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[quote user="Jacob Bloom"]Because when I buy a house, I need to know that what I'm buying is going to be protected by force. I shouldn't have to pay for individual protection.[/quote] You already are paying for it: taxes. The question is, would you like that protection service to be operated by an enforced monopoly or free competition
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[quote user="Sage"]Now, justice and security are not, strictly speaking, the essence of the State. The State does not have a monopoly on either of these industries. There are private arbitrators, private conflict mediators, private laws and customs, all of which can be labeled "justice." Likewise, there are private bodyguards, security
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[quote user="Sage"]I would further argue that the root of government is not just monopoly, but in particular the monopoly on courts and police. Only when the government has this monopoly can it establish other monopolies, e.g. on education, money, roads, etc. [/quote] Nice! I mentioned this to my neocon friend who is super into politics and
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Occam's Razor provides that the simplest solution to a problem should be adopted unless there is compelling reason for additional complexity. Corollary to the Razor is that a case should be made in the simplest terms possible, barring a compelling reason to complicate it. Thinking about what constitutes the case for libertarianism, I've noticed
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I've been looking into private courts, mediation, and arbitration, and I found a random example that seems like an interesting seed for discussion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxZjI9NBbws http://www.virtualcourthouse.com Skeptics would note that the site is only for certain types of cases, and of course that it is the fact that the verdict is
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[quote user="Nitroadict"]I can't seem to find any mention of possible austrian econ or Lvmi activity in japan, or any students there pursuing means to spread said information, which I find odd considering how keen the Japanese seem to be on saving money. [/quote] I'm pretty sure there is essentially none. Japanese intellectuals in
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[quote user="Nitroadict"]Interesting, I always thought that taxes would be far higher there. [/quote] If you earn less than $50K per ear, it's 10% income tax deducted. National health insurance is optional. There is also a 5% sales tax. I don't know about business income, captial gains, or payroll taxes. [quote user="Nitroadict"
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[quote user="ladyattis"]In this case, the culture of the population of Japan offsets the 'foreign' inflationary policy.[/quote] Whoah, that really makes sense! It's as if the BOJ is doing all they can, but the people refuse to cooperate. I wonder, if that is the case, why wouldn't the BOJ just print more money straight up,
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[quote user="meambobbo"]What is the "deposit" rate at a local bank? What is the rate for a certificate of deposit?[/quote] Not sure about CDs or if they even have them, but the interest rate on my savings account at Sumitomi-Mitsubishi UFJ Bank is virtually zero. I remember a while back it was 0.43%. [quote user="meambobbo"
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[quote user="wilderness"]I wonder if it's some strong traditional sense that is still anchoring their ways towards savings.[/quote] I think it's just good old Japanese cautiousness. [quote user="krazy kaju"]Japan is modernizing .[/quote] In terms of consumer technology, Japan is years ahead of the US. However, ever since