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In this episode we start off with a look at our 2 types of libertarian messengers.
Principled messengers keep the moral flame alive; petty political details are irrelevant.
Conventional messengers focus on dealing with contemporary statist policies. It’s statism on statism’s terms. At heart they are anti-state, but downplay their anti-statism views.
I discuss Dave Smith, one of our most prominent and talented liberty advocates. He serves as an ideal representation of this aspect of the conventional messaging style. Identifying as anarchist, but not mentioning it often.
But he also represents both types, in this way: he assumes a free society is far, far down the road.
I displayed this simple graph, to represent how major social changes can happen quickly…
Things go along for what seems to be forever, with no change (for example, slavery, across human history). That’s the horizontal part of the line. Then a transition period happens, an inflection point in the curve, where things change quickly. After that, the original conditions are flipped (again using slavery as an example, slavery is no longer condoned). Now the curve takes the opposite direction, into the extended future. The stable conditions (before and after) take up most of history. But the inflection period…the transition…covers a fairly short time.
I use this to illustrate the pattern for what is likely to be the transition to a free society.
With that as a backdrop, we then engage in a thought experiment. Suppose you could see 15-20 years ahead. Suppose it shows clear, unmistakable signs that the myth of authority is eroding. The debate is over, as to when we’ll know the state’s days are numbered…we’ve started the inflection point. With that fore-knowledge, we ask some interesting questions.
Get ready for an intriguing episode!
Some links to material we covered in this episode:
The Remnant
Episode 23 of my series, discussing conventional vs. principled messaging
Episode 20 of my series, discussing the likelihood of the transition to a free society playing out over the next several generations
My full, free 23-part Myth of Authority Masterclass
Since some may be new to libertarian perspectives, here is a short list of links you may find helpful. I’ve classified them based on the different ways people ponder issues:
Want to know how important things would get done without government?
* Reading material: “The Machinery of Freedom” by David Friedman; for private law specifically (rather than government law) try “Legal Foundations of a Free Society” by Stephan Kinsella
* Video: “The Case for Privatization, of Everything”, “Law without Government: Principles”, “Law without Government: Conflict Resolution”, “Law without Government: The Bargaining Mechanism”
Want a comprehensive overview?
* Reading material: “The Voluntaryist Handbook” by Keith Knight
* Video: “Anarchy 101”, “The Philosophy of Liberty”
Want to get down to the root of it, without sugar coating?
* Reading material: “Anatomy of the State” by Murray Rothbard, “The Most Dangerous Superstition” by Larken Rose
* Video: “The Fundamentals”, “The Whole Problem”, “The State is Too Dangerous to Tolerate”, “The Tiny Dot”
Want to focus on economics?
* Reading material: “I, Pencil” by Leonard E. Read, “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt
* Video: “The Attractiveness of Austrian Economics”
Want to focus on the absurdity of politics?
* Reading material: “The Problem of Political Authority” by Michael Huemer
* Video: “Election Day”, “I’m Allowed to Rob You”, “If You Were King”, “The Jones Plantation”
Thanks for listening!
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