|
More on Laissez Faire Economics
2008-07-24 00:42:00 In the comments section, James Schipper makes some interesting comments about laissez faire economics and libertarianism in general. His comments are in italics, mine are follow in normal font.JS: Laissez-faire usually means short-term gain for a small minority and short-term pain for a large majority, medium-term gain for a larger minority and medium-term pain for a smaller majority and only long-term gain for the majority. RL: I don't agree with this at all. The case of neoliberalism seems to show us that the gains never do filter down to anyone below the top 20%. This is what the neoliberal advocates keep saying - Give it time, give it time. But no matter how much time you give it, it never seems to work. We are now 28 years into a neoliberal revolution in the US, and have things gotten any better for any larger majority?Of course not. Things just seem to get worse and worse. Neoliberalism only accomplishes massive wealth transfers from the bottom 80% to the top 20%. It's desig...
By: Robert Lindsay
Hillary?s Brother Might Vote For Bob Barr
2008-06-03 07:18:00 We’ve seen a lot of Clinton supporters swear they will vote for John McCain should Obama win the nomination. Among the Clinton supporters who threaten not to vote for Obama are Hillary’s brother, Tony Rodham. (Hat tip to Freedom Democrats). However he might not vote for McCain: ?I didn?t say that. It could be Bob Barr,? ...
By: Liberal Values
Will Wilkinson on Liberaltarianism
2008-06-03 06:53:00 If you think of libertarianism in terms of the prominent political candidates this year, it looks like there is basically a choice between conservatives who are at very least friendly to racists and white supremacists (Ron Paul) and conservatives who reject white supremacists (Bob Barr). While there are some areas of common agreement on civil ...
By: Liberal Values
Libertarian Party Provides McCain With Strong Conservative Opposition
2008-05-26 18:39:00 As I reported yesterday Bob Barr overcame considerable opposition by some Libertarian Party members to the non-libertarian candidates running to win the nomination on the sixth ballot. Barr spent much of the convention apologizing for his past votes such as for the Patriot Act. He won the nomination on the sixth ballot after Wayne Allyn ...
By: Liberal Values
Bob Barr Projected to Win Libertarian Party Nomination on Sixth Ballot
2008-05-25 23:12:00 The vote at the Libertarian Party convention in Denver is going into a sixth ballot, with Bob Barr looking like the most likely winner. Although there has been vocal opposition to candidates with questionable libertarian beliefs winning the nomination, it appears that the conservatives at the convention do hold a slight majority. The candidate receiving ...
By: Liberal Values
Liberals and Libertarians
2008-05-24 21:44:00 TPM Cafe is having a discussion between Eric Alterman and Brink Lindsay on liberalism and libertarianism. As is often the case in such discussions, I fall somewhere in between. Philosophically I lean more towards the libertarians while an objective look at the real world forces me to concede that in many (but certainly not all ...
By: Liberal Values
Think Tanks, Clinton Spin, and the Minimum Wage
2008-05-13 17:56:00 The previous post referred to one libertarian writer worth reading, David Friedman. Another worth reading is Megan McArdle. She certainly caught my attention as an honest thinker as opposed to ideologue with her comments on the Laffer Curve and the reaction from the right to criticism. Along a similar vein she writes this about think ...
By: Liberal Values
David Friedman on Barack Obama
2008-05-13 08:20:00 I’ve already had a number of posts on both the libertarian aspects of Barack Obama’s views and on libertarians who are supporting Obama. By libertarians here I don’t mean the Republicans who have adopted the libertarian label because it sounds cooler, and especially not the more fanatic and unhinged Paul supporters who haven’t a clue ...
By: Liberal Values
You're Not Paranoid ? The IRS is out to get you.
2008-05-13 03:31:00 Craig hid behind lies all of his life but when the jig is up it catches you in places that make the pain really, really felt. But there are emotionally impaired who deserve help and only in this way can we ensure they get it. read more
Paul Supporters Planning Convention Revolt Against McCain
2008-05-12 16:19:00 I’ve previously noted that Ron Paul is unwilling to endorse John McCain, and prefers Obama’s views on foreign policy. Many of Paul’s supporters are not likely to back McCain either, and The Los Angeles Times reports that they plan on making trouble for McCain at the Republican convention: …quietly, largely under the radar of most people, ...
By: Liberal Values
Right Wing Bloggers: Stupid or Evil?
2008-04-16 23:17:00 The Village Voice has managed to get lots of links today, primarily from conservative blogs, by providing The Official Village Voice Election-Season Guide to the Right-Wing Blogosphere: A confederacy of dunces. It must be taken somewhat tongue in cheek as the subtitle (A Confederacy of Dunces) certainly dominates the views expressed. Beyond the subtitle, conservative bloggers, ...
