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Category Archives: Transhuman News

Libertarianism Does Not Yet Rule America. Libertarians Know That. That’s Not a Reason for Them to Abandon … – Reason (blog)

Posted: April 30, 2017 at 9:56 pm

From its beginnings as a distinct ideological movement in the postwar years, libertarianism has been a set of outsider ideas vastly disrespected by most American politicians and intellectuals. It was kept alive by small institutions, publications, and scattered academics (mostly in economics at first) who for decades were largely concerned with just keeping any expression of these ideas a going concern, barely expecting it could soon seriously influence mainstream political culture. (That story is told up to the turn of the 21st century in my book Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement.)

Libertarians understand they are still to a large degree strangers in a strange land when it comes to the American political scene, struggling for impact in a world they never made, and any number of other cliches indicating that obvious truth: libertarianism is still a minority idea and libertarians are still embroiled in a difficult and long-term fight to influence political ideology and practice in America. Libertarians are generally not delusional on that point.

When it comes to awareness and acceptance of the overarching principles of libertarianism, even if not to their actuation across the board in governing, the situation for libertarianism is America has gotten much better in the 21st century along many dimensions. As Reason's Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie have argued, an often pre-political embrace of the options, variety, and choice inherent in the libertarian vision of free minds and free markets has spread massively in American culture, even if government qua government isn't shrinking.

One of the ironic demonstrations of libertarianism's inroads in American culture is that mainstream outlets find it necessary frequently to declare it dead, irrelevant, or fatally wounded. Lately we've had Tim Alberta in Politico assuring us that the libertarian dream is dead; and Adam Ozimek in Forbes saying libertarianism could be more successful if only it would narrow its vision a little.

Politico makes a good point as far as it goes: Until Donald Trump's bold political entrepreneurship proved surprisingly successful, there was reason to believe the GOP might be more inclined to go for a libertarian-leaning candidate such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) rather than someone like Trump, policy-wise a Buchananite populist in the Rick Santorum style (to point to the nearest even slightly successful precursor in the GOP), but with less sanctimony, less even half-convincing Christianity, and more aggressive crudity and lack of intellectual polish.

Examining the respective political fates of Paul and Trump in the 2016 presidential race, now we know better. But by the very fact that it is an outsider political movement not fully at home in either major party, nothing about libertarianism's correctness or its hopes for the future depend on some short term victory; certainly nothing about the American people's choice of aggressive protectionist nationalism (to the extent we can be sure what people thought they were getting when they choose Trump) proves that libertarianism is either mistaken or dead.

It just proves libertarianism remains what it has been since it arose as a distinct movement in America after World War II: a small fighting rump, but one whose spread and reach is as high as it's ever been, even if it has failed in 2016, as it has always failed, to win the White House.

Otherwise, Politico's long article is merely a portrait of a moment in time, not the final fate of an ideology. Its observational power is mostly rooted in noting that, while he occasionally talks a libertarian-sounding game when it comes to, say, regulation, Trump is overall very opposed to the larger libertarian vision of truly free markets, respect for property rights, and restrained government power. True, and understood; especially as Trump's pre-election rhetoric that hinted at the possibility he might be less bellicose than his predecessors overseas is drowned out in the sound of exploding missiles.

Alberta's Politico article is a portrait of libertarianism as a philosophy still where it's always been: not a comfortable fit with either major party. But it has a greater grip on a greater number of prominent politicians, and Americans (see, for just one easily quantifiable example, the Libertarian Party nearly quadrupling its highest previous vote total) than ever in modern history.

If libertarians are rightor even on the right pathwith their understanding that our government is overtaxing, overspending, overregulating, and overextending its reach both into the lives of its citizens and across the globe in ways that make many people's lives worse and our future more perilous, then American history will show it an idea that's neither dead nor needing extensive pruning, as Ozimek in Forbes seems to believe.

Libertarianism: Is Less More?

Ozimek should rest assured that a narrowly-funded, scrappy, outsider ideological movement that has never quite been able to find a national politician they can all get behind (not even Ron Paul) knows full well that a majority of Americans don't yet agree with them.

That's the purpose of an organized minority ideological movement such as libertarianism: to do the research, education, advocacy, electioneering, and storytelling that might help Americans see that, to survey some libertarian ideas, the drug war is both wrong and unproductive; that stealing property from citizens without charging them with a crime is unjust; that market and price mechanisms need to play a role in a sensible and affordable health care market; that our foreign interventions often merely sow the seeds for the next perceived necessary foreign intervention.

With that understoodthis basic idea that a radical and small movement for ideological change is trying to move the political needle somewhere it isn't alreadyOzimek's basic argument that most Americans don't seem to shape their own decision-making or voting around small government proves libertarianism is terribly flawed and needs rethinking doesn't bear much weight. (Nick Gillespie explained here 12 years ago why obviously decisions other than tax rates or regulation are going to shape people's decisions about where to live as life is, blessedly, about more than just taxes and regulations.)

