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AnnaZ
Since Mar 8, 1999
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You like your government very, very small -- or none at all. You are a hardcore libertarian. Want to run for Congress? State legislature? Join the Libertarian Party and they'll put you on the ballot. And if you find the Libertarian Party to be too moderate these days, there is the new Boston Tea Party.
You may need to work on toning down your rhetoric in order to reach the massesin order to get the liberty you desire. Here are some sites to help.
Freedom, equality, morality, nature,...these are all good things. All to often, political debate rages over which is more important. Synergies get overlooked. There is a better way, holistic politics. By looking at multiple values at the same time, it is possible to come up with creative solutions for the world's problems, solutions that make all the factions more happy.
Organizations and ideas for getting freedom lovers into office.
| The Libertarian Party |
The Boston Tea Party If you think the Libertarian Party is not radical enough these days. |
| The Other Foe of Free Enterprise. These days, most people think of socialism as being the opposite of free enterprise. Historically, this has not been the case. Best selling science fiction author David Brin points out the other, much more dangerous, foe. |
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Essays on World Liberation. If you think that the Libertarian Party doesn't have a real chance, think again. There are strategies and tactics herein that can be used to put Libertarian candidates into office in the near term.
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The Leadership Institute. Provides quality training in "political technology" for conservatives and libertarians. |
Books on how to get freedom lovers into power:
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Dedication and Leadership by Douglass Hyde. An inside look at how the Communist movement was so successful in advancing its radical agenda. Many of the ideas are apropos for building up the political movements in general. Must reading for anyone doing third party politics. |
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Take Back Your Government, by Robert A. Heinlein. A handbook for grassroots political activism from the days before professional consultants and television. Dated, but still useful. |
Many hardcore libertarians overlook the hard questions in their passion for liberty. The result is loss of credibility for the libertarian movement. Here is some homework.
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The Machinery of Freedom, by David Friedman. Many years ago, a two chapter excerpt from this work cemented my anarchism. Now, the entire book is available again. This book is a wonderful economic analysis of government, showing how in many instances that good government is a "public good." In other words, a market based replacement for even essential government services would be a better solution. Over the years I have decided that his arguments are insufficient in some areas; there is still a good case for some government. But I still highly recommend this work. It is intellectually honest, and explains much of the difficulties of making government work properly (if you are so inclined). |
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Law's Order, by David Friedman. OK, so you believe in property rights, right? So where does your property begin and mine end? Do I have the right to turn on the lights or do the photons that hit your property constitute tresspass? What if those photons come from a high powered laser? OK, that was an extreme example, but there are many real world examples where the simplistic view of property rights fails. Dr. Friedman gives them a hard look. People will take your ideas more seriously if you do too. |
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Simple Rules for a Complex World, by Richard Epstein. It would be nice to simply say that private property is good and that initiation of force is bad and build a legal system based on this dictum. Alas, the real world is not so simple. Legal scholar Richard Epstein points out the holes and suggests additional axioms to make a complete legal system for a free society. |
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Fuzzy Thinking, by Bart Kosko. Fuzzy Logic is one of the biggest advancements in philosophy to come around in a long time. It deals with the imperfect mapping between words and reality. Must reading for the philosophically inclined, especially followers of Ayn Rand or Murray Rothbard. |
And just for fun:
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Parliament of Whores by P.J. O'Rourke. A hilarious but informative look at the workings of U.S. government. (Avoid if you find the occasional four-letter word to be objectionable.) |
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Eat the Rich by P.J. O'Rourke. A very funny survey of various economic ideas, from around the world. On-the-spot coverage of the consequences of various economic ideas, where they were applied. In this one, O'Rourke plays fair, with chapters such as "Good Capitalism," "Bad Capitalism," "Good Socialism," and "Bad Socialism." |
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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert A. Heinlein. Good fiction for freedom lovers. This one turned me into an anarchist for about a decade. |
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Alastor, by Jack Vance. A collection of three light science fiction novels connected by the same broad background. The third, "Wyst," is by far the best, and the one that is relevant. "Wyst" is a comedy that takes place in something much closer to the Marxist ideal than was ever achieved during the 20th century. Takes a fair look, both sympathetic and skeptical, towards a true "Egalistic" society. The amusing characters and dialog alone make this well worth reading. |
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That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis. Part III of Lewis' space trilogy. The plot has some fascinating parallels to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged despite the fact that Lewis was a devout Christian while Rand was a devout atheist. |
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The Futurological Congress, by Stanislaw Lem. Imagine a utopiaor is it dystopiabased on hallucinogenic drugs. Inspired by life in communist Poland. Quite a hoot! |
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You are a beautiful princess with great strength of character. ![]() |
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Sometimes motherly, sometimes a beautiful companion, but most of the time a deceiving vixen.![]() |