By: Liberal Values
Christianity, Libertarianism, and Obama
2008-04-02 01:05:00 By Cameron ClarkI recently fielded a question from a very old friend on some ideologies and actions of mine that seem, at first glance, to be incongruent. When it was coupled with a heated and un-illustrious exchange (on my part) on The Porch, I found I needed to address it with my final post here. I was asked how I could be educated in Christian institutions, hold a "libertarian" platform, and support Barack Obama for President. Here is my reply:"That's a VERY good question!.....(omitted) as I was educated in some seriously conservative Christian schools, I witnessed some practices and attitudes that I believe are thoroughly un-Christian. Because of these mis-applied Christian ideologies, I think the establishment clause in the 1st amendment needs to be heavily enforced to keep the varying interpretations of scripture far away from the laws that govern this nation. I think separating church and state is the only way to keep all citizens, and Churches, of this nation free.As a libe...
Conservatives and Obama
2008-03-25 15:00:00 There are some conservatives who practice a knee jerk opposition to Obama, believing that labels like “liberal” and “conservative” mean far more than they do. As I’ve noted many times before, such labels can be misleading, and will often artificially separate people who agree on more matters than they might realize and can also lump ...
By: Liberal Values
Democrats to Raise Taxes By the Billions
2008-03-15 15:16:00 When the Democrats took over Congress in 2006, I saw this coming. I remember going to work the next day and having a couple guys laughing at me because I was a Republican and they were Democrats. I said, “You watch. Your taxes are gonna go through the roof.” “Well, what do you mean?” they asked. “You just watch.” I love being right, but in this particular instance, I really wish I were dead wrong: The Senate rejected calls from both parties’ presidential candidates to take an election-year break from pork-barrel spending as a Democratic-run Congress passed budget plans that would torpedo hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts won by President Bush. They had a chance to stop all earmarks, and not even the Republicans voted for it. Fiscal conservatism, my great Aunt Petunia: The practice of inserting “earmarked” spending into legislation is seen by lawmakers in both parties a birthright power of the purse awarded to Con...
Ron Paul Suspends Campaign; Faces Libertarian Challenge to House Seat
2008-03-07 05:15:00 As announced in the above video, Ron Paul is suspending his presidential campaign: “We are still in the early stages of bringing about the changes that this revolution is all about,” Paul said in the video. “Let us hope that we can one day look back and say that this campaign was a significant first ...
By: Liberal Values
Ron Paul Suspends Campaign; Faces Libertarian Challenge to House Seat
2008-03-07 05:15:00 As announced in the above video, Ron Paul is suspending his presidential campaign: “We are still in the early stages of bringing about the changes that this revolution is all about,” Paul said in the video. “Let us hope that we can one day look back and say that this campaign was a significant first ...
By: Liberal Values
Barack Obama?s Libertarian Support
2008-02-16 09:22:00 Barack Obama is a strong civil libertarian, a strong supporter of separation of church and state, and has economic views which are influenced by the University of Chicago. As I discussed last month, Daniel Koffler has even labeled Obama a left-libertarian. I believe that Obama’s beliefs don’t fully fit this label, but there are many ...
By: Liberal Values
Don?t Cross Ron Paul If You Are Fat!
2008-02-15 20:30:00 I try to pace myself on videos, but this one was too funny to pass up. glumbert - Don’t cross Ron Paul if you’re fat ShareThis
Obama Defends Freedom of Choice in Health Care Reform
2008-02-01 23:45:00 Many on the left claim there is not much difference between Obama and Clinton’s policy views, but there are differences which explain why Obama has the support of many libertarians while Clinton never will. While I think it is an exaggeration to label Obama a left-libertarian as some have, there are significant differences between Obama ...
By: Liberal Values
Andrew Sullivan?s Insight into Obama
2008-01-29 01:33:00 Barack Obama has transcended the traditional support for a liberal candidate. He has both conservatives and libertarians seriously considering voting for him. Andrew Sullivan sums up what is different about Obama: He is not a traditional top-down big government liberal. He’s a pragmatist who believes in finding ways to empower people to run their own lives. ...
