The nonsense of minimum wages
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From a political perspective anywhere in the world, the raising of minimum wages has always been popular. Why? Because it give the poorest voting segment of the population a break in their though life. It is also popular with politicians because it allows them to buy the maximum amount of vote with the minimum government expenditure, namely zero. This is so because minimum wages alwaysburden the private sector, not the public…
Lesson #146 - First come first served - Part 1
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Today we are going to follow-up on the lesson Property Ownership And Competition - The Human Trinity. The next logical question is: how do we prevent people from getting into conflicts over previously un-owned property? If our stated goal is to foster coexistence, this question must be answered.
In order to do so, we need to go through a little historical process. We ask patient of you, dear reader.
…
Somalia - the great austro-libertarian failure? - Part 4
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COMMENTARY
Libertarian tendencies
Although it is clear that Somalis did not evolve into a Libertarian society, it is also clear that they evolved towards it. It is critical to note that Libertarianism is a way of life and therefore an E-volution. It is not a RE-volution. As with any other evolutionary force, political evolution does not skip major steps. To demand that Political System Changes skip evolutionary stages is as ridiculous…
Somalia - the great austro-libertarian failure? - Part 3
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THE REBUTTAL - CNT'D
Analysis of Argument #2
1991-1995 – Civil War
Between the years of 1991 and 1995 (4 years) and after an initial drop caused by war, the GDP grew above and beyond the levels the Dictatorship managed to perform in 20 years. Not only that, the market did so in the middle of a fierce Civil War.
Let’s be honest, it is a little bit difficult to…
Somalia - the great austro-libertarian failure? - Part 2
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THE REBUTTAL - CNT'D
Rebuttal of Argument #1
Libertarianism is a form of Political Theory and, when translated to reality, it becomes a Political System. It is the politics of one. You, me and everybody else are independent states of one with full sovereignty. It is therefore appropriate to analyze Libertarianism for what it is.
Note:when we talk about Political System Change, we are not describing a mere change in…
Somalia - the great austro-libertarian failure? - Part 1
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As Absolute Austro Libertarians we believe in people not governments. As such, we are constantly being targeted with arguments which, at first glance, seem to prove that a Libertarian society without government can never developed. As of lately, the Somalian case has been used repeatedly and almost up to a nauseating point to “prove” that we are wrong.
We are here today, to analyze the arguments and to see if…
Lesson #145 - Property, ownership and competition - the human trinity - Part 3
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SELF-OWNERSHIP
The concept of self-property is also important because the basis of Libertarianism (i.e. freedom) directly applies to us. Freedom without us makes no sense. Freedom, at its most basic, is simply a choice that we can make by ourselves. If we do not own ourselves, we have no freedom. But in order to own ourselves, we need to recognize our bodies and minds as property, which happen to be ours.…
Lesson #144 - Property, ownership and competition - the human trinity - Part 2
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THE CONCEPT OF OWNERSHIP
In Libertarian as well as Austrian Economic thinking, there are three basic ideas:
- People are physical beings and therefore we need physical “stuff”
- Physical “stuff” is scarce
- Physical “stuff” in its natural state has no owner
These ideas seem trivial, but they are quite important.
People need stuff
The reality is that we are physical beings. Our minds, however powerful may be, are enclosed and…
Lesson #143 - Property, ownership and competition - the human trinity - Part 1
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Today we are going to take a look at how an Austro-Libertarian system understands property and ownership. This is important because without ownership of property there cannot be contracts and, without contracts, there cannot be co-existence.
THE CONCEPT OF PROPERTY
At its most basic, the term “property” is simply a label that we apply to stuff. Property does not imply ownership. Property can be owned or un-owned (more about this…
