Isn't intentionally filling your ballot wrong way so it is not counted just like saying "I agree to the rules of the game but there is no candidate that I like"?
Robert Lynn: Interested in reactions, Bob
Interested in reactions,
Bob
That list is pretty long, but could be shortened quite a bit.
NO TAXATION FOR ANYTHING - No state money.
Thoughts?
1) I really want to push to get Economics In One Lesson in everylibrary of the nation, but I will start with a 50 mile radius of my house 2) I think it would be a great idea if we sent posters to variousother forms (for a month) to spread libertarian ideas in a calm,intelligent way. For example, we could collaborate with myspeacelibertarians to create a list of volunteer posters. Say we compile alist of 100 volunteers. Next we send one or two off to various politicalforms around the internet to hold casual conversations about libertarianprinciples. For example, if the group is republican we can speak aboutthe hold right, highlight their virtues while downgrading their ills.Same for other groups. We could show what free markets could do for theenvironmentalist groups, etc. In fact, we could compile a list of goodarticles and books on every topic so that we could all site referencesand direct the reading of the other forms. 3) Libertarian Radio needs to do more with promoting grassrootscampaigns. It would great if they allotted small segments in their showsto promote a local cause or direct the listeners to a website4) There also needs to be a way to overcome the trust mechanisms ofdonating money. For example, I pay my membership dues to mises.org andI trust them. Yet, if one of you wanted me to donate to your specificcause I would be reluctant because I don't personally know you. Apossible way around this is to open a paypal account ran by mises.orgform members. Receipts could be posted and member donations could belogged. You could also donate through mises.org and mises.org could paythe organization. 5) A "how can you help" section for the Mises home page wouldbe great6) For mises revenue, they need to venture beyond durable goodslike clothes and hats an into consumables like a tobacco or coffeeproduct so as to generate continuous funding. How About ROTHBARDO MOCA!7) Another good idea would be similar to www.kahnacademy.org ,yetinstead of 10 min video about how to factor a polynomial it would be a10 min video about a specific topic in economics. Our goal would be todirect students taking econ course (and need help) to visit our site tofind help with their classwork. 8) We also need more coverage of current events besides blogs. Whena new trendy topic hits the media the libertarians need to be pushingtheir solutions via articles 9) Although I'm not sure why Lew Rockwell has articles aboutalternative health topics on his website every day, however, if thatbrings in traffic then we should look to promote something like thatalso. Maybe we could simply have stock quotes or index prices, etc10)
Read until you have something to write...Write until you have nothing to write...when you have nothing to write, read...read until you have something to write...Jeremiah
Smack a statist liberal today with a copy of Anarchy, State and Utopia.
Not offices and bureaucrats, but big business deserves credit for the fact that most of the families in the United States own a motorcar and a radio set. - Ludwig von Mises
MarketFundamentalist: Smack a statist liberal today with a copy of Anarchy, State and Utopia.
Why not any statist, for that matter?
"Look at me, I'm quoting another user to show how wrong I think they are, out of arrogance of my own position. Wait, this is my own quote, oh shi-" ~ Nitroadict
Libertarians oppose aggression or the threat of aggression, and smacking anyone with anything would be an act of aggression. It seems to me that you can not fight statism with statist tactics.
austinite: Libertarians oppose aggression or the threat of aggression, and smacking anyone with anything would be an act of aggression. It seems to me that you can not fight statism with statist tactics.
I am pretty sure it was a metaphor.
jtucker: Interesting idea. After the first of the year, we are looking at a huge range of such things, like playing cards and chess sets and much more clothing, etc. etc.
Interesting idea. After the first of the year, we are looking at a huge range of such things, like playing cards and chess sets and much more clothing, etc. etc.
Any status update on getting Mises door hangers?
At most, I think only 5% of the adult population would need to stop cooperating to have real change.
Jeremiah Dyke:6) For mises revenue, they need to venture beyond durable goodslike clothes and hats an into consumables like a tobacco or coffeeproduct so as to generate continuous funding. How About ROTHBARDO MOCA!
I'm not sure if Mises Chew would be possible due to a heavy regulatory environment, but I would definitely buy some if possible.
Political Atheists Blog
I have been asked by a couple of friends who live in Europe about starting their own "free market" movement, perhaps in connection with the Von Mises Institute. How would they go about this? Does the Mises Institute have installations abroad? Would it be willing to start?
liberty student: Entrepreneurship
http://mises.org/Community/forums/t/15307.aspx
Latest Projects
"Even when leftists talk about discrimination and sexism, they're damn well talking about the results of the economic system" ~Neodoxy
macedonia74: I have been asked by a couple of friends who live in Europe about starting their own "free market" movement, perhaps in connection with the Von Mises Institute. How would they go about this? Does the Mises Institute have installations abroad? Would it be willing to start?