Ozimek has a narrow set of libertarian ideas he thinks are important and workable, and they are indeed part of the libertarian movement message. Precisely what they are isn't quite clearhe writes that "people want quality of life, economic growth, and good government. All three of these can be helped on some margins by utilizing market forces, deregulating, and increasing freedom. Libertarianism should focus on these margins, and accept that the all-too-popular vision of radical freedom and minimal government at all costs is not wanted by enough people to actually matter."

It sounds like what Ozimek really should be concluding, if he indeed believes that stuff about bettering the world through "utilizing market forces" etc. is that people and politicians that are not libertarian should be more libertarian. And that's what libertarians are trying to accomplish.

What advantagefor the libertarian as opposed for the Ozimekanfrom pursuing a narrower vision of freedom and limited government is not clear from this essay. Nor is it clear exactly what ideas of the libertarian movement he is recommending jettisoning, or keeping. (While Ozimek isn't rigorous on this point, he seems to be implying that somehow the existence of very libertarian people or arguments is harming the cause of slight libertarian improvement. I addressed whether libertarian extremism, that is, a full or radical version of the small-government vision, was harming the movement writ large last year. I didn't find the case proven.)

Libertarianism certainly hasn't cleared the field in American political culture yet. But to be held to such a standard, when 20 years ago it was considered so unknown and insignificant that publications of the stature and focus of a Forbes or Politico would never have bothered running articles about how and why it's allegedly failing and fading, is its own kind of victory in political culture, and a necessary prelude to more important ones.

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Interview: Pitfalls of libertarianism without basic income – Basic Income News

Posted: at 9:56 pm

The basic income is known for cutting across ideological lines. Libertarians, who have had a long history supporting the basic income, are also giving the idea a fresh look as a way to replace the current welfare system.

Many libertarians, though, remain skeptical of whether a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is in line with libertarian ethics, and other libertarians believe it would cause economic damage.

Daniel Eth, a PhD student at UCLA studying computational nanotechnology, argued in Thinking of Utilsthat strict libertarianism, particularly without UBI, enables oppressive systems to emerge, even when no one is acting in bad faith and all agreements are consensual.

Eth joined the UBI Podcast to discuss the problems of libertarianism that does not endorse basic income.

One of the primary issues with strict libertarianism, Eth argued, is that without a social safety net, workers are not truly volunteering for work, because they areagreeing to work simply to survive.

There is an uneven power dynamic and that contracts are almost inherently exploitative, at least for those that are living hand to mouth, Eth said.

At least with a basic income system in place, Eth said, the workers could decide to walk away from unreasonable working conditions.

if a basic income is large enough to satisfy peoples basic needs, it goes a long way to correcting for that (power dynamic), he said.

One area of agreement between Eth and libertarians is that market-based solutions tend to be much more effective than the alternative of central planning.

That is to say, without appropriate taxes to account for things like pollution, then the market outcome will not reflect these costs to society and the environment.

From this framework, Eth said something like a carbon tax would be a great way to pay for a basic income because it would account for pollution, but also allow the market to solve.

The market is almost like an algorithm, like what a computer might use to solve a problem and I think it tends to be better at finding solutions than central planning. But you have to ask it the right question. You have to make sure you are solving the problem you want to solve, Eth said.

Tyler Prochazka has written 60 articles.

Tyler Prochazka is a Fulbright scholar completing his Master's in Asia Pacific Studies at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. He is the features editor of Basic Income News and a coordinator for UBI Taiwan. Tyler launched the first Asia-Pacific basic income conference in 2017. Facebook.com/TaiwanUBI @typro

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I Gave My Waitress a ‘Libertarian Tip’: Taxation Is Theft! – Hit & Run … – Reason (blog)

Posted: at 9:56 pm

Have you seen the viral "libertarian tip"? Someone in Missouri left a cash tip with a note explaining it was actually a personal gift and so not subject to state and federal income taxes, and wrote "taxation is theft" in the tip line on the check.

Who knows if the note is authentic? "Taxation is theft," an old libertarian bromide, has in the last year or so become a fairly popular internet meme. By some accounts, the meme wars were an important aspect of the 2016 election and its outcomeand you can expect the trend of political memes to grow. Maybe the "libertarian tip" was staged by someone who wants to promote libertarianism or encourage others to leave libertarian tips, or even just someone who wanted to play with the "taxation is theft" meme.

Nevertheless, I went out to lunch today to replicate the meme so I could give you an authentic photo of an authentic non-tip left as an untaxable personal gift. Here it is:

Reason

Some tips for you: the original photo looked like a note, not an envelope. I thought putting the money in an envelope would more clearly separate it from a tip. A note is better to show off how much you've tippedI put the money in the envelope after snapping the photo. You should probably make sure to have the change you need to give the tip you want. Asking for change from the wait staff might strengthen the case your untaxable non-tip is actually a taxable tip.

Afterward, I asked my waitress if my ploy would work. She seemed as if she wanted to tell me it would, even though she knew it didn't, because, as she explained, tips count as sales. She said that the tips that bring her wage up to the minimum wage (waiters and waitresses are generally exempt from minimum wage laws under the assumption tips get them to at least the minimum wage) get taxe like income, and that "40 to 50 percent" of tips beyond that get declared.

