Libertarians

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Since I'm following Steven Molyneux I'm becoming more interested in libertarian stuff. Here in Europe there's no tradition and it's almost unknown. Does anybody know some good book/blogger about the subject? (Besides the one I mentioned).

I suppose you could ask at the libertary; they may have some good books.

Should be able to find an abundance on the internet.

http://www.lp.org/faq

Well, I was not asking about the Libertarian Party but about some recommended blog/book/podcast. Internet is full of them, and this quantity is often more a problem than a solution.

What kind of stuff are you looking for? I'm assuming that www.mises.org will work as providing some introduction, as it both includes daily articles, but also a large collection of literature related to Austrian economics and libertarian ideas with a # of writings that are intellectually solid or at least important to recognize in the history of ideas. Austrian economists, such as Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Murray Rothbard have been very important for the development of libertarian thought.

Another place to look is http://www.econlib.org/ and the possibly associated blog http://econlog.econlib.org/. The blog is not about developing libertarian thought, but the authors are libertarians and professors of economics. This resource is much more mainstream than www.mises.org as mises.org tends to promote more ideas that are questionable.

Reason.com is a good news source and opinion source that is libertarian. Because it's a news source, you won't pick up on as much of the ideology directly, but it will help you understand how libertarians perceive the world. http://capitalismmagazine.com/ is also news oriented, but is more focused on giving commentary on the news than news itself like reason may be.

http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/ is a blog run by academics. The title is from their desire to meld certain concerns about social justice and libertarianism, and it represents a more intellectually diverse body than many of the other sites mentioned.

http://www.cato.org/ is a well-known more mainstream libertarian think tank. Possibly worth investigating. I generally don't read a lot put out by think tanks.

I have shied away from the more strongly anarchist leading sources, as while they may be in the realm anarchism generally isn't taken seriously. mises.org tends to be very anarcho-capitalist though, but it's influential enough that I cannot responsibly ignore it.

Will that help you in your goal to better understand libertarianism?

www.lewrockwell.com is a good website

Tom Woods(who is a great author in his own right) actually made a list not that long ago on that website of book suggestions

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2012/12/thom ... -you-read/

Thanks for the links. I'm checking them.

I'm currently listening to the http://www.freedomainradio.com/ youtube videos (I play them as a kind or radio station). They have videos enough for quite a while and cover almost every subject. I just wanted to 'complement' it with some other source/s, since it's not usually a good idea to limit yourself to just one single point of view.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/the-agitator

Radley Balko's blog isn't about libertarianism per se, but following it will give you an idea of why many libertarians are skeptical of law enforcement and the justice system. It will also probably make make you angry.

http://www.popehat.com/

Similar thing, not explicitly libertarian, but the bloggers approach free speech law from that perspective. Will also likely lead to anger.

http://www.volokh.com/

Mostly libertarian law professors blogging about current events. Less rage inducing than the others, mostly.

An early source of American libertarianism are the works of Lysander Spooner.

ruveyn

I always got a hoot out of P.J. O'Rourke.He has an awesome sense of humor.

I don't think that is quite right, there is a history. It is just that Libertarian is a conflated word, because Liberal changed meaning.

There are anarchist branches of libertarianism too, and it is is one of the older forms.

I think the ideal is one thing, the reality is for many things there is no substitute for government, as distasteful as it is. E.g in a large country, 'direct democracy' is a total pipe dream. It is logistically impossible, and it would ground things to a halt. Nothing would ever get done, it would be like running the country by ouija board, and lastly the costs would be exponential.

Nevertheless it is a counterbalance, so in that sense I'm glad it exists to stem complacency, but as far as the emerging trend of libertarian state side, I don't think they have a more realistic solution for government than anyone other political moment.

I also question how libertarian some of the libertarians really are, many of them would support trade protectionism, as long as it is not 'pinko' variety, so I think there is hypocrisy there.

The reality is many of the things that we consider naturalistic in business (there is no naturalistic), are constructs defined in the law of that land. We like to think were a re 'worth' or we 'own' but this is meaningless without governance.

Well.... I thought the Libertarian Party 2012 Presidential ticket was interesting. I managed to see Gary Johnson and VP pick Judge Jim Gray at a speaking event.

I don't see either them as purist Libertarians. At heart, I think Gary Johnson is essentially Utilitarian but sees most Libertarian ideas as a sensible guide for lean efficient government.

I was also intrigued with Judge Jim Grey telling the audience he would support a safety net like Government Clinics for the poor. Judge Gray plainly told the audience he considers himself "Functionally Libertarian" but if a social program is affordable and works he would use it.

I would recommend watching any YouTube clips of them. Judge Gray mostly comes from a background of turning against the Drug War saying it needlessly destroys lives. Gary Johnson arguably has more experience as an entrepreneur and as Governor than Romney did. He is for eliminated the Income Tax and going for the Fair Tax. I don't see him as a pure Privatize all roads and infrastructure kind of Libertarian.

I'm interested in libertarian Marxism (left-wing anarchism, really) but I don't think that's they type you mean.

Thanks for the links and recommendations again. I have subscribed to them so I will be checking interesting articles to appear.

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Not necessarily. Be aware that western countries have harder taxes and regulations in general. Free market is about equality when it comes to economy. I think it's perfectly fair to penalize products that are facing lighter regulations. It increases equality and makes everybody compete in the same conditions.



Not really. I never appreciated Marxism that much. I always have supported Social democracy. But this support comes from the fact that I always respected the sense of communal responsability. When I was a kid, I lived in a city with a important jew community. And I admired how well they worked as a community and managed to be the most prosperous social group in the city. Basically this defined my political position.

But truth is that the most I follow the left, the most I'm aware that it's not about "let's make it work" but about "I want more for me". Left have really big problems, for example, with jews communities, since they use to be rich and prosperous. And in my opinion this is bloody crazy, since it should be the opposite: if they're prosperous, it means that they are doing right. Shouldn't be left's goal to become prosperous as a community?.

Not to say that to justify this "I want more for me" wrapped into flamboyant and sophisticated words, left needs to show its 'morality' sticking to an infuriating political correctness. And this is bloody psychology, not politics. And perhaps it's because the asperger, but I don't have patience for that BS.

A good part of the country is neolibertarian. Not that I'm against it. If you can't beat em', join em'.