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Walter Block defining Libertarianism and Austrian Economics (Relate4ever Publishing interview) – Video

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Walter Block defining Libertarianism and Austrian Economics (Relate4ever Publishing interview)
Walter Block earned his PhD in Economics at Columbia University. He is an author, editor, and co-editor of many books which include Defending the Undefendabl...

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Walter Block defining Libertarianism and Austrian Economics (Relate4ever Publishing interview) - Video

Libertarianism challenges the old left-right divide

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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in Lexington, Ky., in a file photo from Oct. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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In a recent article in Politico, reporter James Hohmann says that libertarianism, long considered a radical movement stereotyped as pro-pot, pro-porn and pro-pacifism, is moving into the mainstream.

Led by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., he writes, libertarians hope to become a dominant wing of the Republican Party by tapping into a potent mix of war weariness, economic anxiety and frustration with federal overreach in the fifth year of Barack Obama's presidency.

The retirement of Paul's father, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, long a libertarian icon but considered slightly goofy, is allowing the movement to try to rebrand itself as a reasonable and serious element of the GOP.

In a rebuttal to the Politico article, though, Reason.com says the movement is trendy because Ron Paul's ideas received an airing during his two presidential campaigns, not because of any efforts by the younger Paul.

According to NPR, Rand Paul himself may have aspirations toward a 2016 presidential run, which would likely raise questions about what many consider the mixed legacy of his father.

When it comes to actually winning elections, however, the movement faces steep challenges: Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who ran as the Libertarian Party candidate in 2012, received 1.2 million votes, or 1 percent.

THE TAKEAWAY: Rand Paul's filibuster was a paradigm buster.

"Rand Paul is a very canny politician," Matt Welch, the editor of Reason, told host Tom Weber. "His filibuster [against U.S. drone policy] was a pretty epic moment in American politics ... partly because of the way it completely scrambled the usual left-right paradigm. You had Code Pink and Van Jones giving him a high-five, and you had Bill Kristol denouncing him, and Lindsey Graham and John McCain calling him wacko bird, and this kind of thing. And it really sheds light on the fact that our traditional left-right paradigm isn't always the best way to look at things. Sometimes it's better to look at things in terms of 'Do you favor government intervention,' or 'Do you favor more individual autonomy and control over your life?'

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Libertarianism challenges the old left-right divide

Anarchism, Socialism

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Anarchism, Socialism Libertarianism Summit - Alternatives for Peace
Russia Today hosted libertarian Austin Petersen, anarchist Scott Crow and socialist Eugene Puryear for a discussion featuring alternative viewpoints. Discussed were civil liberties, economics,...

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Libertarianism goes mainstream

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Stereotyped for decades as pro-pot, pro-porn and pro-pacifism, libertarians are becoming mainstream.

Fair or not, Ron Paul epitomized to a swath of voters the caricature of a goofy grandpa who invests in gold, stockpiles guns, sees black helicopters whirling overhead and quotes Friedrich Hayek.

His ride into the sunset combined with an evolving electoratess move away from hot-button social issues gives a new libertarian guard the opportunity to rebrand their governing philosophy as more reasonable, serious and compatible with the Republican Party.

Led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), libertarians hope to become a dominant wing of the GOP by tapping into a potent mix of war weariness, economic anxiety and frustration with federal overreach in the fifth year of Barack Obamas presidency.

(Also on POLITICO: 12 GOP senators back Paul on gun filibuster)

The countrys continuing fixation on fiscal issues, especially spending and debt, allows them to emphasize areas of agreement with conservative allies who are looking for ways to connect with Republicans who arent passionate about abortion or same-sex marriage. A Democratic administration ensures consensus on the right that states should get as much power as possible.

Ron Paul, who has been speaking at college campuses since retiring from the House to Texas at the end of the year, feels that more Republicans are either engaging or co-opting the ideas he spent a career espousing on monetary policy, foreign policy and civil liberties.

(PHOTOS: Libertarianism goes mainstream)

The viewpoint of the libertarian is weve been doing the wrong thing for a long time, he said in an interview. The group thats in Washington now is going to have tremendous opportunity because theres a lot more disenchantment.

Its better late than never, he added.

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Libertarianism goes mainstream

Bill Maher Goes After Libertarianism on ‘Real Time’ (Video)

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With Libertarianism beginning to get an increased amount of media coverage over the past few weeks, comedian Bill Maher decided to tackle the ideology and its growing popularity during his New Rule segment on this weeks Real Time.

Insisting that he at one point identified with Libertarians, Maher noted that the philosophy had been corrupted and ruined by people obsessed with Ayn Rand. He essentially reiterated what many Libertarians have been saying ever since Rand Paul became the rights newest star: that while true Libertarianism has many appealing qualities, the conservative Republicans currently masquerading as something other than that (like Paul) do little more than muddy up peoples understanding of what Libertarianism truly is.

"To everyone who keeps trying to shame me about abandoning my Libertarian moorings, my message is this: I didn't go nuts, this movement did. Like when you see a stop light, your reaction should be 'Great, an easy way to ensure we don't all crash into each other,' not, 'How dare the government tell me when I can and cannot go," he said.

