Libertarianism for Normal People

It’s been a little over one year since Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. While this administration has been a little boring from a political standpoint, we decided to take a look back and analyze the accomplishments – what we like and don’t like. Is there anything in the Trump presidency that libertarians can appreciate? We discuss.

Let's find out, shall we?

As a Christian libertarian or conservative, how many times have you heard the argument, “Hey man! Jesus was a socialist! He said people should give their money to the poor! So if you follow the teachings of Jesus, you should be fine with universal health care, welfare, etc…. Man!”?

Now, it’s certainly true that Jesus said people should help the poor, but does that mean he was advocating for socialism? We discuss.

We recorded this episode a few days after the tragic Las Vegas mass shooting. Of course, while there are some who fruitlessly call for such an unfortunate incident not to be politicized, inevitably, both sides of the debate have to weigh in.

It’s sad, but this is a pattern that repeats itself every time there’s a mass shooting… and it’s a legit point on the part of gun control advocates: We all express shock and remorse, talk a good game, and nothing gets done.

But is that a bad thing? We discuss this tragedy and guns from a libertarian perspective and why it’s good that action is never taken by our betters in Washington to curtail gun violence.

Today, we offer a bonus episode! As you might or might not know (probably not), co-host Pat Flynn has his own podcast – The Pat Flynn Show… clever name, right? The podcast is about expert generalism, which means learning multiple skills that will help you become a more complete and valuable person to others who need the services you can offer.

Pat’s had a variety of guests from different backgrounds who have achieved success not by specializing in one particular skill, but in many. A recent guest was one with which many libertarians should be familiar – Michael Malice, author of “Dear Reader: An Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il,” and ghostwriter for several celebrity books.

Pat and Michael discussed a multitude of topics, including writing and of course, North Korea. We thought our Libertarianism For Normal People audience would get a kick out of Pat’s conversation with Michael, so please… enjoy!

God bless the Facebook trolls who comment on our LFNP page. They give us so much fodder for episode content. One particular commenter made the mistake of putting forth cliché, weak arguments in response to a meme we posted. Does the term “muh roads!” ring any bells?

This got us thinking… a lot of the arguments the Left makes often collapse on themselves when you take them to their logical conclusions. We talk about some examples in this episode.

Libertarian nationalism… In a nutshell, it’s the idea that a libertarian society should be built with a nationalist focus. Seems contradictory with libertarian values, so we decided to discuss with Aaron Fountaine, who happens to be a high school friend of Pat and is a proponent of this idea. The discussion was originally meant to be a debate, but turned into more of a roundtable talk.

Is libertarian nationalism a viable option for people of our way of thinking? Take a listen and decide for yourselves (we weren’t exactly convinced).

When it comes to law enforcement, libertarians favor, for the most part, private solutions. We would rather have a market-based security agency than a monopolized police force populated by self-serving, unaccountable individuals who think they’re above the laws they are supposed to enforce.

This philosophy has caused many libertarians to ‘act out’ against police officers. You’ve probably seen the videos of anti-statists giving cops a hard time during traffic stops or on the street. But is this a good approach? If you’re getting a speeding ticket, is it worth refusing to answer questions and voicing your objection to state-oriented law enforcement to an officer who might not have a political agenda and just feels that they’re doing his/her job?

We discuss in today’s episode.

We recorded this shortly after the incident in Charlottesville. Given the reaction from the media, the left wing, and even conservative and libertarian leaders, it’s clear that there’s a hysteria in America that I haven’t seen in my entire life. A few hundred white nationalists, alt-righters, and a few Nazis and KKK members were present, but if you were to perceive nothing about this event other than the views of politicians and the mainstream media, you would swear that America is on the verge of being overrun by these ideologically twisted people.

Now, America has its problems, but white supremacy ain’t one. Yes. I know. There are racists, Nazis, and Klansmen in the America. But they are so marginalized – they have no political power, no influence in the media or Hollywood, and no presence whatsoever in academia – that to consider them a true threat is treading in hysterical waters.

If you actually think we’re another tiki-torch demonstration away from the Nazi flag being raised at the Capitol Building, grab the reins and listen to this episode.

One of our value-add episodes to help our listeners find greater success in your professional lives so you can move closer to greater independence. Today we talk about expert generalism. All our lives we’ve been told that the key to success is focusing on one skill and becoming as proficient as possible. But is that still true?

In today’s diverse economy, specialization can actually be a detriment to your professional life. Most entrepreneurs, and even 9-to-5 employees are looking to advance themselves by acquiring a set of different skills to make themselves more valuable to employers and clients. It’s called expert generalism, and we explain what it is in today’s episode.