By: Liberal Values
Libertarianism from a liberal perspective
2008-01-19 14:27:00 John McGowan, in his book American Liberalism (2007, North Carolina University Press), gives a perfect definition of libertarianism (well, at least from a liberal perspective):"We all must submit to the harsh realities of the market because that is the way to secure freedom – a freedom that will be lost if make any deliberate attempt to better our lot in life. Under such terms, what is freedom good for? Work hard, compete against all others, eke out a living if you are lucky, and die. But at least you can know that you were free. Others didn’t impose their will on you, only the existential conditions of human life and the market did. That’s just the way things are’ there’s no one to blame. So buck up and face it like a man." (pp. 115-116)And then people wonder why less than 1% of political scientists and sociologists are libertarian! It should also be noted that the above is based upon an understanding of libertarianism as expressed through thinkers such as Friedrich Van H...
Reasons Outs Rockwell As Paul?s Newsletter Writer
2008-01-17 02:13:00 Today Reason writes that Lew Rockwell was the writer of many of Ron Paul’s newsletters. Paul’s connection to white supremacists has been well known by many libertarians and I’ve commented on this previously, including noting that Rockwell was the likely “ghost writer” a few days ago. I’ve most recently summarized here the case that, while ...
By: Liberal Values
Half-baked thoughts (aka libertarianism)
2008-01-15 08:58:00 Jason Reidman is a libertarian and his movie, Thank You For Smoking, supposedly advocates a libertarian point of view. Reidman articulates his thoughts as follows: "People should be left to their own devices. If people want to put a gun to their head and kill themselves, that's fine with me, and if they want to do it slowly by smoking cigarettes, that's their choice, too." I suppose, if asked Reidman would say that he believes in the harm principle, the idea that unless an individual's action are shown to cause harm to someone else, government must not infringe upon individual liberty. Yet, the harm principle actually advocates aggressive government intervention in order to deter and limit smoking. Why? Because a smoker does not merely harm him or herself, but others as well. By damaging his or her health, he or she is more likely to end up in a hospital bed - costing society thousands (especially if he or she suffers from smoking after retirement when on Medicare), be a less pro...
Libertarianism doesn?t work - but it?s still useful
2008-01-14 18:08:00 I’ve been searching for a reason why I like libertarians even as they drive me round-the-bend out of my mind sometimes. And on Saturday, Michael Kinsley of the Washington Post provided me that reason. In his column titled The Church Doctrines of Pope Ron Paul - What’s wrong with libertarianism?, Kinsley described libertarianism as a movement that is so devoted to its principles that it is essentially irrelevant, but that is still vital to our political institutions. Libertarians focus so much on “free markets for everyone and everything” that they lose track of the bigger picture - things like pragmatism, or areas where the idea of personal property simply doesn’t (and can’t) apply. For example, Kinsley points out that fundamentalist libertarians (my term, not his) would reject government taxes for national defense, which is a “public good” issue that no individual should ever be allowed to decide for another. Similarly, pollution ...
Ron Paul As Conservative, Not Defender of Freedom
2008-01-13 00:31:00 Seeing Ron Paul debate his fellow Republicans on Iraq, and even criticize their lack of respect for civil liberties, brought Paul justifiably favorable attention. This has included the support of some liberals who have not looked carefully at Paul’s views beyond these issues. Paul has lost a considerable amount of respect the last few days ...
By: Liberal Values
Old News Accounts Contradict Paul?s Defense
2008-01-11 21:46:00 Back in November I discussed how libertarians were beginning to dissociate themselves from Ron Paul, and even half jokingly suggested that Reason would eventually do so on its cover to differentiate themselves from Paul’s markedly non-libertarian views. For a while many libertarians hid their heads in the sand, ignoring what long time libertarians know about ...
By: Liberal Values
The Libertarianism of Barack Obama
2008-01-11 02:56:00 While Paul supporters have made the most noise, Barack Obama has received the support from many libertarians. This has especially been the case as it became apparent that Bill Richardson, who was the first choice of many libertarians, had no chance at the nomination. I’ve often noted Obama’s appeal to libertarians. I’ve argued that Obama ...
By: Liberal Values
More Reaction to The Exposure of Ron Paul
2008-01-10 05:37:00 Everyone’s coming out of the woodwork now to admit that they knew the truth about Ron Paul all along. I, along with a handful of other bloggers, have been posting on this for quite a while, but it took an article at The New Republic to change the conventional wisdom. Virginia Postrel previously thought that ...
By: Liberal Values
Many Libertarians Shocked By Exposure of Paul?s Relationship To Extremist R
2008-01-09 06:56:00 Over the last few months as revelations about Ron Paul’s ties to racist and neo-Nazi groups have been been reported some libertarians have become critical of Paul while others found excuses for his inexcusable behavior. The recent revelation that Paul does not accept evolution as established science had disillusioned many rational people who were had ...