Open sourced in basically every regard.
So get domain name, set up - translate what is needed, start spreading the message.
It really saddens me when I hear people I respect ( Rockwell, Raico) talk of the uselessness of voting. I'll go with Rothbard on this one.
If the lesser of two evils keeps us out of a war and saves your brothers life- it is worth whatever perceived principal you gave up.
Also I totally agree that the Ron Paul campaign pushed forward Libertarian ideas like nothing else has. No matter that he can't win- he has done more than all the activism any and all of us could accomplish.
Be responsible, ease suffering; spay or neuter your pets.
We must get them to understand that government solutions are the problem!
Mike:It really saddens me when I hear people I respect ( Rockwell, Raico) talk of the uselessness of voting. I'll go with Rothbard on this one.
Yes it's frustrating. You would feel better about it though when you realized that voting can only expand war, government, and welfare. Voting cannot retract those mechanisms.
You need to read up on public choice theory and really consider the moral and economic flaws of classical mob rule. Democracy can not save us from our current perils. It's not designed to. Democracy IS currently working as intended, by giving us war, welfare, and poverty.
Very nice job Justin
I tried a similar tact on my father.( taxation at the point of a gun - killed if you resist) his reply was interesting and I did not have a good reply.
He said " don't resist" ... based on social contract theory.. if you do indeed believe in the social contract his answer makes sense and really expands the conversation dramatically.
filc:Yes it's frustrating. You would feel better about it though when you realized that voting can only expand war, government, and welfare. Voting cannot retract those mechanisms.
Please tell me how a few thousand or a few million libertarians NOT voting makes it better. I know there are great philisophical reasons that I'm sure I would agree on, but I still think an individual action is better than no action.
This past election was the first one I didn't vote in 20 years. I know it is MY fault Obama won.. wink wink
Working within the system can only slow it down, or impede it.. which is fine... and in fact - when you get Ron Paul, he pretty much openly directs people outside of it.. as can be verified over and over again.
The real revolution is the one taking place outside the system though. If only more Ron Paul supporters would realise this - instead of getting stuck, thinking there isn't much to do between "election years". Maybe they have been - it's just the folks at RPforums are the ones stuck in a rut.
Mike: Please tell me how a few thousand or a few million libertarians NOT voting makes it better. I know there are great philisophical reasons that I'm sure I would agree on, but I still think an individual action is better than no action. This past election was the first one I didn't vote in 20 years. I know it is MY fault Obama won.. wink wink
Not your fault at all. It's the equivalent of not joining the mob during a witch hunt. Your response reveals that you haven't yet critically analyzed what you are doing when you vote(an orgy of coercion). The very concept of voting is the practicing act of coercing, or forcing your neighbor, into doing things they wouldn't otherwise voluntarily choose to do. In addition to, by voting(even if voting for someone else) then Obama winning would have been your fault. By not voting your hands are clean and your conscious is clear.
http://fee.org/media/audio/public-choice-1/
http://fee.org/media/video/public_choice-1/
http://fee.org/media/video/public-choice-2/
The above audio/video files should allow you to at least consider the economic.
Conza88:Working within the system can only slow it down, or impede it..
QFT
filc: Mike: Please tell me how a few thousand or a few million libertarians NOT voting makes it better. I know there are great philisophical reasons that I'm sure I would agree on, but I still think an individual action is better than no action. This past election was the first one I didn't vote in 20 years. I know it is MY fault Obama won.. wink wink Not your fault at all. It's the equivalent of not joining the mob during a witch hunt. Your response reveals that you haven't yet critically analyzed what you are doing when you vote(an orgy of coercion). The very concept of voting is the practicing act of coercing, or forcing your neighbor, into doing things they wouldn't otherwise voluntarily choose to do. In addition to, by voting(even if voting for someone else) then Obama winning would have been your fault. By not voting your hands are clean and your conscious is clear. http://fee.org/media/audio/public-choice-1/ http://fee.org/media/video/public_choice-1/ http://fee.org/media/video/public-choice-2/ The above audio/video files should allow you to at least consider the economic. Conza88:Working within the system can only slow it down, or impede it.. QFT
WOW!! I am totally embarrassed that I have never been to the FEE web-site – a treasure trove of information. I have read of FEE a thousand times and kind of thought they were a relic of the past.