The intersection of libertarianism and wait staff is not new. During the 2012 election, then Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), a Republican presidential candidate, became an "unlikely hero" (the New York Post's words) to wait staff for his efforts to pass the Tax Free Tips Act. In 2013, The New Yorker appeared to discover and bemoan that wait staff were hiding tips from the taxman. The horror.

Meanwhile, wait staff are also among workers most negatively impacted by higher minimum wagesthey are often asked to do more work as restaurants look to mitigate the costs of a higher minimum wage in an already low-margin business. Just last month, Eric Boehm reported that San Diego had lost 4,000 restaurant jobs in the year-plus since they raised their minimum wage at an even faster pace than the state, which has so far only seen a slowdown in the growth of restaurant jobs.

And while we're so directly on the "taxation is theft" topic, here's one of my favorite chyrons ever on FreedomWatch with Judge Napolitano, a show I produced for. Thanks go to Media Matters for preserving the screen cap:

Fox Business

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Why are there no libertarian countries? – Nolan Chart LLC

Posted: at 9:56 pm

Libertarians and anarchists often get challenged with an annoying question, Warren Redlich, theCEO of Independent Political Report and a former Libertarian Party candidate, recently wrote: Iflibertarianism is so great, why hasnt any country tried it?[1]

There is no doubt that the question has been asked often, andthat it is meant to be annoying.Consider the source: Michael Lind. Lind, for those who have never heard of him, is a writer for theNew America Foundation who has achieved some online notoriety as a professional anti-libertarian. (Agoogle search on Lind libertarianism turns up more than 100,000 hits.)

Lind first came to myattention when he proclaimed the collapse of libertarianism as a political force back inNovember 2007 just in time for the birth of the Ron Paul Revolution.[2] In fact, though, he washeralding the utter and final defeat of the libertarian counter-revolution. before that,[3]and he has continued to do so since: most recently in 2015, when he pontificated that thelibertarian moment [Rand Paul] symbolized is over.[4] (To be fair, he also pontificated inhis2015 article that There was never a libertarian moment in the United States which gets onewondering just what keeps collapsing.)

But constantly heralding the end of something that never existed in the first place must getboring after a while; so in 2013 Lind came up with a new angle: the above question, smugly packaged asThe Question Libertarians Just Cant Answer.[5] That had such a great reception thatLind followed it up within days with two more articles with equally-revealing titles, Why Libertariansare Basically Cult Members[6] and Grow Up, Libertarians![7]

Given this genesis, there is no wonder that anti-libertarians ask the question often, and thatthey do so mainly to annoy libertarians. But there is really nothing annoying about the questionitself. The absence of libertarian countries is a phenomenon in need of an explanation, andtrying to provide one could shed some light on little-explored areas of political theory. So itis worth attempting an answer.

It also worth looking at Linds answers; for indeed, he gives us not one but two. Hisfirst answer is not explicitly stated, but implicity smuggled into the way he phrases and rephrases his question. In his article he asks that question five times. The first instance is purely neutral: Whyare there no libertarian countries? but not so his reiterations:

If libertarians are correct in claiming that they understand how best to organize a modernsociety, how is it that not a single country in the world in the early twenty-first century isorganized along libertarian lines? If libertarianism was a good idea, wouldnt at least onecountry have tried it? Why isnt libertarianism discredited by the absence of any libertarianregimes in the real world? If libertarianism is not only appealing but plausible, why hasntany country anywhere in the world ever tried it?[8]

Such formulations seem designed to suggest their own answers: There are no libertarian countriesbecause libertarianism is not plausible it is discredited it is not a good idea andlibertarians just do not understand how to organize a modern society.

However, Lind cannot just keep repeating and rephrasing the same question. Some people may be tooobtuse to grasp those implications, no matter how often he makes them. Still others may beintelligent enough to see logical problems with the implications themselves:

Obviously, this is a silly, fallacious pattern of argument. Every good idea was at one pointuntried. A hypothesis that has not been tested is neither confirmed nor disconfirmed. One mayreasonably complain that a hypothesis is unfalsifiable. But it is simply bizarre to maintain thata hypothesis might be discredited because it has yet to be tested, because it is so far neitherfalsified nor confirmed. Such a principle would entail the absurdity that all hypotheses werediscredited at the dawn of time.[9]

So Lind also needs to provide a substantive answer to his own question. Which indeed he does: Onhis account, there is a significant trade-off between less government and more nationalinsecurity, more crime, more illiteracy and more infant and maternal mortality, among otherthings. Those other things including human survival itself: Economic liberty comes at a pricein human survival, it would seem. There must be no libertarian countries, then, because nocountry wants to pay that price in human survival.

But if there are no libertarian countries, what is Linds evidence that one would come with allthis nastiness? Fortunately for his research project, the free-market right has been rankingcountries according to economic freedom for years. Using one such ranking the 2013 one fromthe Heritage Foundation[10] Lind attempts to prove his trade-off theory.

His technique is to compare two points on the list. On the one hand, he looks atthe mature, well-established industrial democracies, with the U.S. as representative. But none of these countries, includingthe U.S., is anywhere near a libertarian paradise. Considering how often Lind points out the lack oflibertarian paradises, that does not exactly come as a surprise.

