Anyway, Cantwell disassembles his arguments with dramatic flourish. Some responses he provides are less compelling than others, but those that claim to be atheist or those that believe that paying your taxes, calling your senator, and voting is compatible with Christianity ought to watch this video.
An oldie, but goodie. In this one, Cantwell takes apart an argument provided by a self-proclaimed atheist who is anything but. Cantwell *is* an atheist, while I am most certainly not, I can appreciate the integrity of his position and the fact that he manages to come around to the Truth in so many things. Had he been raised by decent Catholics, he may not have had so strong an aversion to the philosophy which so closely parallels his own.
Anyway, Cantwell disassembles his arguments with dramatic flourish. Some responses he provides are less compelling than others, but those that claim to be atheist or those that believe that paying your taxes, calling your senator, and voting is compatible with Christianity ought to watch this video.
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In today's resource suggestion, Tom Woods discusses Caesar and the Lamb, a book that's been on my amazon wishlist for a while, now. The discussion in Episode 452 of the Tom Woods Show centers on the history of the early Church and it's relationship to the sixth commandment (or fifth, if your knowledge of the Faith is limited to the Catechism). It is a detailed and lighthearted exploration of the historical record and the philosophy hidden behind the Church's prohibition on being a soldier and it's change of heart after conquering the Roman empire.
This is a must-listen for anyone, even non-Christians, as it explores the origin of just war theory and the relationship it bears to the Christian ethos. In the spirit of Rothbard, Walter Block presents a treatise on the relationship between crime and economic manipulation, semi-appropriate ethical indignation and the unintended consequences of using violence to try to prevent those ethically unappealing actions.
In Defending the Undefendable, Walter Block defends the heroin dealer, the speculator, the employer of child labor, and the man who screams "fire" in a crowded theater against accusations of economic perversity and harming the social order. He does so quite effectively. After reading this book, one who is educated in economics will have to seriously reconsider support of a minimum wage and legal prohibitions against child labor. The introduction, written by Rothbard himself, makes it clear that while the people defended in Block's book are heroes because of the role they play economically and the adversity they face in reducing the friction of a politically-controlled economic system, this is not a moral defense of the particular actions the people make. For instance, a heroin dealer could very well be a boon to the market and a hero in face of the evils of government while also perpetrating an immoral or unethical act (such as selling poison to people, even if it is a voluntary interactions). As compelling, concise, and informative as the book is as a whole, there is one chapter, however, that doesn't seem to belong. The defense of the "Male Chauvinist Pig" was less an economic defense of chauvinism and much more an incoherent and aggressive defense of feminist talking points, most prominent of which being the importance of abortion. This defense of abortion is actually inconsistent with a much more compelling case he makes later on in the case of defending "The Employer of Child Labor". All-in-all, though, this book is a must-read for anyone who believes in the free market but hasn't critically assessed their position on "the undefendable" as of yet, people who are genuinely interested in reducing crime and increasing the quality of life for the poor, and those that still believe that government violence can somehow improve the world. Each chapter is a few pages long, very direct and to the point. One can acquire the book for free in digital form from the Mises Institute, or purchase a hardcopy at Amazon. I strongly recommend that you do so.
As I've said before, Cantwell, with rare exception, tends to say exactly what I'm thinking in more or less the way I'm thinking it. He has an incredibly rational, well-read, and solidly grounded approach and interpretation of facts. I'm not saying this because I agree with him, I'm saying it because he's managed to make me critically assess my beliefs and has led to me changing my position on a handful of things. He's got a grasp of economics and the human condition that rivals and even surpasses that of Andreas M Antonopoulos.
He doesn't always couch his arguments in the most dispassionate or compassionate manner, but that's not his rhetorical style. What he does is effective, and that's why those unable to measure up to his standards of integrity and knowledgeability are apt to attempting to silence and exile him. It is ironic that the anarchist, atheist, asshole, with a criminal record from New York City is, quite literally, the conscience of "the liberty movement".
He recently posted what has rapidly become his most popular piece of work by a tremendous margin. It was a response to the SCotUS' ruling mandating religious support of gay marriage licenses. Unlike many people who simply look at such issues as either, "Yay! Gays!" or "Boo! Gays!" Cantwell and I have an identical and less-conventional position on such issues: tell the state to mind it's own goddamned business.