My Ipod will be working OT in the weeks to come.
Thanks
They have alot of great stuff.
liberty student: Nick. B:Start a pure market anarchist organisation. Just start a business. Hire people. Run your business in the most Austrian/Free Market manner possible. And make sure you're successful, because if you fail, that hurts the cause. Nick. B:I mean when do we get organised and start fighting for our freedom?! Don't wait. Be the change you want to see.
Nick. B:Start a pure market anarchist organisation.
Just start a business. Hire people. Run your business in the most Austrian/Free Market manner possible. And make sure you're successful, because if you fail, that hurts the cause.
Nick. B:I mean when do we get organised and start fighting for our freedom?!
Don't wait. Be the change you want to see.
I like this idea a lot. Think about it, you don't need to be debate politically or involve politics, when you show how a theory works in real life.
Freedom has always been the only route to progress.
The best part, and LS understood this, was that the Internet is turning a stateless economy into a reality. It won't be long before real world business models start emulating online business models, and you don't see a lot of government on the internet...
free paradigm || youtube
Libertyandlife: liberty student: Nick. B:Start a pure market anarchist organisation. Just start a business. Hire people. Run your business in the most Austrian/Free Market manner possible. And make sure you're successful, because if you fail, that hurts the cause. Nick. B:I mean when do we get organised and start fighting for our freedom?! Don't wait. Be the change you want to see. I like this idea a lot. Think about it, you don't need to be debate politically or involve politics, when you show how a theory works in real life.
It would be interesting to start some kind of crime insurance company.
macedonia74:I have been asked by a couple of friends who live in Europe about starting their own "free market" movement, perhaps in connection with the Von Mises Institute. How would they go about this? Does the Mises Institute have installations abroad? Would it be willing to start?
The Atlas Economic Research Foundation exists in large part to help people like your friends set up free market institutes.
-=Steve=-
I'd like to add something that I think could be of help.
Check out your favorite Libertarian books from the local (probably government) library as often as possible, and encourage your friends to do the same. Reading them is helpful, but that's not the thrust of my suggestion, which is to crank up the circulation on good Libertarian books.
If your local library doesn't have any, use the I.L.L. - Inter-library loan - system to request a good Libertarian book from another library that does carry it.
We teach our children at home (homeschool/home learning/etc) rather than using government schools, and we use the local library system fairly often, to the tune of 50 or 75 books weekly so we don't have to purchase all of their reading materials.
The library staff are very friendly to us, and we suppose we've figured out why: it's all about circulation. They show how active, how productive, how needy of more budget they are by how many books/magazines/cds/etc are checked out. They also decide on what sorts of new books to acquire based on how often particular books are checked out.
I don't always have time to read all these books, but I usually do, getting through a couple a week. And of course that gives me more grist for the mill when I'm answering my smart aleck buddies who say things like "Libertarians have, generally, lousy morals and foreign policy....". The most recent time I received this quip, which was yesterday, I gave my associate a lot more to think about.
Start a regular/monthly liberty social event - 'Liberty Drinks'! Seems like you'll get more traction and community than a Meetup group. Make it about meeting people and making friends - not activism - that comes after you have some cohesion. Make it about spreading ideas.
Invite as many local liberty groups as you can. Encourage those on the liberty fence to attend. Consider targeting young pros/people and college students. Make a Facebook page and Eventbrite page and others like at:
I wanted to add: Consider an optional/suggested admission price with proceeds going to a different liberty cause that changes each time.
FeedMeLiberty:Start a regular/monthly liberty social event - 'Liberty Drinks'! Seems like you'll get more traction and community than a Meetup group. Make it about meeting people and making friends - not activism - that comes after you have some cohesion. Make it about spreading ideas.
For what it's worth, if there were one in the D.C. area, I'd probably show up, although I don't have time these days to be the instigator.
If you are willing to do a little preparation and a little typing, there are literally thousands of offers to be had in exchange for some information. Keep in mind that most "free" things come with some strings attached. In most cases, you have to register and participate in some offers or surveys.
I have found that most offers start by collecting an email address or zip code. After that, you will probably be offered a series of products and/or surveys to fill out or review. It is a fact that many web surfers ignore these free offerings but enough people purchase a product or service to make it profitable for a company to continue offering free stuff online. If it was not profitable, no merchant would make free offers.
There are many worthwhile offers online. And, if you find some you want to try for, there are some simple and easy things you can do to protect yourself when registering for the free stuff.
1. Open an e-mail address used specifically for free offers. I have one that routinely gets 10 to 15 emails every day from vendors associated with free stuff. I check about once a week and usually just empty the folder.
