Thoughts on Freedom

‘What is it that encourages ordinarily sensible people to start niche political parties?…What it [ the UK Libertarian Party] will do, like the Libertarian Party has done in the United States, is to tarnish the libertarian brand, allowing the crazier aspects of libertarian thinking to come to the fore, and achieving nothing of any merit…

..The lesson from American politics is that when libertarians create parties, they end up undermining liberty by diverting campaigners’ efforts way from the mainstream. Perversely, the Libertarian Party in the United States has undermined liberty: if it becomes a noticeable minority party, the British equivalent will do the same.’

Alex Singleton in the Daily Telegraph on the folly of setting up libertarian parties.

Worth reading the Samizdata comments thread  for some surprisingly vitriolic comments from ex-LP members.

‘Why the Campaign Against the Burmese Junta? So the US empire can once again use a humanitarian crisis to take over another country, of course.’

Rantings from a crazed Truther? Anti-US socialist nutters?  Private school Year 10 students rebelling against their privileged Eastern Suburbs background?

No, just a typical post on the Ron Paul-endorsed Lew Rockwell blog.  

This post, by Sean Corrigan, links to, and therefore presumably endorses, a loony-toon article on the World Socialist Web Site including such gems as this, 

‘The only means for abolishing the immense and deepening chasm between rich and poor is through the revolutionary restructuring of society along socialist lines, so that the burning needs of the overwhelming majority of humanity take precedence over the profit requirements of the few.’

Meds, quick!

But there’s more from the ridiculous Lew Rockwell blog including this wacko article by Paul Craig Roberts entitled ‘Hyocrisy rules The West‘, 

‘Indeed, Bush and Brown, as commanders in chief, are on a killing spree that makes the government in Burma look extremely restrained by comparison.’

and this,

‘To cut to the chase, what is the difference between Bush and Brown on one hand and the murderous Burmese government on the other? Bush and Brown are actually worse.’

With libertarian friends like Ron Paul and Lew Rockwell, i’m surprised that libertarianism is even a 1% market share brand.

Thanks to Jim Fryar on Real World Libertarian for highlighting this rubbish.

Well done, Pommy, you’ve sent the blog stats into overdrive… I even took a screenshot of the WordPress home page for keepsies. Classic stuff… not sure how it happened, but our most popular post yet. BTW, you can watch (and download) Fitna here.

UPDATE: I should probably also mention that I’ve blogged this over at Catallaxy, in part because I have Dutch relatives and find the whole issue interesting from their perspective.

1. Tim Worstall reminds us that only in France can you lose $7.2 billion but not your job.

2. Dr. Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, argues that religion must be beyond criticism. Harry Haddock’s reply is a peach.

3. Is Wesley Snipes an anti-statist hero, asks Samizdata?

4. Marginal Revolution ponders whether sub-prime lending contributed to a baby boom in the US?

5. Adam Smith Institute highlights the bizarre call to ban the unintended consequences of the smoking ban. Go figure!

6. Those boys at Reason do not report too kindly on Bush’s State of the Union address.

7. Spiked urge football authorities to ’stick the two minutes silence up your arse.’

8. Andrew Norton asks whether conservatives and classical liberals can agree on anything.

9. And finally, vote for Andrew Norton, Rafe Champion or Jason Soon in the Best Blog Posts of 2007.

Please let us know your favourite libertarian bloggers out there and we’ll update the blogroll.

The following is a post from Eric Dondero who runs Mainstream Libertarian, and Libertarian Republican. As background there is a certain degree of suspicion within the GOP that if Ron Paul is unsuccessful in his effort to win the nomination he might take the opportunity to stand as a “third Party” candidate.

This would have devastating consequences to the very real chance the Republicans have, to win the presidency again. They have very credible candidates in Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and probably Fred Thompson, and are gaining ground in grassroots campaigns across America.

Some Libertarians though have expressed an intention of joining the GOP in order to support Ron Paul, then leave again if he fails. If he were to stand as a third party candidate, he could take with him a great deal of the parties libertarian/Republican support.

It would be a terrible thing to see a man of his stature act as a spoiler.
Read more »

The U.K. Libertarian Alliance Conference will be held in London on the weekend of 27-28th October this year. See the full schedule and book your place here.

Discussion topics include;

Why the Sea should be Privatised 

Private Law Enforcement: Libertarian Ideas on the Future of Justice

Towards a Surveillance Society

Anarcho-Capitalism Versus the Minimum State

Thoughts on Building Campaigns for Liberty 

At the conference, the winner of the annual essay contest will be announced. This year’s question is ‘Does the UK need a Libertarian Party‘?

The same question could be asked in Australia. The view from within the LA, apparently, is that there is no need for a libertarian party in British politics. Their approach to date has been confrontational, even hostile, to mainstream politics and politicians. I completely disagree with this approach and will be submitting my 2,000 word essay for the $2,500 prize.

Change is most effectively brought about by a combination of ideas (think-tanks and blogs), effective marketing of those ideas (funds)  and power (seats). The same is true for Australia.

If you want to find out more about the Libertarian Alliance, contact Sean Gabb at sean@libertarian.co.uk