Posts in "Pedagogy"

New Video on the Philosophy of Liberty: Who Owns You?

Feb 18, 2011 at 3:31 PM

This new, professional three-minute video does a fantastic job at briefly explaining the philosophy of liberty/libertarianism and property. This would be great to show at your next introductory YAL meeting -- and it complements the new YAL palm cards on this subject well!

Hat-tip for this to Jacob Huebert, author of the great new book Libertarianism Today. His book has been described as the "most important updating of Rothbard’s For A New Liberty to yet appear." I highly recommend it, especially as an introduction for your new recruits as a more in-depth explanation of what libertarianism is about!

Comments (1)

The Power of a Question

Feb 16, 2011 at 1:11 PM

By Shaun Bowen

With all the talk of how to best convert those on the right to libertarianism, let me provide this clip of a question I was able to ask at CPAC this year:

If you notice, his answer was what damned him, not the heckling of the crowd.The overall answer was , "I was wrong for doing it, but I would do it again." So what that says to me, and what the people of Utah should see, is that Orrin Hatch has no problem voting on bills that he hasn't read because some "Republican" official tells him to, and that despite recognizing it was the wrong choice, he has no problem making the wrong choices over and over again.

To reveal to everyone the problems with our government, you don't need to heckle. You don't need to boo. You only need to ask the tough, intelligent questions and lets these guys dig their own political graves.

Get Progressives to Take You Seriously

Feb 8, 2011 at 6:45 PM

By Bonnie Kristian

In the spirit of Shaun's recent (hilarious) post on how not to run a recruitment table, here's Steve Horwitz on how to be taken seriously by progressives:

Stop treating Progressives as either evil or stupid....let’s work on the assumption that Progressives are, in Hayek’s words, guilty of nothing more than “intellectual error” about the way the world works (and the economy in particular). Seize this opportunity to teach, without condescension, rather than calling names. Yes, I know this is hard when you head over to the Daily Kos and see libertarians called racist, homophobic, cold-hearted pawns of the corporations. So be it. We need to take the high road.
Second, libertarians have a tendency to do something that drives Progressives nuts, as it should: They blame the victim. Too often I hear self-described libertarians blame poverty on the culture or morality of the poor. Similar generalizations about racial and ethnic groups have been known to escape the lips of libertarians.... Progressives are right that these social pathologies are largely structural, but they are wrong about which structures cause them. Why don’t libertarians start by agreeing with the premise, then engaging our Progressive friends in a conversation about how government intervention is responsible for most of what they are rightly concerned about? That’s more interesting and productive than trying to defend ourselves from charges of bigotry.
Finally, libertarians need to be attentive to the difference between being “pro-market” and “pro-business.”

Read the rest of this great article here. (h/t)

Comments (1)

Teach Your Children Well

Oct 31, 2010 at 12:48 PM

By Shaun Bowen

I loved this article from the late Joseph Sobran so much that I felt compelled to share it:

Because I write about politics, people are forever asking me the best way to teach children how our system of government works. I tell them that they can give their own children a basic civics course right in their own homes.
In my own experience as a father, I have discovered several simple devices that can illustrate to a child's mind the principles on which the modern state deals with its citizens. You may find them helpful, too.
For example, I used to play the simple card game WAR with my son. After a while, when he thoroughly understood that the higher ranking cards beat the lower ranking ones, I created a new game I called GOVERNMENT. In this game, I was Government, and I won every trick, regardless of who had the better card. My boy soon lost interest in my new game, but I like to think it taught him a valuable lesson for later in life.
When your child is a little older, you can teach him about our tax system in a way that is easy to grasp. Offer him, say, $10 to mow the lawn. When he has mowed it and asks to be paid, withhold $5 and explain that this is income tax. Give $1 to his younger brother, and tell him that this is "fair." Also, explain that you need the other $4 yourself to cover the administrative costs of dividing the money. When he cries, tell him he is being "selfish" and "greedy." Later in life he will thank you.

Read the rest here.

Introducing YAL's New Resource Section

Aug 30, 2010 at 3:43 PM

By Mikayla Hall

Tired of looking deep into the blog for helpful resources like signup sheets? As you and your chapter prepare for the fall semester, YAL wanted to provide a one-stop section to help facilitate a great school year.

Included in the Resources Section:

Information about your region and state
An extensive list of activism ideas for your chapter
Downloadable materials, an activism guide and the 2010 Convention slideshow
A full list of YAL's national events, starting with "Real Change Requires R3volution"
How to bring Ron Paul to campus!

Check it out here

Comments (5)

Utilizing Sidewalk Chalk -- With Ideas and Pictures!

Aug 24, 2010 at 5:03 PM

By Joseph Brown

yalchalk1

I have never seen any of the other student organizations at my university utilize sidewalk chalk before, even though it is one of the lesser regulated methods of communication on campus. If your chapter has not utilized it before, do it! But check your school's policies and restrictions first of course!

Below are some ideas for what to write -- categorized by subject -- starting with the Constitution (Constitution week is Sep. 13-17!) Comment with ideas of your own!

The Constitution

Read the Constitution
If government doesn't obey the Constitution, what's treason?
Bush Killed the Constitution; Obama will bury it
Legalize the constitution
Reinstate/restore the Bill of Rights
The Constitution didn’t change on 9/11

Lessons for the Young Economist

Aug 8, 2010 at 10:38 PM

By Jeremy Davis

Dr. Robert Murphy of the Mises Institute has recently completed Lessons for the Young Economist, a textbook meant to serve as a beginners' guide to sound economics in the Austrian tradition. It's aimed toward late middle to high school aged students and homeschoolers. In the fall, Dr. Murphy will be teaching Principles of Economics at the Mises Academy based on this new textbook.

You can check out the pdf version of the book here.

What Do You Read?

Aug 7, 2010 at 11:28 PM

By Bonnie Kristian

We've posted reading lists on the YAL blog before (see here and here, for instance), buht now I'm wondering what books shaped your philosophy of liberty. I was recently asked this on tumblr, and here's the generalized list I provided:

Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson
Laurence Vance on foreign policy/the relationship of Christianity and liberty
C.S. Lewis on theology
In modern politics, Ron Paul: extensive speeches and writings
Dr. Tom Woods is great for simple, clear presentations of economic issues — and also just a really nice guy
Bastiat is excellent; I can’t believe I only read The Law relatively recently
Locke, Smith, Paine, and Jefferson aren’t perfect, but clearly classic
Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State
I’ve not read a complete work of Ludwig von Mises, but I for real need to do so
Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State, and Utopia was very good on the subjects of justice and slavery
Albert Jay Nock’s Our Enemy, the State
LewRockwell.com is a standby
The American Conservative is one of the best magazines in print
The Freeman is a great journal, but sadly one to which I’m not subscribed
And for a younger perspective, Young Americans for Liberty, of course

What would be on your list? It doesn't have to be everything you ever read and liked, but just some foundational stuff you'd recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the principles of freedom.

Comments (14)

Why YAL Members Are Extraordinarily Attractive

Aug 7, 2010 at 7:33 AM

By James Touhey

Passion

Have you ever stopped and noticed that people tend to gravitate towards you when you speak to them about freedom and its pursuit?

Of course, the principles of liberty are attractive. But what about when you talk to others about specific issues such as the Federal Reserve or specific legislation moving its way through Congress?

Doesn’t it surprise you that in today’s day and age of sound bites and blissful ignorance, people will truly and sincerely listen to you?

Well let me be frank, you aren’t coincidentally running into thoughtful and nice people. What is making the difference in the interaction isn’t just the ideas that you’re trying to portrait, it is actually YOU.