Author: Jeff Deist

Libertarian strategy has always been a vexing topic. Presidential election years, filled with statist campaign rhetoric, tend to cause existential pain and a reexamination of the fundamental question before us: What must be done to reduce the size and scope of the state? How can we realistically create a more libertarian society here and now, given the resources available and the range of tactical options? Is our primary task intellectual, with the goal of converting academic, financial, and political elites to our point of view? Or is a bottom-up strategy superior, one that focuses on populist messages and grassroots political … Continue reading →

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This article is adapted from a talk delivered at this past weekend’s Mises Circle event in Phoenix. The topic of our symposium this morning is “What Must Be Done,” which originally was the title of a talk given by Dr. Hans-Hermann Hoppe at a Mises Institute conference in 1997. Hoppe posed his title as a declarative, but it’s also the question we all wrestle with as libertarians in a world so dominated by the state and its apologists. And it’s a question we hear time and time again at the Mises Institute: What can we do to fight back against government? We … Continue reading →

The post 4 Options for Libertarians appeared first on LewRockwell.

Depending on one’s point of view, Bernie Sanders either held his own or boosted his chances against perceived front-runner Hillary Clinton in Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential primary debate. His message clearly resonated with the live audience, particularly his statements about raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, global warming, and government-mandated paid childcare leave. Progressives are emboldened by Sanders, who reportedly draws upward of 20,000 people at events. He inspires them with his attacks on capitalism, happily calling himself a “Democratic Socialist.” And his economic plans, while a mess, appeal to their radical (and disastrous) notions of egalitarianism. Happily, … Continue reading →

BREAKING NEWS: Perhaps no economic pronouncement in history has been anticipated, discussed, predicted, dissected, and reported like the Federal Reserve’s momentous decision today not to raise interest rates. The outpouring of relief witnessed today by the financial press is nothing short of cathartic. Fear and anxiety, built up over months, is replaced by relief, even euphoria. This is not to say the hype is unwarranted. On the contrary, the decision to raise interest rates even just 25 basis points would have represented nothing less than the end of an era, as one Bank of American analyst described (courtesy of Zerohedge): … Continue reading →

Paul Krugman is world-weary. He’s tired of being correct, tired of others being incorrect, and tired of the media for failing to make all of this known. He’s especially tired of Ron Paul. From his latest New York Times blog: Almost 15 years have passed since I warned about media “balance” that involved systematically abdicating the journalistic duty of informing readers about simple matters of fact. As I said way back when, If a presidential candidate were to declare that the earth is flat, you would be sure to see a news analysis under the headline ”Shape of the Planet: Both Sides Have a Point.” … Continue reading →

Last Friday came the unpleasant news that Ross Ulbricht, the 31-year-old former operator of the Silk Road site, has been sentenced by a federal court to life in prison without parole. This follows his conviction in February for typically dubious (nowhere in the Constitution) federal crimes including conspiracy, money laundering, and the circular “engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.” His sentence, which appears unduly sadistic even by today’s standards, was handed down with a lecture from Judge Katherine B. Forrest: “[What] is clear is that you were captain of the ship as Dread Pirate Roberts and you made your own … Continue reading →

[This article is adapted from a talk presented at the Houston Mises Circle, January 24, 2015.] Presumably everyone in this room, or virtually everyone, is here today because you have some interest in the topic of secession. You may be interested in it as an abstract concept or as a viable possibility for escaping a federal government that Americans now fear and distrust in unprecedented numbers. As Mises wrote in 1927: The situation of having to belong to a state to which one does not wish to belong is no less onerous if it is the result of an election … Continue reading →