Ayn Rand stated: Now let me define the difference between economic power and political power: economic power is exercised by means of a positive, by offering men a reward, an incentive, a payment, a value; political power is exercised by means of a negative, by the threat of punishment, injury, imprisonment, destruction. True enough in…

Yahoo News recently reported that an internal U.S. intelligence memorandum warns that the release of a Senate report on torture could inflame anti-U.S. sentiment in the Middle East. This is a predictably bad argument that usefully serves to keep people worldwide in the dark about the criminal practices of the U.S. government. This argument assumes…

Barack Obama recently showed his colors as a war criminal again. He ordered airstrikes on the already violence ridden country of Iraq. A place from which he is generally credited for withdrawing troops from and ending the war there. Obama was already guilty of war crimes under the Nuremberg standards for voting to fund the…

Kevin Carson discusses why distrust in government is a good thing. Kevin Carson discusses how the makers and takers aren’t who you think. Jacob G. Hornberger discusses the War on Drugs, intervention, and immigrant children. Patrick Cockburn discusses the Saudi complicity in the rise of ISIS. Gina Luttrell discusses bootleggers, baptists, and birth control. Justin…

Some people in the city of Detroit recently had their water shut off due to 90 million dollars of past unpaid water dues. Much of the discussion that will probably emerge or has already emerged will revolve around whether to privatize the water supply there. This would probably involve contracting out services to a for profit…

One paradox of empire is that it brings people from different origins into contact with each other while elevating one group above the rest. It’s at once international and provincial. It amounts to a provincial internationalism. One in which the central focus is still on a particular nation-state, but one that interacts with the rest…

American libertaranism has a reputation for being another species of that genus known as American conservatism. This is influenced by the American Libertarian’s penchant for lower taxation and less government spending. A position often described as fiscal conservatism. Fiscal conservatism must be understood contextually like any other term or issue. To what extent does the…

Among the most enduring and pressing of questions for social scientists has been the nature of the public and private spheres. A great many political battles have been fought over control or delineation of these respective spaces. Some of these battles have been fought by the Civil Rights Movement and labor movement. Both of which…

A past New York Times editorial by Thomas Ricks shamelessly advocates involuntary servitude. In the article he states: A revived draft, including both males and females, should include three options for new conscripts coming out of high school. Some could choose 18 months of military service with low pay but excellent post-service benefits, including free…

Leftist academic, Corey Robin, recently commented on what he sees as the radicalism of the young CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations). He quotes David Montgomery to the effect that at its annual convention: the CIO called for: continuation of government controls over prices and the allocation of production materials, “development of atomic energy for civilian…

As Charles Johnson has noted, July 4th is the anniversary of the death of an existing tyrannical government. Anarchists can therefore ironically appropriate the holiday for their own purposes. Let us celebrate the death of British colonial rule rather than the creation of a new nation-state. Both British imperialism and American nationalism deserve to be criticized….

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was ended a few years ago. Its repeal was celebrated by many mainstream liberals, but the radical leftist, Against Equality Collective, had a more critical take. There is merit on both sides of the argumentative aisle. As long as government militaries exist; the freedom of gay individuals who serve to reveal…

The New York Times recently reminded me of the infamous Baghdad shootings by Blackwater mercenaries. These shootings were symbolic of the broader violent aggression which Iraqis had been subjected to. Blackwater has rebranded itself as Academi, but its legacy as participant in imperial aggression lives on. It’s a perfect illustration of the faux corporate capitalist…

The core values animating left-libertarian market anarchism are individual freedom and equality of rights. This is preferably applied to children as well as adults. One person who saw this clearly was the radical educator, John Holt. As far as I know; he never identified as a libertarian or an anarchist, but his thought is eminently…

There was a recent Facebook debate and furor over the ethics of cop killing. It was sparked, at least in part, by my stating that killing cops was still murder in a status update. The topic deserves further exploration. Killing cops is acceptable in self-defense. If a police officer commits an act of aggressive violence…

Both Senate Democrats and hawkish Republicans lined up to support Obama’s recent sending of military personnel to Iraq. They are allegedly there only in an advisory capacity, but those of us who know something about how the Vietnam War started have reason for doubt. This support for a supposedly strictly advisory military mission is no…

Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) militants recently launched a major offensive in Iraq. They managed to seize territory from fleeing Iraqi government/police forces. These Islamic fundamentalist fighters are basically engaged in behavior no better than what the Iraqi government does. Their behavior deserves no support from friends of liberty. There is a…

Jiminykrix recently commented on my last post about how we left-libertarian market anarchists aren’t socially liberal capitalists. He had a point to make about private property that’s worth mentioning. The inspiration for his commentary on it was my defining capitalism as the separation of labor from ownership rather than markets or private property per se….

Ex-libertarian and Facebook friend, Alex Strekal, recently penned a piece declaring left-libertarianism to be bunk. The part of his argument touched on here pertains to his take on our view of capitalism and alleged socially liberal capitalist nature. Capitalism is best defined as separation of labor from ownership rather than private property or markets per…

Desertion is often treated as equivalent to cowardice, treason, and other such things generally considered distasteful. As any anarchist could tell you, treason only makes sense if you feel some kind of loyalty to the nation-state or government or state you’re born into or under. This left-wing market anarchist most certainly doesn’t. As for cowardice,…