By: Liberal Values
Why libertarianism is a form of conservatism
2008-01-09 06:52:00 Libertarians would of course take severe umbrage with this claim. They see themselves are the "true liberals," believing that since they advocate laissez-faire capitalism instead of the mixed economy, they are greater advocates of liberty than liberals (they, do, however, rely on a vastly over-simplified definition of freedom when making this statement).Truth is that both libertarianism and traditional conservatism are bound together through several traits that differentiate them from liberalism. First, libertarians, like traditional conservatives, accept, and urge others to accept, the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few. Traditional conservatives believe that such concentration is needed to keep the social order. Libertarians believe that there is no remedy for such concentration of power; any remedy, they believe, even those who like Friedrich van Hayek who know that capitalism does not produce just outcomes, will fail and produce nothing but negative external...
Ron Paul Exposed by The New Republic
2008-01-08 23:36:00 An unfortunate consequence of the Ron Paul campaign has been to form a strange alliance between more conservative libertarians and extremist groups including neo-Nazis and white supremacists. I’ve quoted from the racist writings in Ron Paul’s newsletter in the past, as well as noted his other connections to extremist groups. James Kirchick has accumulated ...
By: Liberal Values
Ron Paul as Israeli-Lobby Killer
2008-01-04 14:24:00 Via fellow blogger Joachim Martillo. Martillo dissects the Ron Paul phenomenon, then follows with a piece by his wife, Karin Friedman. Both are Jews who converted to Islam. Martillo makes some interesting points.First of all, Paul obviously has serious xenophobic tendencies. It's preposterous to eliminate all student visas from "terrorist nations", whatever that means. It's hard enough to get any kind of a visa from the Muslim World these days anyway.Martillo seems to be correct that Paul used to be a segregationist, and it is very disturbing that Paul is the favorite candidate of the White Racist Far Right. Paul has made some statements against Blacks that were regarded as racist in 1992. I have reviewed those remarks and do not find them to be racist, in general, though I am not certain that "95% of young Black males in Washington, DC are semi-criminal or criminal".Of course free market libertarianism not only leads to monopolies, but it is also impossible. At least Marxism can ...
By: Robert Lindsay
Ron Paul Supports Restrictions On Liberty On Local Level
2008-01-02 04:17:00 While I support Ron Paul’s efforts to be included in the upcoming Fox debate, this does not mean that I agree with his views, consider his views to actually be libertarian, or even think he makes very much sense. I supported Paul’s inclusion in recent posts because of believing this to be the case of ...
By: Liberal Values
Ron Paul Considering Third Party Bid
2007-12-28 02:54:00 I’ve noted that in multiple interviews Ron Paul has denied plans to run as a third party candidate, but has also always left the door open a crack (much as Al Gore did much of the year). Paul has widened that opening quite a bit today with The Swamp reporting that Paul is now admitting ...
By: Liberal Values
Ron Paul?s Latest Ad Looks More Professional, But Less Interesting
2007-12-21 06:04:00 After bringing in another six million dollars recently, I commended Ron Paul for discussing how he would use the money for trying to bring out the vote in Iowa, but also suggested he make more professional ads. His latest ad is posted above. On the one hand the ad is more professional. On the other ...
By: Liberal Values
Ron Paul and the Freedom to Oppress
2007-12-20 00:59:00 After pulling in another six million dollars you would think that Ron Paul could afford to do the right thing and return that $500 contribution from Stormfront founder Don Black. At very least you would think that, now that he might have a shot at the big time, he would at least realize that returning ...
By: Liberal Values
Ron Paul?s Plans After The Fund Raiser
2007-12-18 19:38:00 Ron Paul makes more sense at his press conference (video above) following the success of last weekend’s fund raiser than he is given credit for at the site where I first saw this clip. The New Republic quotes from Paul’s statement but leaves out the important part of what Paul really said. Paul ...
By: Liberal Values
What Will Ron Paul Do With All This Money?
2007-12-17 22:02:00 In follow up to my earlier post on yesterday’s fund raiser for Ron Paul, the question remains where Paul goes now that he has so much money at his disposal. While I’m sure it will be helpful, I wonder if this latest influx of money is too late to have any impact in Iowa and ...
By: Liberal Values
Paul Declines Invitation To Run as Libertarian
2007-12-10 15:30:00 A report this morning makes it looks less likely that Ron Paul intends to run as a third party candidate as it might have sounded in the interview I quoted from earlier. The Austin American-Statesman reports that Paul has turned down an invitation to seek the Libertarian Party nomination: U.S. Rep. Ron Paul turned down a ...