2. Buy a prepaid credit card for a small amount of money and use that number for your free offers. This will keep unwanted charges off your other cards.
3. Get a pre-paid cell phone and use that number when a phone number is needed. These are readily available at a lot of stores and are relatively cheap.
4. Make a spreadsheet or use a ledger and keep a list of offers you sign up for and expiration dates. You can use this to keep track of expiration dates and unsubscribe from unwanted offers before a charge hits your credit card.
5. Make sure you complete all the requirements for the free offer. Sometimes, online merchants will make it so difficult to qualify that most people give up or unsubscribe before they get a chance at the prize.
Check the the terms section on the website, usually, there will be a disclaimer that goes something like this "To get your free stuff you will be required to participate in offers from Providers. Following are requirements from past or current provider offers to give you and example of what to expect." If you look at the examples, you will find that you have to subscribe or sign up for something to qualify (a lot of them make good gifts).
6. Enjoy your free offer.
My research and experience has shown that it is possible to get good free stuff, everything from triple a memberships to zombi games online. The key is to choose which offers to sign up for carefully and be sure to follow the rules. You might buy $100 - $200 worth of stuff you don't need (good gifts) and you will have to cancel memberships and subscriptions, but, it might be worth it to get a $700 device for around $150 plus a couple hours of time.
Stuff we can do:
* Talk to our friends, family, and coworkers about Austrian ideas
* Give them easy books to read like "How an economy grows" by Irwin Schiff (comeon, they're not going to read "Man, Economy, and State").
* Go to rival blogs and forums and express our viewpoint in a calm, rational, and collected manner. Indeed, the moment you resort to tear-jerks such as "thief! Supporter of theft!", or ad hominems is the moment you lost your ground.
* Promote and use technologies such as Bitcoin, a distributed digital currency. If you are a good coder, help improve them!
* Write your own blog and introduce these ideas every now and then.
I am majoring in Graphics Design and English. If you guys have seen the user Beefheart, I've made the flag (he's been my friend for a few years now lolol) he flaunts around this forum.If you don't know what this is, it's this:
I don't get why I don't see many libertarians concentrating a bit more on art as a whole - mainly indirectly. I have captivated a few people with the flag, and they began to ask questions, in which I was able to introduce them to the school. I think more usage of visual art - to spur questions in people - can be a good method. Not to criticize, but to incite questions. Some use of the Socratic method.I have been thinking heavily on the notions that perhaps better visual art can work. Mises' dailies certainly captivated me with the high quality photos and photoshopping. Anyone else here (and in history) taking the method of expressing their libertarian thought in their art at least subliminally?
I just set up a new wireless router. You know how everyone's network is named "John's-PC-Wireless"? You see a whole bunch on the list when you go to connect to a wireless network. I put ours as "Read Rothbard Wireless", so people will see :p
Why not a video like Zeitgeist, but about Austrian economics, voluntarism, and anarcho-capitalism?
I don't know if too many people would have heard of Zeitgeist if not for the videos, which were pretty well done from what I remember.
Here is a video from a comedy series we are making about the police. I think a bit of humor is a good way to get these difficult topics across.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S15T_uZCAA
I always thought that pamphleteering was a lost art. Just handing out flyers to houses and then linking them to get more information about Austrian economics and how to spread ideas themselves would be great. If I spread the ideas out, and then they spread the ideas out, it grows at a tremendous rate. So that's what I'd like, a place with simple information about Austrian economics that's not imposing to someone from the outside and that also has pamphlets and door hangers that are easy to find and print.
Yes, I am a huge Dodgers fan.
Anti-state since I learned about the Cuban Revolution and why my dad had to flee the country.
Beer, Guns and Baseball My blog
Why would you give a statist, a statist book?
Photography? Hopefully better edited than what I just did in 5 seconds on MSPaint and Google Images, and more like the "Rent Control or Bomb Damage?" pictures.
"Public Works"
I write a weekly political opinion column in the local daily paper and try to write about local issues from a voluntaryist perspective. It's not always easy and that's part of the reason I like to do it, to see how I can frame an issue and show that government is not the answer. If I can, I try to use humor to get my points across.
The paper gives me lots of freedom and I really enjoy it. I think using local issues and controversies that are happening in people's "back yards" is one of the best ways to get people thinking. It's much less abstract when you can relate it to something that's going on in their own community.
The newspaper biz is changing a lot and local papers are craving local opinion from what I am seeing. So send them something and see what happens.
Nice contribution, thanks Debbie!