Political Theory

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

John James — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:02:55 GMT

I thought it already reached the original destination anyway...why can't it leave the station and continue on to somewheres else?

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

Wheylous — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:34:49 GMT

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

John James — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 05:38:07 GMT

Aristophanes:
It looks like a girl's name anyway.
It is French.

...like I said...

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

Aristophanes — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:51:28 GMT

It looks like a girl's name anyway.

It is French.

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

John James — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:58:15 GMT

Aristophanes:
Why? He was a rather young judge in the French system at the time. And he was French...

Yeah but they're not gonna know that, and they're not going to look it up. It looks like a girl's name anyway.

I had Rothbard's For A New Liberty taught in two of my poly sci classes (Mises, Reed, and Hayek too). They covered the NAP and the general logic of private property. There wasn't any negative connotation (except some communist leaning kids who asked about racism and stuff; I fucking hate those kids).

That's incredibly remarkable. Definitely an uncommon experience. But in the vein of the opposite (warning against reading), this story is my favorite.

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

Aristophanes — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 04:45:12 GMT

(Other than a few possible "jeez...somebody's mother sure hated them.")

Why? He was a rather young judge in the French system at the time. And he was French...

Who said hostile reactions were necessarily bad?

To general libertarians it is probably not. But, you don't want the LvMI to be looked at like AEI or CATO by the people that are possible converts. You know what the SPLC is all about...some people eat that shit up.

kind of like when people were warned against reading Rothbard or taking his class.

I didn't know that stuff. Not that it surprises me. I had Rothbard's For A New Liberty taught in two of my poly sci classes (Mises, Reed, and Hayek too). They covered the NAP and the general logic of private property. There wasn't any negative connotation (except some communist leaning kids who asked about racism and stuff; I fucking hate those kids).

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

Wheylous — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 03:42:47 GMT

I chickened out and went with "WhoIsMises?" Sorry, I couldn't man up to the idea of the TA seeing the link and asking "hey, what's that?"

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

John James — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:33:58 GMT

Aristophanes:
"I bet that E.d.l.B. gets less hostile reactions than the polarizing libertarian site flagged by the SPLC."

a) I don't disagree...as no one will know who or what "Etienne de la Boetie" is, nor will they bother to look it up. So yes, I'm pretty sure it won't be getting any reactions. (Other than a few possible "jeez...somebody's mother sure hated them.")

b) Who said hostile reactions were necessarily bad? Either it means people went and at the very least looked it up and did a little reading, or it means they already heard something about it and will now be enticing others to go "see what all the fuss is about"...kind of like when people were warned against reading Rothbard or taking his class.

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

TheFinest — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 05:48:56 GMT

'Raw Milk'

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

Aristophanes — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 05:01:33 GMT

"I bet that E.d.l.B. gets less hostile reactions than the polarizing libertarian site flagged by the SPLC."

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

John James — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:54:24 GMT

"I bet mises.org can get more searches than Etienne de la Boetie from Wheylous' class alias list."

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

Aristophanes — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:27:31 GMT

Just use a full name of a supporter of liberty or something. I use Etienne de la Boetie on Google. Namely, I can impart that disobeidence to political authority is literally the same age as Machiavelli's striving to accumulate political power (Boetie and Machiavelli both did dealings with the same elite families in Italy and France at around the same time, but I am not sure that they knew each other).

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

ThatOldGuy — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:22:42 GMT

I like the idea of having your alias be mises.org

I think going with something like a political position might be off-putting to those who disagree from the get-go. Names having to do with "anarchy" or slogans against "the state" might disinterest students/faculty who are otherwise impressed by your 4.5 GPA. Offering something like a URL, on the other hand, gives someone a hint as to where this person earning a 6.7 GPA goes for his information and also exposes them to a glimpse of freedom.

Instead of either turning off a statist or merely getting a smile from a libertarian with the political slogan, the mises.org alias would invite the reader to follow the link to the front page of a great resource. Perhaps the front page will contain an article about the drug war, and how nonsensical and counterproductive it is, and catch the fancy of a social liberal. Or maybe a fiscal conservative will read about how the PPACA will make everyone poorer. Or maybe some idiot will think that Mises conspired with Hitler (I bet Ludwig von Mises can get more fans than John Maynard Keynes posted about this yesterday morning on facebook; I'd link to it, but I don't know how to do it).

Using the URL would allow the genuinely curious to dip their foot in the water. The only question is if non-alphabetical characters are accepted by the registration page.

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

John James — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:55:02 GMT

Yeah you can't get much more suggestive than a URL. Certainly can't create a better opportunity for communication/education. And it doesn't get much simpler than "mises.org". It's so short, easy enough to remember, uncommon enough that people have no idea what it is...yet so powerful. I kind of think of it like google.com in that way. It's such a simple looking page...so bare and clean...yet the engine behind it is unparalleled.

Re: Make something voluntaryist my alias for a class?

Wheylous — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 02:56:25 GMT

Ooh, I like the link idea.