And then there is Mauritius. According to the Heritage Foundation, the U.S. has less economicfreedom than Mauritius, another small island country, this one off the southeast coast of Africa.At number 8, Mauritius is two rungs above the U.S., at number 10 in the global index of economicliberty at least Mauritius is economically free!

Comparing the U.S. and Mauritius, Lind illustrates his purported trade-offs: the U.S. has aliteracy rate of 99 percent, compared to only 88.5 percent in economically-freer Mauritius.Infant mortality? In economically-more-free Mauritius there are about 11 deaths per 1,000 livebirths compared to 5.9 in the economically-less-free U.S. Maternal mortality in Mauritius is at60 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 21 in the U.S.

Never mind that back in 1980 (when it ranked only 68 on the Heritage list) Mauritius had aninfant mortality rate 3 times higher.[11] For Lind, the U.S.-Mauritius comparison is clear proofthat more economic freedom means more infant mortality (not to mention more maternal mortalityand less literacy).

There are five problems for his proof method, though: the five countries at the top of his list Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland the only countries the HeritageFoundation ranks as economically free. (Both the U.S. and Mauritius are ranked almost free).Using Google searches, I was able to find comparable statistics for all five; and what I foundwas indeed shocking:

The last four have literacy rates ranging from 97% to 99%: below the U.S., but well ahead ofMauritius. Their infant mortality rates (per thousand) range from 4.5 deaths (for Switzerland) to2 (for Singapore), and their maternal mortality rates (per thousand) from 11 (for New Zealand) to5 (for Switzerland) well ahead of both the less-free U.S. and less-free Mauritius. No evidenceof any significant trade-off there.

And then there is Hong Kong, at the top of the Heritage list. If Linds theory is correct, thenliteracy should be way down in Hong Kong, and both infant and maternal morality way up. Literacyis in fact down (though still above Mauritius), at 93%; but so are infant mortality (at 1.5 per1,000 births) and maternal mortality (1.6 per 1,000). No sign of any significant trade-offthere, either.

Lind deals with these apparent counter-examples by claiming that they should not count,because the Heritage Foundation rankings the very ones he relies on are biased. Hong Kong andSingapore do not count because they have small geographic areas the first is a city and thesecond a city-state yet Mauritius does, though it is only 2000 km in size. Australia andNew Zealand do not count because they are low-population countries yet Mauritius does,although its population is slightly above 1 million. Furthermore, four out of the top five weresmall British overseas colonies (so was Mauritius) that depended for protection first on theBritish empire and now on the United States (as does Mauritius, home of the Diego Garciaairbase).

And what of Switzerland, to which none of the above objections apply? According to Lind, it shouldnot count either, because wait for it Switzerland might not have maintained its independencefor long if Nazi Germany had won World War II. Really.

Despite Linds attempt to rule out all the evidence against histrade-off theory, it isreasonable to conclude that he has not proved it, and that the examples he picked to prove it were in factcherry-picked. But if his trade-off theory is unproved, it makes no sense to think that anynation (much less every nation) subscribes to it, and that that explains why none of them arelibertarian. So we should look elsewhere for an answer.

So why are there no libertarian countries? A libertarian might say it is because:

(1) Contrary to Linds initial assumption (which he puts in the mouth of libertarians), no oneactually organizes a modern society. Great societies are what Hayek calls spontaneous or polycentric orders not unplanned, but not conforming to any one plan, either; insteadsubject to a myriad of conflicting plans, by a myriad of different interest groups. Some of thosegroups goals can be libertarian, some the opposite (let us label those totalitarian).Consequently, one would expect any existing political system to contain a mixture of bothlibertarian and totalitarian elements.

(2) The most influential interest groups would be the most powerful, or, in otherwords, those that benefit most from the existing system; which means that each would have abuilt-in conservative bias conservative not in the sense of wanting less government, but in the senseof wanting to preserve the status quo and that the political system would reflect this bias. Changes ineither a libertarian or totalitarian direction would, then, happen slowly and incrementally, atthe margins.

(3) Political change is implemented by governments, and can be effected only through governmentpower. Libertarianism has an understandable bias against those who use government power for theirown ends, and vice versa. A government might adopt certain libertarian policies for its owninterests such as cutting tax rates to increase tax revenue, or repealing a universally-detested law for the sake of civil order but it is unreasonable to imagine any government reducingitspower just for the sake of doing so. Besides the already-noted conservative bias, then, one wouldexpect political systems to have a built-in totalitarian bias.

(4) The notable counter-examples to (2) radical changes in a society are those imposed bymilitary force; and, in light of (3), it strains belief to imagine a libertarian society beingimposed that way. While waging a war may accomplish some libertarian ends ending slavery in theU.S. is an example the very act of fighting one serves only to accentuate the already-notedtotalitarian bias.

In light of the above, one would expect to find no pure libertarian political systems. Then again, in light of the first two points, one would expect to find few, if any, pure ideologicalsystems of any kind and that expectation would be correct.

The Scandinavian role models ofsocial democracy that Lind invokes, for example, are hardly exemplars of pure socialism: whilegovernments share of GDP is higher there than in the Heritage Foundations economically freecountries, it comes nowhere near 100%. One of those role models, Denmark, actually ranks higherthan the U.S. (and just behind Mauritius) on the very Heritage Foundation list that Lind relies on; something that he either did not notice or did not see fit to mention.