You can check out Mahers entire rant in the video below.

Sources: Huffington Post, Inquisitr

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Bill Maher Goes After Libertarianism on ‘Real Time’ (Video)

Bill Maher Bashes Rand Paul & Paul Ryan for ‘Ruining Libertarianism ’

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Bill Maher on Friday trashed the current wave of libertarianism, singling out Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as "intellectually stuck in their teen years."

"New rule," Maher said on "Real Time with Bill Maher." "Libertarians have to stop ruining libertarianism. Or at least do a better job of explaining the difference between today's libertarian and just being a selfish prick."

Maher, who has described himself as libertarian in the past, said that at some point, "libertarianism morphed into this creepy obsession with free market capitalism" based on Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."

"Her book has a strange appeal to people who are kind of smart, but not really," he said.

He said libertarianism as it stands now has gone "nuts."

"To everyone who keeps trying to shame me about abandoning my libertarian moorings, my message is this: I didn't go nuts, this movement did," he said. "Like when you see a stoplight, your reaction should be 'Great, an easy way to ensure we don't all crash into each other,' not, 'How dare the government tell me when I can and cannot go? Seatbelts? I refuse to live in a nanny state. I'm an individual and I want to soar free as an eagle -- right through the windshield."

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Bill Maher Bashes Rand Paul & Paul Ryan for ‘Ruining Libertarianism ’

Maya Rupert: The Myth of Libertarianism and the Fight for LGBT Equality

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Conservative leaders are changing their opinions on marriage equality.

Between Sen. Rob Portman's (R-Ohio) recent announcement that he supports marriage equality and the spate of similar sentiments being voiced at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), it seems that every day the media is highlighting another powerful conservative figure speaking out in favor of marriage equality, and this is undeniably a victory for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement. However, even as we savor the welcome impact of this bipartisan support, a note of caution is advised: Much of this trend can be credited to an increasingly prominent libertarian strand in the conservative movement, and it would be unwise to mistake this philosophical shift as a victory for LGBT equality. Libertarianism will not lead us to victories on behalf of the LGBT community, because it is based on a premise that is fundamentally at odds with equality for the LGBT community.

Libertarianism can be praised for its consistency. While liberals and conservatives both vacillate between favoring big government in some situations and decrying government intrusion in others, libertarians call for limited government across the line. But its value of being a completely pure ideological position is dwarfed by the weakness of it being completely untenable.

Libertarianism tells us that freedom is the ultimate good and that it should be maximized, so in order to accomplish that, we must limit government intervention, which restricts free action. Here's the problem with that premise: Freedom isn't simply the absence of government. It's the absence of any force stopping people from doing what they have a right to do. If we take away government, we aren't left with freedom; we're left with anarchy.

Put another way, freedom isn't my right to live unless someone stronger wants to kill me; it is my right to live even if someone stronger wants to kill me.

The concept of freedom is based on the ability to exercise rights, and that ability doesn't exist without some mechanism in place to ensure that all people can actually do so. Freedom needs the existence of government. The argument that more government means less room in our lives for freedom is logically no different from the argument that more cookie dough leaves less room in the oven for cookies.

Achieving LGBT equality will require ensuring the freedom to exercise equal rights, which includes the right to get married, but also the right to work, access fair and affordable housing, make use of public accommodations and live in communities and go to school free from fear of violence, harassment and intimidation. The libertarian premise that without government intervention everyone would be free to do what they want is simply a myth for marginalized communities. True equality for the LGBT community will require government intervention.

The newly anointed standard bearer of the libertarian movement, Rand Paul, has all but announced that he will be running for president in 2016. Before Paul became the darling of some civil libertarians for staging a 13-hour-long filibuster on the use of drone strikes and becoming the Solomon of the marriage equality fight (spoiler alert: The government doesn't have to recognize marriage equality if it stops recognizing marriage!), he was best known for criticizing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an example of government overreach.

To be fair, that controversial position is not, as many incorrectly claimed, an endorsement of discrimination. Instead, it is based on the view that private enterprises and organizations should have a "right" to decide for themselves whether to discriminate, and, presumably, that the rest of us have a right to withhold support from businesses that choose to discriminate, thus making it financially unattractive for them to continue doing so. However, without government protection, the freedom of vulnerable communities to engage in all aspects of public life becomes contingent upon whether the majority so abhors the notion of discrimination that it bands together and makes it financially untenable for businesses to discriminate.

Though Paul is (fortunately) not in a position to jeopardize the Civil Rights Act, the no-government philosophy he champions poses a real threat to the legislative priorities of the LGBT community. The LGBT community needs laws that would offer protections similar to the Civil Rights Act, such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act (HOME) and other federal legislation that will guard against discrimination. The unrealistic notion that equality can be achieved without government enforcement and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms is not a workable solution to LGBT discrimination. In the fight for LGBT equality, the notion that libertarianism can sustain us is a dangerous myth.

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Maya Rupert: The Myth of Libertarianism and the Fight for LGBT Equality


  1. Libertarianism