As is the case with any other economic or human social issue, government involvement makes everything worse rather than better. The state has absolutely no reason, moral or otherwise to concern itself with the voluntary interactions of human beings, nor they types of agreements (or contracts, for those who believe in contracts) that humans make between themselves. The Church has no reason to try to make sinners the enemy of the state and use violence to try to force them to behave morally, as it will only increase opposition to the Church, and justly so. When did Christ ever take a sword to the adulterer? In the same way, the state cannot use violence to force the Church to acknowledge the state's claim to redefine an institution as old as the human race in order to garner political support. Inserting itself into the voluntary interactions of humans: forcing cake shops to serve customers, punishing churches that will not abandon their sacramental duties, and creating any number of perverse economic incentives will not make discrimination go away, it will justify and magnify it. Just as people are incentivized to kill endangered species that come to roost on private property, they are incentivized to make protected classes of humans go away when they come to roost.
In a speech presented in 1994, Murray Rothbard explores "just war theory" in a very thorough and relevant manner, as is Rothbard's MO. The transcript of the speech can be found here, and the audio of the speech is in the youtube video below:
Exploring the war crimes of various American and European leaders, the nature of the constitution and the articles of confederation exploring the cause for Somalia's current crises, pointing out the largely-ignored neo-puritan cult which swept up the Union and caused an unjust religious crusade against a neighboring nation, calling out our own government's (and all powerful governments') ongoing trend of abandoning just war theory in favor a total war doctrine which declares one's own citizens and civillians of neighboring nations as legitimate and desirable targets for the military.
This speech is especially pertinent this week, after the social media and cultural debacle surrounding cultural revisionism and violations of people's rights at the hand of the government in the name of "equality". The first podcast I ever downloaded, The Partially Examined Life, is a perennial staple of my podcast-listening and self-education. Their Zero Episode does a great job of introducing their project. I have gotten the most out of their podcast by reading the material ahead of time, listening to the podcast, and then talking to someone (anyone) about the material discussed and trying to tease any kind of intellectual response out of them. Previous attendees of my mostly-defunct philosophy club will recognize several of these episodes and ideas. I understand several of the earlier episodes (my favorite ones) are behind a paywall these days, but people have to make a living, right? They're up on iTunes and all the other podcast aggregators. My favorite episode is probably their 100th episode... however, their commentaries on Camus, MacIntyre, Antigone, etc. are amazing. I recommend starting at the beginning and moving on from there, as they do build on past episodes in order to be able to address higher-level and more esoteric concepts later on.
Today's resource is an interesting article which, to my non-anarchist but freedom-minded friends, may be food for thought. All this provides me is a clear-cut example regarding why I am not a libertarian and have no faith in the rule of law. This includes the NAP. It is not a crime to broadcast radio waves, even if your neighbors may be exposed to them; if they don't like it, they can negotiate with you, erect a giant lead box around their property, or move to Somalia. Of course, they must do so with the understanding that they, too are impacting your property in a proportionate manner and degree. Ultimately, as the article briefly alludes to, it is an environmental concern. Not "environmental concern" as in hippie tree-hugger environmentalism, but rather an issue which one must take into account when choosing what environment to homestead or migrate to. If one wishes to avoid hurricanes, one should stay off the gulf coast. If one wishes to avoid radio waves, one should move to a low-altitude rural area and use lead paint on one's house. For a deeper exploration of the ideas expressed in this article, I recommend reading Lysander Spooner. Most pertinent to this issue would be Vices are not Crimes. In order to get the most solid understanding of what is said.
George Ought to Help is a very short, much more kindly iteration of a point I've made on this blog and elsewhere. This is a good video to serve as a refresher to those that already understand the basics of morality, and it serves as a great starting place for those that aren't quite on board yet with anarchy.
No real post today, I was too busy doing mother's day stuff and being furious at the wholly criminal kidnap and abuse of a family in Kentucky. Instead, I bring you a very pretty picture and thought-provoking thought from Henry David Thoreau: You can buy Walden here at an affordable price. The book is a fun and poetic exploration of living authentically, even if the philosophical underpinnings are a little haphazard.
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