Besides, one cannot help adding, Scandinavia might not have maintained its independence for longif Nazi Germany had won World War II.

What one would expect to see and what one does see, all over the world are mixed systems:countries with a mixture of libertarian and totalitarian policies, some more libertarian, somemore totalitarian, most probably more totalitarian than libertarian, but never purely one or theother.

There is, though, one notable counter-example to my last statement: totalitarian communism. There certainly have been totalitarian communist regimes in the real world. Most of those, too, asLind concedes, have been imperfect models, but somehave comevery close indeed tototalitarian perfection: Stalinist Russia,China under the Red Guard, Pol Pots Cambodia, and NorthKorea.

While Lind claims that the pro-communist left has been discredited by the failure of theMarxist-Leninist countries, (presumably referring to the non-existence of most of those regimes today),the reality is that at least one of them, North Korea, is still going strong in the 21st century.

Like it or hate it, North Korea does look like an example of pure totalitarianism: a political system inwhich libertarian elementsare completely absent. In which case, any theory attempting to explainthe absence of libertarian regimes in todays world should also be able to account for thepresence of totalitarian regimes. That proves no insuperable problem for my theory North Koreais an example of (4), a regime imposed and maintained solely by military force but it does seemto do so for Linds.

For one thing, North Korea gives precious little evidence to support his trade-off theory.North Korea, as expected, ranks last on the Heritage Foundation list, meaning that by Linds theory literacyshould be high there, and infant and maternal morality low. The country does boastan incredibly high 100% literacy rate not one illiterate in the entire country. But its infant and maternalmortality rates (22 and 82 deaths per 1,000 births, respectively) are higher even than those ofLinds cherry-picked paradigm of economic freedom, Mauritius.

For another, the example of a purely totalitarian regime in the 21st century also poses a problemfor Linds implicit answer to his question (the one smuggled into itsvarious iterations). Forif the criterion of an ideologys correctness, goodness, plausibility, etc., is whether or not itis adopted in the real world, one would have to count totalitarian communism a ringing success onall counts.

So let us rephrase Linds questions, and ask them right back at him in turn:

If totalitarian communists are wrong in claiming that they understand how best to organize amodern society, how is it that a country in the world in the early twenty-first century isorganized along totalitarian communist lines? If totalitarian communism was not a good idea,wouldnt there be no countries that ever tried it (much less continue to try it)? Why isnttotalitarian communism vindicated by the presence of totalitarian communist regimes in the realworld? If totalitarian communism is not only implausible but unappealing, why are countriestrying it?

I have no doubt that Lind will be able to answer those questions, though not without changing hiscriterion of what makes a political ideology correct, good, plausible, and appealing. So I lookforward to seeing his answers.

Photo Michael Lind in 2015. Photo by D.W. Taylor. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

[1] Warren Redlich, Was America Ever Libertarian?, Independent Political Report, April 25,2017. http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2017/04/was-america-ever-libertarian/#comment-1589317

[2] Michael Lind (2007), The Centre-Grounds Shift to the Left, Financial Times, November 27,2007. https://www.ft.com/content/4afdfafe-9cf7-11dc-af03-0000779fd2ac

[3] Lind (2006), The Unmourned End of Libertarian Politics, Financial Times, August 16, 2006. https://www.ft.com/content/2333b794-2d4e-11db-851d-0000779e2340

[4] Lind (2015), The False Rise and Fall of Rand Paul, Politico, October 20, 2015. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/rand-paul-2016-libertarianism-213265

[5] Lind (2013a), The Question libertarians Just Cant Answer. Salon, June 4, 2013. http://www.salon.com/2013/06/04/the_question_libertarians_just_cant_answer/

[6] Lind (2013b), Why Libertarians are Basically Cult Members, AlterNet, June 11, 2013. http://www.alternet.org/economy/libertarians-are-cult-members?akid=10559.113011.rcc3cH&rd=1&src=newsletter853683&t=9

[7] Lind (2013c), Grow Up, Libertarians!, Salon, June 13, 2013. http://www.salon.com/2013/06/13/grow_up_libertarians/

[8] Quotations in italics are from Lind (2013a).

[9] Will Wilkinson, Michael Linds bad argument against anything, The Economist, June 6, 2013. http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/06/libertarianism-and-experiment

[10] Index of Economic Freedom, Wikipedia, April 11, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom

[11] Ronald Bailey, Michael Linds Obtuse Attack on Liberty and Libertarianism, Reason, June 7,2013. http://reason.com/archives/2013/06/07/michael-linds-obtuse-attack-on-liberty-a

The Question Libertarians CAN Answer!

