Blog Mission

"Some have asked if there aren’t conservative sites I read regularly. Well, no. I will read anything I’ve been informed about that’s either interesting or revealing; but I don’t know of any economics or politics sites on that side that regularly provide analysis or information I need to take seriously. I know we’re supposed to pretend that both sides always have a point; but the truth is that most of the time they don’t." - Paul Krugman

And that, right there, is my motivation for blogging. Krugman's intolerance is unfortunate. However, it is far from unique. Many people I have met in my life, ranging from teachers from my adolescence to classmates at Amherst College, would sympathize with his view. The people I'm thinking of typically accuse libertarians such as myself of having a repugnant sort of morality, being blissfully ignorant of "facts," and, most commonly, insensitivity toward the plight of the poor and ethnic minorities.

My aim in this blog is to try to correct that stereotype. As for the first charge of distorted morality, I will argue that there should be a strong presumption against the use of coercion backed by violent force (whether by state or non-state actors). I think this presumption follows from basic and widely espoused moral intuitions. As for the second charge, I will argue, mostly using the vehicle of economics, that libertarians' policy prescriptions are also largely defensible on consequentualist grounds.

I think the final charge of insensitivity toward the poor and ethnic minorities is the most common. However, it is, at the very least, highly debatable whether "progressive" government regulations and programs benefit the poor and minorities. See, e.g., eminent domain, exclusionary zoning, mandated "free" parking, minimum lot sizes, occupational licensing, certificate of "need' regulations, minimum wages, caps on credit card fees, rent controls, price "gouging" regulation, programs that redistribute to the non-poor (i.e. Social Security, Medicare, and public education), gun control, job-killing environmentalism, overtime pay rules, anti-discrimination laws, government support of labor union cartels, the doctrine of contract "unconscionability," contemporary product liability law, prohibitions on the purchase of interstate insurance, farm subsidies, many worker safety regulations, many commercial speech regulations, the FDA's extremely lengthy drug approval process, bans on organ sales, and even redistribution to the poor themselves. Moreover, the policy changes that'd arguably do the most to alleviate poverty - an open borders immigration policy, radical liberalization of global trade, and an end to the drug war - are all libertarian solutions.

My aim is not to persuade readers. Though I guess that would be nice. My aim is to alleviate political intolerance and convince progressives that, at the very least, libertarian positions are intellectually respectable.

UPDATE: H/T to Lana Harfoush for the blog name!