Some decisions by the Libertarian Party over the past several years have given dedicated libertarians pause. First, the nomination of Bob Barr for president in 2008. Next, the nomination of Gary Johnson and Bill Weld for president and vice president in 2016. Finally, an incident more relevant to libertarians in the Mid-Atlantic area has cause many to identify questionable trends in the party and wonder whether it is still committed to the principles that attracted millions to it over the  years.

For this episode we bring back one of our favorite guests – James Babb, who's a libertarian/anarcho activist in the Southeastern Pennsylvania area. We talked to Jim about recent events surrounding the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Liberty Festival and his thoughts on the direction the Libertarian Party seems to be headed.

You've probably seen the memes all over social media spreading the message, "Taxation is theft." The counter to that statement is usually, "No. Taxes are the price we pay for living in society." But does that theory hold water? We unpack the concept of taxation and make the case that it is indeed a legalized form of robbery.

We recently "celebrated" Equal Pay Day – a day that is supposed to recognize how far into the year a woman must work in order to earn what a man earns. Every year, this day is provided a national spotlight in an effort to perpetuate the narrative that America is still a society based in misogyny. But as John Adams pointed out, facts are stubborn things, and the economics don't support phantom gender wage gap. Sure, it's a useful tool for politicians to convince women they're getting a raw deal in society, thus providing more proof that the government is absolutely essential to level the playing field.

The gender wage gap is bullshit, and we took this opportunity to explain why.

So we don't really solve it, but we started talking about it one day and decided to turn on the recorder and hash it out. We don't have a lot of answers – and after all, who the hell would listen to us? – but we take a look at the situation from a libertarian perspective and analyze what's being done, what probably should be done, and what the consequences might be.

If you want a salient argument against capitalism, I guess the first person you'd turn to would be a Jesuit priest, right? Well, a few people I know on Facebook decided this was as expert a source on the topic as anything. So they posted an article by America: The Jesuit Review, in which the morally pure and intellectually honest (oh yeah, that's sarcasm) James Martin, SJ, provides a condemnation of capitalism, and his example – the recent United Airlines debacle.

Out of morbid curiosity, I read the article and, as anyone with a basic economic education would, deduced that it's one of the most idiotic denunciations of capitalism I've seen in a long time. So why waste any time on it? Because, as I said, a few people I know posted it who seemed to think that this totally feelings-based argument was a slam dunk in proving what a horrible system capitalism is.

Needless to say, it got under my skin… so we discussed.

For as far back as I can remember, Israel has always been a hot political issue in America. Other than considering an ally in the Middle East, not a lot of Americans know about what the country is really like.

Luckily, Aleks "The Hebrew Hammer" Salkin – a successful online fitness coach and resident of Israel – was in America for a visit and stopped by to talk to us. We asked him about Israel's government, culture, Jewish/Muslim relations, and a lot more. It was a great conversation that taught us a lot.

We've said it before – freedom means staying free in all aspects of life, including our health. If we don't take care of ourselves, we subject ourselves to dependency on the healthcare system. And the more that system is regulated by government, the greater potential there is to be a victim of bureaucracy.

The answer is to do what you can to keep yourself in the best health possible. Luckily, Pat is a fitness expert and is more than capable of helping people in that area. But for this episode, we bring in another fitness expert all the way from Israel! He loves the podcast that much that he actually came to Pennsylvania to be a guest!... Actually, he's a friend of Pat's and was visiting anyway.

But we couldn't miss the opportunity to speak with Aleks Salkin – a successful fitness coach – and get his insight on the easiest ways to stay fit and healthy so you're not compromised by a bureaucratic health system.

Throughout the past few years, and especially the last election, the term "income inequality" has been tossed around with great regularity. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren say it so much it's like a form of Tourette's Syndrome.

The basic idea is that some people earn less than others (some a lot less). There are all these millionaires and billionaires, and the fact that they hold a large portion of the world's wealth, and that is supposed to mean that there is theft on a grand scale afoot. Now, we're certainly not going to deny that there are corporations and individuals receiving tax dollars in the form of crony capitalism, but that says more about the political system than any sort of free market system.

Regardless, the income inequality issue is seen in the sense of a zero-sum game – some are poor because others are rich. What's the problem with this way of thinking, and why is this issue actually not something on which to burn a lot of calories?

We talk about it in this episode

One of the characteristics that distinguishes libertarians is our affinity for free-market economics. We certainly depart from liberals and, for the most part, conservatives, who often favor some form or crony capitalism in the name of a free market.

But being for laissez-faire economics isn't just about being for the ability for two people to engage in a voluntary exchange; it's about understanding the relationship between scarcity and the natural incentives behind human action. Once we comprehend how our choices are a decision between our wants/needs and the resources available to us at any given moment, we see the world in a way that differs greatly from most people.

So why is it important to think of the world in terms of economics? We discuss in today's episode.

If you've lived on this planet for more than a few days, you've undoubtedly heard about "the social contract," which you've never seen, but apparently says you have an obligation to act a certain way for the good of society. You didn't sign such a document, but you'll certainly be shunned out of polite social circles for daring to suggest that no, you shouldn't have to pay taxes or support the Make Everything Wonderful Bill that the president just signed.

So what do people really mean by "the social contract"? We take a stab at interpreting what it really implies.