Republicans trying to ban Ron Paul from future debates

According to this article on mlive.com, the Chairman of the Republican Party, fascist Saul Anuzis, is trying to have Ron Paul banned from future debates. The Republicans are quite clearly shaking in their boots — if Ron Paul is no threat, why do they need to ban him? It’s because he connects with real traditional conservatives, and those who might be re-evaluating the US’ war against Iraq.

The State is a Predator

David Gordon takes Frank Chodorov seriously as a major contributor to the libertarian intellectual tradition. Society does not need the State, argued Chodorov. Quite the contrary, the State is parasitic on social cooperation. Predators seize the chance to grab for themselves what others have peacefully produced. At first, predatory raids are sporadic; but intelligent predators soon realize that they can entrench their theft on a permanent basis and the State is born.

Protectionism and Other Forms of Theft

There are some other problems with the Republican candidates besides the fact that they are, with the exception of Ron Paul, all pro-war. How about economics? For instance, Duncan Hunter, who is featured in the May 14 issue of The New American because he is against NAFTA and CAFTA, said in the most recent Republican debate that “China is cheating on trade.” What he means by this is that he is a protectionist who fails to understand basic economics. I think Mr. Hunter needs to read Robert Murphy.

What If Social Security Were Completely Scrapped?

Opposition to authentic privatization, which means elimination of the program, derives from a combination of faulty reasoning and collectivist ideology. Defenders of Social Security deny that it is a Ponzi scheme, and instead claim: It is a grand success; Private citizens would not set aside adequate savings to fund their retirement; People would lose their life savings on risky stock market investments and other get-rich schemes; The overall rate of private savings is too low. Social Security offers a guarantee, they insist, a type of insurance for all citizens. Social Security is a “social compact,” a sacred promise between generations. And of course, there is the most mindless slogan: Social Security is the “Crown Jewel of the New Deal.”

Stamp Out the Postal Monopoly

The post office likes to make believe that it’s a real business with ridiculous gimmicks like its “forever” stamp and talk about being “competitive” in the market. But that can’t change the fact that the post office is an outrageously inefficient government monopoly, which exists only because the law protects it from real competition or even the consequences of its perpetually poor management.

Some New York Times’ Thoughts for the Day Concerning Capitalism

From an article on urban development in India:
In an experiment that is highly unusual for this most unplanned of countries, the government is doling out money to Nagpur and other “second tier” cities to help them modernize—fast.… Since its independence from Britain in 1947, the city-building philosophy of India has been, to put it gently, laissez-faire.— “‘Second Tier’ City to Rise Fast Under India’s Urban Plan.” (The article appears on p.

The State versus Liberty

The Nature of the State

So far in this book, we have developed a theory of liberty and property rights, and have outlined the legal code that would be necessary to defend those rights. What of government, the State? What is its proper role, if any?

Most people, including most political theorists, believe that once one concedes the importance, or even the vital necessity, of some particular activity of the State—such as the provision of a legal code—that one has ipso facto conceded the necessity of the State itself.