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Why are there no libertarian countries? - Nolan Chart LLC

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About Us The Ayurvedic Center of Vermont

Posted: at 9:55 pm

Allison Bransfield Morse is an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor and Panchakarma Specialist, with 15 years of experience as an AyurvedicPractitioner, she is also certified in massage and yoga therapy. After 5 years with The Ayurvedic Institute, Allison founded The Ayurvedic Center of Vermont in 2006, where she has had the privilege of guiding clients from all over the country in Ayurvedic care and Panchakarma. Allison spent 5 full time years at The Ayurvedic Institute, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, under the direct guidance of Dr.Vasant Lad. She completed two years of study under Dr. Lad, before embarking on a four year clinical apprenticeship in The Ayurvedic Institutes Panchakarma clinic. In 2005, she joined Dr. Lad in Pune, India, for advanced clinical studies. The prevailing focus of her work is the integration of Ayurveda with conventional medical approaches, to promote healing through the bodys intuitive wisdom. She is experienced in applying herbal medicine, diet and Ayurvedic remedies to a variety of clinical disorders including cancer, hypertension, musculoskeletal disorders, digestive disorders, weight-loss, depression, anxiety, insomnia, womens health issues, and many other ailments. Allison began studying yoga in 1995 at the Sivananda Yoga Center in New York City and traveled to Kerala, India, in 1999 to complete their Yoga Teacher Training Program. In 1998, she graduated from the Swedish Institute of Massage Therapy in New York City. Allison has a Bachelor of Science from Long Island University in New York.

Scott Marion is a Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor, Massage Therapist and Ayur-Yoga Teacher. Beginning in 1997, Scott traveled to India and Nepal, where he spent a total of 3 years and studied Vipassana, Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism.

Born out of his love of nature, Scott began studying Ayurveda and herbs. He attended Touchstone Healing Arts School of Massage in Burlington in 1998 and furthered his studies at The Ayurvedic Institute under the guidance of Dr. Vasant Lad. He completed the two year program at The Ayurvedic Institute as well as their Ayur Yoga Teacher Training program.

In 2001, he met his principal teacher Lopon Tenzin Namdak while in France and Katmandu and started his studies in the Bon tradition. Over the last 4 years he has studied with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche at the Ligmincha Institute in Virginia. Scotts other interests include art, music and dance.

Adena is an Ayurvedic Practitioner and Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist certified by the Kripalu School of Ayurveda. Adena teaches yoga to Panchakarma clients, and is a therapist for Abhyanga, Swedana and Shirodhara.

Adena is also certified in Maya Abdominal Therapy, and her work focuses on food as medicine and womens health and fertility. Adena is passionate about the local food movement, and became interested in Ayurveda through a desire to connect more deeply with the seasonal rhythms of Vermont. Ayurveda is about a deep connection with nature, the environment within and without, cultivating wholeness. Visit Adenas website and blog to learn more.

Janavi Allison Smith is a nationally board certified massage therapist specializing in Panchakarma therapies. She had the privilege of working with Dr. Vasant Lad at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico for 8 years in its Panchakarma clinic, where she gave thousands of Ayurvedic treatments from 2006 to 2014. She completed the Ayurvedic Studies Lecture program with Dr. Lad in 2008.

In Albuquerque, Janavi founded Sandalwood Healing Arts, where she provided abhyanga, shirodhara, basti therapies, therapeutic massage, reiki, and cranio sacral therapy.

She graduated in 2003 from the Brenneke School of Massage in Seattle, Washington. In 2000, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Montana-Missoula. Janavi has a deep love for her work, and a strong vocation for holistic health and service. She considers it an honor to assist her clients on their healing paths.

Anne graduated from the Kripalu School of Yoga & Ayurveda program to receive her 650 Hour certification as an Ayurvedic Health Counselor and offers Diet & Lifestyle Consultations. She is also a therapist for Abhyanga, Swedana and Shirodhara.

Annes depth of knowledge in the areas of the Subtle Energies, comes from her extensive 20+ years of study from many ancient traditions which allows her to empower her individual clients to create profound shifts in awareness which ultimately supports them to move towards wholeness and overall well-being. She offers beautiful individual sessions which include Aromatherapy, Pranayama, Reiki, Chakra Balancing, Advanced Reflexology, and Advanced Sound Healing, as well as her background in Ayurvedic body & lifestyle therapies and using Food as Medicine.

Anne is a Certified Clinical Aromatherapist with 18 years experience and over 1,000 hours of extensive coursework in this area. She completed her 300 hour certification at ISHA-Institute for Spiritual Healing and Aromatherapy. Anne is also a Reiki Master Practitioner & Reiki Teacher; and a Certified Advanced Sound Healer with Tibetan Singing Bowls thru the International Sound Healing Academy with Satya Brat, from India. Anne offers relaxing individual Sound Healing sessions to Panchakarma clients whove described these sessions as absolutely celestial, deepest peace and floating in higher awareness.

Anne is committed to assisting others as they embrace their own healing and move towards wholeness & peacefulness in their lives and begin to align with their intentions for body, mind, and soul healing. Her capacity for listening deeply to her clients and being able to hold space for them, allows the trust needed to partner in this healing process. Anne has a Masters Degree in Education and is a member of the VRA (Vermont Reiki Association) and a member of NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Association).

To learn more, go to Annes website: http://www.annecameron.com

A graduate and former intern of the Kripalu Schools of Yoga & Ayurveda. Lauren is a practicing Ayurvedic Health Counselor as well as a certified 500-Hour Kripalu Yoga Teacher. She specializes in teaching Ayurvedic yoga- tailoring postures, meditation and pranayama to ones unique constitution or to seasonal/temporal factors. In addition, Lauren has trained in Restorative Yoga as well as Yoga 4 Cancer.

