Thursday, May 28, 2009

The libertarian solution is always best

Albuquerque Libertarian Examiner: The libertarian solution is always best

Not every problem has a solution, but those that can be solved are best solved by respecting liberty. The libertarian solution is always the best solution possible.

For example:

Immigration: Remove any and all barriers to people moving freely. End ALL welfare of every type for everyone. Replace it with voluntary charity. If you don't want your money to help certain people, don't donate. Remove all "anti-discrimination laws". Let people freely associate, or not, with anyone for any reason. Some people will be jerks, but everyone has someone they would rather not deal with, even if it isn't based upon race. I would rather not do business with anyone who works for government in any capacity. Some people would probably rather not deal with peaceful anarchists like me. It is wrong to force people to give up their freedom of association.

Crime: Remove all "laws" that punish self-defense. Void any "laws" that regulate owning and carrying of weaponry. I don't ever carry "weapons"; I carry tools. They only become weapons if I am attacked, which I have never been. Remove "laws" that encourage aggression, such as drug prohibition. Let the private security forces (which will replace the corrupt and abusive "police") deal with real aggression and theft, rather than wasting time on consensual behavior that the majority disapproves of. Treat "terrorism" as you would treat any act of aggression. The solution is the same.

Economy: An economy can never really be centrally planned. Money can not just be printed out of thin air if it is to hold its value. Let the market self-organize from the bottom up, rather than trying to impose and control it from the top down. Let people choose the currency they trust and want to use. If they want printed IOUs, that is their choice. If they prefer using real money like silver or gold, that should also be their choice.

Environment: No one will, or even can, take care of property they have no stake in as well as they will take care of their own property. Trusting the world's worst despoiler of the natural world, the government, to tell everyone else how to best care for the environment is ridiculous. Let people use their own property however they see fit. Some will destroy what they own. That is the very foundation of ownership. On the whole, people will learn that if they destroy the value of their property, their poor decision will haunt them in loss of value. If they don't care, that is their right. If someone's carelessness harms the property of a neighbor, then restitution will be paid or reputations will be destroyed. In a free world, that will probably be a particularly dire consequence.

There are more examples, of course. And these are not the only possible solutions to be worked out in a free society. Give liberty a chance. Statist control has failed every time it has been tried. Let's stop looking to a failure for our solutions.