15th century when a gigantic Chinese fleet, composed of ships vastly superior to those of Europe, ventured as far as Africa. Since dropping the ball on world conquest back then, or at least exporting their culture wholesale, they’ve been in stasis, and on the receiving … Continue reading →

The post Chung Kuo appeared first on LewRockwell.

You’re likely aware that I’m a libertarian. But I’m actually more than a libertarian. I don’t believe in the right of the State to exist. The reason is that anything that has a monopoly of force is extremely dangerous. As Mao Tse-tung, lately one of the world’s leading experts on government, said: “The power of the state comes out of a barrel of a gun.” There are two possible ways for people to relate to each other, either voluntarily or coercively. And the State is pure institutionalized coercion. It’s not just unnecessary, but antithetical, for a civilized society. And that’s … Continue reading →

The post Anarchy and Voluntaryism appeared first on LewRockwell.

You’re likely aware that I’m a libertarian. But I’m actually more than a libertarian. I don’t believe in the right of the State to exist. The reason is that anything that has a monopoly of force is extremely dangerous. As Mao Tse-tung, lately one of the world’s leading experts on government, said: “The power of the state comes out of a barrel of a gun.” There are two possible ways for people to relate to each other, either voluntarily or coercively. And the State is pure institutionalized coercion. It’s not just unnecessary, but antithetical, for a civilized society. And that’s … Continue reading →

The post More Than a Libertarian appeared first on LewRockwell.

Is a police state in the US possible? Absolutely. That’s because people are essentially the same the world over, regardless of their culture, religion, race, or what-have-you. A certain percentage of them are sociopaths. There is a standard distribution of sociopaths across time and space. It’s a function of Pareto’s Law, better known as the 80-20 rule. 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Another 20% are responsible for 80% of the crime. 20% of the population always winds up with 80% of the wealth. And so forth, through all areas of human endeavor. This observation can be … Continue reading →

The post What Happens After the Next 9/11? appeared first on LewRockwell.

A few words are in order about the likely new Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. I don’t know the man personally. Not that it would make any difference; denizens of the swamp within the Beltway usually present well, and a brief meeting rarely allows you to penetrate someone’s social veneer. But I’m pretty confident that if we dined together it would be tense and unpleasant. We’d have no common ground, after the obligatory two minutes on the weather and the state of the roads. He’s a lawyer, has been a Fed Governor for five years, and appears to … Continue reading →

The post Doug Casey on the New Fed Chairman appeared first on LewRockwell.

“Inflation” occurs when the creation of currency outruns the creation of real wealth it can bid for… It isn’t caused by price increases; rather, it causes price increases. Inflation is not caused by the butcher, the baker, or the auto maker, although they usually get blamed. On the contrary, by producing real wealth, they fight the effects of inflation. Inflation is the work of government alone, since government alone controls the creation of currency. In a true free-market society, the only way a person or organization can legitimately obtain wealth is through production. “Making money” is no different from “creating … Continue reading →

The post The Destruction of the Dollar appeared first on LewRockwell.

Drugs are a charged subject everywhere. They’re a “hot button” topic. Everyone has a strong opinion, often irrational, that seems to come from deep in the most reactive recesses of their collective minds. Longtime readers know that although I personally abstain from drugs and generally eschew the company of abusive users, I think they should be 100% legal. Not just cannabis. All drugs. The most important reason is moral and ethical. Your primary possession is your own body. If you don’t own it, and don’t have a right to do whatever you want with it, then you in fact have … Continue reading →

The post The War on Some Drugs appeared first on LewRockwell.

It’s an unfortunate historical anomaly that people think about the paper in their wallets as money. The dollar is, technically, a currency. A currency is a government substitute for money. But gold is money. Now, why do I say that? Historically, many things have been used as money. Cattle have been used as money in many societies, including Roman society. That’s where we get the word “pecuniary” from: the Latin word for a single head of cattle is pecus. Salt has been used as money, also in ancient Rome, and that’s where the word “salary” comes from; the Latin for … Continue reading →

The post Gold Is Money appeared first on LewRockwell.

Drugs are a charged subject everywhere. Longtime readers know that although I personally abstain from drugs and generally eschew the company of users, I think they should be 100% legal. Few people consider how arbitrary the current prohibition is; up until the 1920s, heroin and cocaine were both perfectly legal and easily obtainable over the counter. Some people “abused” them, just like some today “abuse” fat and sugar (because they’re enjoyable). But drugs are no more of a problem than anything else; life is full of problems. In fact, life isn’t just full of problems; life is problems. What is a problem? … Continue reading →

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Editor’s Note: Fidel Castro, the longtime Cuban politician and revolutionary, recently passed away. Doug Casey had the chance to meet the Cuban leader back in 1994. Here is an article Doug wrote about Cuba and his encounters with Fidel. It was written in the 1990s, but it’s still as relevant as ever. Half the fun of Cuba is getting there. I was there in the 1990s with about a dozen financiers from Europe. The contingent from England, Norway, and Switzerland came over together from London, changing planes in Miami for Panama. When an impertinent customs clerk asked one of them … Continue reading →

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Recently I made a few comments about the world’s self-identified “elite”, and also about the migrants that are plaguing Europe. Happily, I was able to do some one-stop shopping on both of these topics when I was in New York to attend a very elitist and Globalist conference. I’m not going to name it because its organizers/sponsors are business partners of mine. And since they spent multimillions putting it together, and I pretty much despised their invitees, I’m not about to identify it exactly. Just let me say that the conclave has aspirations to become another Council on Foreign Relations, … Continue reading →

The post The Real and Wannabee Elite appeared first on LewRockwell.

Democracy is vastly overrated. It’s not like the consensus of a bunch of friends agreeing to see the same movie. Most often, it boils down to a kinder and gentler variety of mob rule, dressed in a coat and tie. The essence of positive values like personal liberty, wealth, opportunity, fraternity, and equality lies not in democracy, but in free minds and free markets where government becomes trivial. Democracy focuses people’s thoughts on politics, not production; on the collective, not on their own lives. Although democracy is just one way to structure a state, the concept has reached cult status; … Continue reading →

The post 5 Reasons Not To Vote appeared first on LewRockwell.

Mark Twain said, “If you don’t read the papers you’re uninformed. If you do read them, you’re misinformed.” That’s why I want to draw your attention to a recent article called “The Isolationist Temptation,” in The Wall Street Journal, written by Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations. The piece wasn’t worth reading—except that it offers some real insight into what the “elite” are thinking. The CFR is one of about a dozen groups, like Bilderberg, Bohemian Grove, and Davos, where the self-identified elite gather. These groups don’t have political power, per se. But their members are members … Continue reading →

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