Passionate about the art of cooking, Lauren can often be spotted paging through cookbooks on a quest for the next best recipe. Youll find her cooking up massive cauldrons of nourishing and delicious kitchari at the Ayurvedic Center.

Lauren is an inspired educator and teaches about Yoga and Ayurveda through workshops, her blog and serves as the content manager for Everyday Ayurveda.

Reshma Sinu studied Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) atthe Ashwini Ayurvedic Medical College Hospital and Research Centre. There she alsocompleted an internship in House Surgeryin Karnataka, India (2014-15)

Reshma graduated with her BAMS from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science, Karnataka India, in 2015. As of April 6, 2015, she became a qualified Ayurvedic doctor in the state register, maintained under the Travancore-Cochin Medical Council for Indian System of Medicine. She is alsoa registered practitioner in AYUSH. In addition, Reshma was the former joint secretary of OISCA International Thrissur chapter.

Dr Sinu worked for one year as a medical officer at Oushadhi Panchakarma Hospital and Research Institute, in Thrissur, Kerala, India, an undertaking by the Kerala government.

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Scientists name a new fungus-farming ant species after Radiohead … – Kansas City Star (blog)

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Kansas City Star (blog)
Scientists name a new fungus-farming ant species after Radiohead ...
Kansas City Star (blog)
Two scientists at the Smithsonian Institution's Ant Lab have named a new species of ant after the British rock band Radiohead to honor both its music and ...

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Scientists name a new fungus-farming ant species after Radiohead ... - Kansas City Star (blog)

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Could Artificial Intelligence Really Be Used to Attain Human Immortality? – TrendinTech

Posted: at 9:55 pm

There are several scientists that are now convinced upon the idea that while aging is a natural occurrence that happens in all creatures, it is, in fact, a disease that can be treated or cured. In that regards, there are some scientists out there looking to slow down the process of aging, while others are looking to stop it all together.

Some of these ideas have been spurred on by the development of certain technologies, such as combining stem cells with genetic and cellular manipulation. Researchers have also been looking into the rejuvenating effects of proteins that are found in human blood, while others suggest using bacteria to ward off old age.

Alex Zhavoronkov is director of both the International Aging Research Portfolio (IARP) and the Biogerontology Research Foundation and the CEO of bioinformatics company, Insilico Medicine and he has a different idea altogether. His idea focuses on using artificial intelligence (AI) to defeat aging and age-related illnesses. I think that applying AI to aging is the only way to bring it under the comprehensive medical control, says Zhavoronkov. Our long-term goal is to continuously improve human performance and prevent and cure the age-related diseases.

As part of his ongoing research Zhavoronkov intends to build a comprehensive system that will model and monitor the human health status and quickly fix any deviations via lifestyle changes or therapy. But, its not going to happen overnight and realistically its probably going to be around 5 years before its fully complete. AI also plays an important role in facilitating the manufacture of certain drugs; some of which could treat aging or age-related diseases.

Our AI ecosystem is comprised of multiple pipelines, explained Zhavoronkov. With our drug discovery and biomarker development pipelines, we can go after almost every disease [] And since we are considering aging as a form of a disease, many of the same algorithms are used to develop biomarkers and drugs to prevent and possibly even restore the aging-associated damage.

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Genetic Condition Prevents 8-Year-Old From … – Medical Daily

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Gabby Williams is eight years old but has the skin of a newborn and only weighs 11 lbs. An ultra-rare genetic condition, for which doctors have no discernible explanation, keeps Williams from physically aging and has her parents caring for her nearly the same as the day she was born.

Williams shares her rare condition with only a handful of people around the world, including a 29-year-old man from Florida who has the body of a 10-year-old, and a 31-year-old Brazilian woman who appears no older than two. While the medical community hasnt yet established a cause for Williams or the others' conditions, research into the genetic disorder has promising implications for overcoming the inertia of aging.

"In some people, something happens to them and the development process is retarded," said medical researcher Richard F. Walker. "The rate of change in the body slows and is negligible."

Gabby Williams' mysterious genetic condition keeps her from aging, prompting one researcher to investigate biological immortality. TLC

Walker has been researching Williams condition for the last two years. Retired from the University of Florida Medical School, Walker now performs his research at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. He reports having spent his entire career studying the causes of aging. The patients he deals with live with other conditions such as deafness and the inability to walk, eat, or even speak. But most notably, they all age at one-fifth the rate of a normal person.

Williams case is particularly noteworthy given her feature spot in the 2012 TLC documentary, My 40-Year-Old Child. Since the show aired, Williams parents told ABC News, their daughter has stayed relatively the same.

"Gabrielle hasn't changed since pretty much forever," said her mother, Mary Margret Williams, 38. "She has gotten a little longer and we have jumped into putting her in size 3-6 month clothes instead of 0-3 months for the footies.

Last time we weighed her she was up a pound to 11 pounds and she's gotten a few more haircuts, she said, but other than that, things have remained the same.

