A Libertarian Debate on Slavery and Tyranny

A really interesting debate has been going on between a couple of the contributors from Reason.  It started with an article by Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger where he laments the loss of freedom since the country's founding.  In response, Cato executive Vice President David Boaz, writes about the great strides in freedoms that women, minorities, and non-property owners.  Hornberger responds that while he certainly should have mentioned slavery and Jim Crow, the federal government had little to no role in most activities by citizens in say the 1880s.  Boaz responds that because the antebellum South based its entire economy on slavery, it can't just be a caveat to a celebration of the freedom, and that women and minorities still weren't very free in those 1880s.  That's where it stands right now, but I hope it goes a couple more rounds.

It's a great debate to have, and it's the kind of substantive civil debate that seems to only happen among great libertarian minds.  Were we freer as a whole when only white men were completely free and the government was less oppressive?  Or are we freer as a whole today with a more oppressive government, but with de jure discrimination almost completely eliminated?  I don't know where I stand completely, except that I firmly believe that the fact that the United States were founded on the idea of liberty and justice for all led to the abolition of slavery in the West.  I think that should be remembered when we try to judge the founding fathers.

Notions of liberty: my inaugural Junta post

"There is no question that if one were to ask whether we Americans are moving toward more liberty or more government control over our lives, the answer would unambiguously be the latter – more government control over our lives. We might have reached a point where the trend is irreversible, and that is a true tragedy for if liberty is lost in America, it will be lost for all times and all places." - Walter E. Williams

I have been reading lately about the history of the Republican Party and its players. The hijacking of the GOP is nearly complete, and completely obvious to anyone who dares investigate. People with conservative principles have been systematically weeded out, if not completely destroyed. Promoted within the GOP are those weak-starred boot-licking generals consumed by a lust for personal power at all costs. They are experts at kissing ass and standing up for nothing.

Most of the GOP Hijackers' supporting crew have never pondered the proper role of government or any truly conservative principle. They care not for matters of liberty. They fall in line with the head puppetmasters--folks like GW, Rove, McCain, and Cheney--and salivate eagerly for any scrap of perceived power, or even just an "atta boy" from someone higher up on the political ladder. These spineless sergeants of the New GOP hold office at all levels in every state. It wouldn't occur to them to oppose big government legislation or shifts away from liberty because they don't operate based on a set of well-defined positions. The only position they understand is their current standing in the hierarchy on the ladder of power, and their lust for altitude.

The result for rank and file American patriots? We will only ever have the choice of two positions: kneel or fight.