Daniel Surman

A Childlike View of Libertarianism

Nov 7, 2011 at 10:36 AM

By Daniel Surman

Check out this article from Guy Stagg in The Telegraph.

Libertarianism is an immature and incoherent philosophy. First, it is an intellectual non-starter: even founder Robert Nozick changed his mind about the perverse form of liberty which it fostered. Second, you have to be very naive to think that letting everyone take heroin and own shotguns would really make them more free. Third, the idea that deregulation would solve all our problems is, given the current economic crisis, frankly a joke.
So let's leave libertarianism to the middle-aged druggies trying to justify their habit, and the unruly children looking for an excuse to rebel. That's where it belongs. After all, there's nothing more petulant than ranting about the evils of council tax and the glories of Isaiah Berlin.

First off, Robert Nozick was a libertarian to the end, as he verified to Julian Sanchez in an interview shortly before his death.

But more importantly, I wonder if Stagg has ever heard of the strawman fallacy? Defining libertarianism as a philosophy where everybody takes heroin and owns shotguns is ignoring the fact that everyone may not want to take heroin or own shotguns. Furthermore, I have never heard a libertarian, when asked how to fix "all our problems," simply answer deregulation.

Stagg wants you to believe libertarianism is a childlike philosophy that ignores a complex world. In contrast, libertarianism is a unique ideology insofar that it acknowledges just how complex the world is! I am tempted to go on a rant about F.A. Hayek and the fatal conceit, but I have a better idea. Stagg should grow up and visit the newly-created libertarianism.org to learn what the philosophy is all about.

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Hugo Chavez Goes for The Gold

Aug 19, 2011 at 5:41 PM

By Daniel Surman

From food to oil, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is well known for his obsession with nationalizing industry after industry in his country in the name of "the revolution." Now, he has moved on to gold. From Reuters:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday he will nationalize the gold industry, including extraction and processing, and use its output to boost the country's international reserves.
The move follows a dispute between his government and foreign miners who say the rules limiting the amount of gold that can be exported from the South American nation hurt their efforts to secure financing and create jobs...
The gold industry will be just the latest part of the economy to be put under state control by the socialist leader, who said he would issue the necessary decree in the coming days and called on the military to help control the sector.

At least we can be safe knowing that here in America the government would never go after our gold. Wait, never mind...

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Pirates, Libya, and the Constitution

Jul 28, 2011 at 3:40 PM

By Daniel Surman

Remember this line?

The Congress shall have Power ... To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations.

It is from Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution -- one of those enumerated powers contained within the document in order to clearly indicate the authority of Congress. However, an unconstitutional imbroglio may be threatening the exercise of this power. From Bloomberg:

Fighting in Libya between rebels and national leader Muammar Qaddafiis diverting naval ships from anti-piracy patrols, according to the International Marine Organization.
“One has to be pragmatic and realistic and accept and understand that ships that might be made available to support counter-piracy will be deployed to address the Libyan crisis,” Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos said at a conference in London today.

American intervention in Libya lacks congressional approval, let alone a declaration of war (refer back to Section 8: Congress shall have power to ... declare War). However, that will not stop our legislators from threatening the success of a constitutional mission. With all of the foreign policy focus on Libya, it is too easy to miss the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

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Big Government and Your Beer

Jul 20, 2011 at 11:31 AM

By Daniel Surman

You would think that the continuing Minnesota government shutdown would have nothing to do with your beer. Unfortunately, you would be wrong. NPR explains what happened:

MillerCoors, which holds "brand label registrations" for 39 beers, including Miller, Coors, Blue Moon Pale and Hamm's — almost 40 percent of the beer sold in Minnesota — sent in its renewal notice on June 15. But the state Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Agency said that MillerCoors overpaid its registration fees and refused to stamp the paperwork.
MillerCoors sent another check immediately. Julian Green, director of media relations for MillerCoors, pointed out that beer is its business. "We don't take securing our licenses lightly." But the state agency didn't process the check by the time the state government shut down on June 30. Its employees were shut out. Hundreds of taverns and restaurants also worried that they could not sell alcohol because their license renewals were just piling up like wet coasters in state offices.

We have three layers of government intervention in the marketplace here. First, for MillerCoors to sell alcohol in Minnesota it must secure a permit from a state agency. Second is sheer ineptitude -- only the government would refuse to approve a license because a company paid too much money. The final level introduces an insane level of irony: The same government which refused a company's money shut down over a budget debate. It was this shutdown which prevented the state agency from cashing the corrective check.

MillerCoors is a massive corporation, so just imagine the burden this licensing process is placing upon local bars in Minnesota! Unfortunately, alcohol is one industry where the free market does not reign. Check out Matt Zwolinski's excellent article at Bleeding Heart Libertarians for numerous examples of stifling regulations on beer and wine. Sometimes, it feels like Prohibition never really went away.