Walker attributes Williams lack of aging to what he calls decreased developmental inertia. Her bodys normal physiological changes and maturation havent occurred because of the genetic condition. Normally when people age, their bodies mature until age 20 or so, and then begin to erode, or succumb to developmental inertia.

"If we could identify the gene and then at young adulthood we could silence the expression of developmental inertia, find an off-switch, said Walker, adding that when you do that, there is perfect homeostasis and you are biologically immortal."

Part of the reason humans cant live forever is that as chromosomes split during cell division, the telomeres capping the chromosomes begin to shorten. Scientists often liken telomeres to the plastic tip on the end of a shoelace, as they keep the frayed ends of the chromosome from fusing together and degrading the cells blueprint.

Broken DNA is dangerous, and because of this a typical cell has the ability to repair chromosomal damage. Without telomeres, the cell would mistakenly sense broken DNA in the frayed chromosome. Doing so would cause the chromosome to stop dividing along with the rest of the cell and eventually die.

The result of overcoming developmental inertia isnt living forever. It simply means old age wouldnt come with greater risks of cancer, disease, and illness.

You wouldn't have the later years, Walker said. You'd remain physically and functionally able.

Aging isnt only a process of telomere-shortening. Scientists include other factors such as oxidative stress, glycation, and chronological age. Oxidative stress, like glycation, is the compounding pressure put on DNA and lipids from oxidants. Glycation differs in that glucose is the main culprit, binding to and inhibiting DNA, proteins, and lipids. Chronological age refers to the number of years a person has been alive, and it reflects an increased risk for disease and illness.

In Gabby Williams case, her chronological age has little bearing on her outcome, although doctors cannot say with confidence how long they think she will live.

Devout Catholics, her parents accept their daughters fate however God intends it.

"When He is ready to take her back, it will be sad," her mother told ABC News. "But what a glorious thing it will be for Gabby to go to heaven one day. I know it will happen, but I am not hoping it's any day soon."

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This doctor plans to perform a human head transplant this year – New York Post

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This doctor plans to perform a human head transplant this year
New York Post
Sergio Canavero, a controversial professor and neurosurgeon, wants to perform the first human head transplant in December. He told German magazine OOOM that the procedure will take place in China. According to the Observer, it will take 80 surgeons, ...
Surgeon planning first human head transplant gives rat a second headMetro
'We'll try to bring patients back to life': Surgeon plans to 'revive' frozen human brains by 2020RT
Head transplant team's new animal tests fail to convince criticsNew Scientist
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This doctor plans to perform a human head transplant this year - New York Post

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Cryogenically Frozen Brains Will Be ‘Woken up’ and Transplanted in Donor Bodies Within Three Years, Neurosurgeon … – Futurism

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In BriefAfter he attempts the world's first human head transplant,neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero plans to attempt another world first:reawakening a brain that has been cryogenically frozen. One Worlds First After Another

Given the remarkable advances that have been made in medicine in recent years, its hard to believe anything is still truly impossible. Artificial intelligences are diagnosing diseases, real-life cyborgs walk among us, and were finding promising new clues on ourquest for immortality. Even more remarkable breakthroughs are on the way, but if any one research team truly faces seemingly insurmountable odds, it has to be that of Professor Sergio Canavero, Director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group.

Four years ago, the acclaimed neurosurgeon announced his plan to complete the worlds first human head transplant, and this week, in an interview with OOOM, he confirmed that the controversial operation will take place within the next 10 months. According to Canavero, the operation will occur in Harbin, China, with Xiaoping Ren of Harbin Medical University leading the surgical team, and contrary to previous reports, a Chinese citizen, not Russian Valery Spiridonov, will be the recipient of a donor body.

However, the most remarkable news to come out of Canaveros interview doesnt have anything to do with the head transplant at all, but what he plans to do afterwards: As soon as the first human head transplant has taken place, i.e., no later than in 2018, we will be able to attempt to reawaken the first frozen head.

Canavero plans to remove the brain from a head that has been frozen at -196 degrees Celsius (-320 degrees Fahrenheit) and submerged in liquid nitrogen. Hell then place the brain in a donor body in an attempt to effectively bring the patient back from the dead and, in the process, clear up humanitys questions about the afterlife.

If we bring this person back to life, we will receive the first real account of what actually happens after death, said Canavero. The head transplant gives us the first insight into whether there is an afterlife, a heaven, a hereafter, or whatever you may want to call it or whether death is simply a flicking off of the light switch and thats it.

Clearly, this is the stuff of science fiction, and the medical community and society at large has every reason to be very skeptical of its potential for success.

The advocates of cryogenics are unable to cite any study in which a whole mammalian brain has been resuscitated after storage in liquid nitrogen, Clive Coen, Professor of Neuroscience at Kings College London, told The Telegraph, adding, Irreversible damage is caused during the process of taking the mammalian brain into sub-zero temperatures.

Even if it did work and the frozen brain did wake up, theres no telling what kinds of complications the patient could experience, from decreased mental faculties to unimaginable mental trauma. Though we do now live in a world in which the seemingly impossible is becoming possible, some experiments might be better suited for works of sci-fi than modern hospitals.

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