People v. State

I don’t want the State to steal from the rich to give to the poor. Rather, I want the State to stop stealing from the poor to give to the rich. And so long as the State insists on stealing, I’d rather it steal from the rich instead of the poor, which in theory could go a long way towards correcting the inequities the State itself has created over centuries of plunder. The taxation of below-average income, for example, is a far greater evil than the taxation of inherited wealth. But because the very reason for the existence of the State is to steal from the poor to give to the rich, it is pure folly to “hope” “we can” “change” the essential nature of Our Enemy, and better to be an Outlaw.

It’s unfortunate that when many people hear the word “libertarian” they automatically think of Ayn Rand, that batshit crazy apologist for rape and rapacious capitalism, even though Ayn Rand herself called libertarians a “monstrous, disgusting bunch of people” who “plagiarize my ideas when that fits their purpose.”

Libertarianism predates Ayn Rand. It is, as the word suggests, simply the perennial political philosophy of all who love liberty.

Deregulating Wall Street should be one of the very last priorities of any coherent and consistent libertarianism. But alas, so long as it’s the State doing the regulating, foxes will be guarding the hen house.

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