Not Really a Hater!by
Manuel Lora
I am a libertarian and believe that people should respect the rights of others to their legitimately obtained property. Thus, I prefer peace instead of war, life instead of murder, prosperity instead of theft and the market instead of the aggressive state. Yet every now and then I am called a "hater" for opposing most (if not all) government programs. Let’s go over some of the things that I supposedly hate. I hate the arts because I do not believe in using violence against people to make them pay for it (supporters of the National Endowment of the Arts and its various state and local equivalents no doubt have no love for me). I hate scientific research. You see, according to the argument, without public funding (also known as taxation) there would be an underproduction of research and we would find ourselves back in the Stone Age. Thus, in order to remain civilized, we must threaten (in a civilized manner, that is) to fine, jail or execute people if they are not willing to part with their money. Makes perfect sense. Transportation and travel? Forget it. I hate that crap as well. If the feds had not confiscated land, displaced people, distorted towns and cities and taxed the entire country, we would have no roads or means to move about the land. For only the government can carry out such projects, never mind the possibility that maybe – just maybe – there would be various entrepreneurs dealing with this demand instead of a monolithic agency. Not a fan of safety (and apparently a lover of death and chaos), I oppose the control of firearms. That’s right: Uzis for grandma and Colts for Junior. Rivers of blood are always found when a government has relaxed firearms restrictions; everyone who comes into contact with a gun immediately becomes a savage killer. The same applies, I suppose, for people who have knives, rocks, power tools and knuckles. Societal order is not also on my list of priorities, apparently. Lacking fraud, the complete decriminalization of the use, possession, marketing, importation, exportation of any substance that people want to consume should be allowed. I guess I am a "radical" for opposing that particular government-sponsored slavery program called the war on drugs. Prostitution, another victimless crime, is just a capitalist act between consenting adults. And yes, I am also a defender (but not a consumer, by the way) of the black market sex-for-money industry. The poor of the planet think I am scum for opposing government-to-government welfare schemes, often referred to as foreign aid. Indeed, instead of markets and entrepreneurship, sound money, free traffic of goods and labor, and property rights for the world, I hate the poor with a passion for not desiring to be taxed by a tyrant to give money to the tyrant ruling others. When it comes to health, I am indubitably your enemy. The owner of an establishment, due to being the owner (duh!) has the right to determine whether a particular behavior is allowed. Smoking bans represent a form of theft on behalf of the state, for it now has magically claimed a right to control someone else’s resources. If you are retired, you ain’t gonna like me very much. Social[ist] [in]Security, a Ponzi scheme not unlike government-sanctioned central fractional-reserve banking, is a massive distribution of wealth from the young and working to the old and non-working. The fairness of this is beyond me. Don’t enslave me to pay for someone else’s grandpa. I guess this means I hate old people! I hate minorities (though I am a "minority" myself…oh dear) because I oppose anti-discrimination laws, which are really laws against free association. In fact, I think it might be easier to deal with racism by abolishing racial quotas and preferences (affirmative action) and expose the racist owners and managers; right now, they have to comply and hide. If you are a labor protectionist, I am in your sights. Since the state holds a criminal monopoly over "its" territory, and thus controls its borders, I oppose the INS. Employers should be free to hire anyone regardless of nationality or origin.
And last, but not least, I hate America! There shouldn’t be a standing army (or, even better, any form of monopoly "defense"), military bases or soldiers in most countries in the world, a dominating pro-dollar regime, an imperial presidency, a compliant supreme court or those barbarians in congress. I hate the troops so much that I want them to come home and become productive members of society. Actually, now that I think about it, my detractors could be correct about me on the last point. If by "America" they mean the totalitarian and potentially unbounded mega-state with its fifty-plus appendages, then yes: I do hate that! March 24, 2009 Manuel Lora [send him mail] works at Cornell University as a TV and multimedia producer. Visit his blog. Copyright © 2009 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.
|
And
what kind of market anarchist would I be without hating those damned
children! Property taxes (a form of evil rent for the government
coffers) tend to go towards government education (the more cynical
ones would call that "daytime jails" due to truancy laws),
regardless of your need. How on Earth is this fair? Moreover, to
maximize my rug-rat hatred, I must come out in favor of the abolition
of drinking-age laws. And while we are at it, let’s allow consenting
humans of any age to voluntarily accept employment offers or offer
employment to others.