By: Liberal Values
Ron Paul Leaves Door Wide Open For Third Party Candidacy
2007-12-10 06:02:00 Ron Paul has no where near enough support to be a credible candidate for the Republican nomination but he does have enough support, and contributors, to possibly have more of an impact than most third party candidates in a general election race. There has been speculation that Paul might run as an independent or as ...
By: Liberal Values
John Stossel Plays Softball with Ron Paul
2007-12-09 21:48:00 John Stossel has interviewed Ron Paul and portions will be placed on line this week. In the first segment (video above) Paul discusses his views on keeping the federal government out of areas such as drug laws and prostitution: I think the government’s role should not be involved in personal habits. When you defend freedom, ...
By: Liberal Values
Blimp Asks: Who Is Ron Paul? Campaign Finance Experts Ask If Plan is Legal
2007-12-07 23:59:00 The Trail reports that the Ron Paul blimp is off the ground. Libertarians have often contemplated unorthodox methods of finance including the fictional Delos D. Harriman’s attempt to raise money to go to the moon in Robert A. Heinlein’s novella The Man Who Sold the Moon. Among the methods used by Harriman was ...
By: Liberal Values
Will Hinton?s Advice For Ron Paul
2007-12-05 20:59:00 Will Hinton weighs in on last week’s question to Ron Paul on conspiracy theories at the CNN/You Tube Debate. I previously posted this portion of the transcript here. Hinton realizes, as most of his supporters do not, that as long as libertarianism is connected with conspiracy theories their views will not be taken seriously. He ...
By: Liberal Values
Is Ron Paul Becoming Just Another Politician?
2007-12-05 00:10:00 Regardless of whether you agree with Ron Paul, so far his campaign has been refreshing as he has been the rare candidate who promoted his views, regardless of how controversial, as opposed to telling voters what they want to hear. Steve Benen is disappointed by two possible signs that Paul might becoming just like the ...
By: Liberal Values
Evidence Based Politics and Medical Marijuana: A Challenge to Republicans
2007-12-04 23:35:00 In health care there has been a great push towards evidence based medicine to ensure that treatments used are effective and that we don’t waste money on those which are not effective. Republican politicians could learn from this philosophy. I’ve already noted how the Bush administration pushes abstinence based education contrary to the evidence that ...
By: Liberal Values
Republican Debate Sharpens Divisions in Party, With Libertarians the Big Lo
2007-11-29 17:36:00 While watching the debates the one item which caught my attention as worthy of an immediate post was the question to Ron Paul about whether he agrees with his supporters on believing in conspiracy theories. Otherwise the debate came off pretty much as expected. We already knew that the Republicans are a bunch of xenophobic, ...
By: Liberal Values
Is Ron Paul Really Winning The Battle For The Republican Party?
2007-11-27 01:42:00 Patrick Ruffini writes that Ron Paul has won, even if there is no chance he can win the Republican nomination: In the past few months, Ron Paul has dramatically raised the profile of libertarianism inside the Republican Party. My small-l libertarian friends seem more comfortable describing themselves as such, even though they?ll go out of their ...
By: Liberal Values
Libertarianism Will Be a Big Factor in Future Elections
2007-11-26 13:30:00 The Washington Post is looking at Ron Paul’s success and thinks that we libertarians (I’m more of a conserva-tarian, but, whatever) will have a profound impact on politics in the future. Maybe enough people are starting to wake up to the fact that a government big enough to provide everything is big enough to take everything away also: The conservative pundit Jonah Goldberg declared this year that he’s “much more of a libertarian” lately. Bill Maher, Christopher Hitchens, Tucker Carlson, “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone — self-described libertarians all. Surely it’s a milestone when Drew Carey, the new host of that great national treasure “The Price Is Right,” becomes an outspoken advocate of open borders, same-sex marriage, free speech and repealing drug prohibition. As Michael Kinsley, an arch purveyor of conventional wisdom, wrote recently in Time magazine, such people are going to be “an increasingly power...
Why Freedom Loving Americans Are Not All Libertarians
2007-11-25 08:55:00 Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch, editors of the libertarian magazine Reason, have an op-ed in The Washington Post where they see having a candidate who polls at around five percent as being a sign of a revolution. The two are correct in pointing out trends, many of which I’ve discussed here in the past, of ...
By: Liberal Values
Wall Street Journal Joins Coverage of Paul Supporters
2007-11-24 21:03:00 At the beginning of the week I had a post on how coverage of the behavior of Paul’s supporters was increasing, quoting from an article from Congressional Quarterly. The Wall Street Journal is reporting on this problem today: Some blogs have booted Paul supporters for leaving incendiary comments. They have also been frozen out of Internet ...
By: Liberal Values
|
|
 |
|
 |
