Open Letter to Canadian Libertarians from Walter Block | The Dollar Vigilante:
May 21, 2015 - "'“Why Canada needs more election debates' from the April 23, 2015 edition of Maclean’s Magazine ... mentions only six political parties in Canada (Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, Green, Bloc Québécois and Forces et Démocratie). But is there any such organization that he overlooks? Go to the head of the class if you note the absence of the only political party in Canada that actually supports limited government, private property rights, legalization of victimless “crimes,” economic freedom and a non-interventionistic foreign policy. That is, of course, the Canadian Libertarian Party.
"Why this insulting oversight? Of course the main reason is that the powers that be (Maclean's, other major media) are not exactly in sympathy with the libertarian philosophy. But another cause is that high profile libertarians in Canada – and yes, yes, there are many – simply do not run for office on the Libertarian Party ticket. So I ask you, I plead with you, please contact the Canadian Libertarian Party and offer to run for Parliament in the next election....
"This insult, and insult it was, simply could not occur in the U.S. There, of course, the Libertarian Party is much stronger than in Canada, and cannot as easily be totally ignored. True, libertarianism in the U.S. has been fueled by the Ron Paul phenomenon.... There is no such phenomenon in Canada at present, unfortunately. But, there wasn’t always one in the U.S. either. It always has to start somewhere. If not right now, when is better?
"Running for office need not be an arduous task. A paper candidacy, where you do absolutely nothing but lend your name for this purpose, is better than leaving any ridings completely uncovered. Of course, the more you do in this regard the better for promoting liberty, and running for MP will give you a megaphone otherwise unavailable to you. Murray N. Rothbard, Mr. Libertarian, used to say that the average guy was mainly interested in beer, pizza and bowling (substitution for Canada: hockey) most of the time. But, whenever there was a national election, this man in the street could sometimes become interested in politics at least for a brief moment, and that we could best acquaint him with our philosophy on these occasions. No truer words were ever uttered.
"Of course, of course, politics is far from the only way to promote our beloved libertarian philosophy. There are many other roads to this end. But, the political system is surely one of them. Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul. He has brought more people to our camp than any other person now living, and he did it all though the ballot box; I rest my case if anyone really doubts that political action, too, can promote liberty; hey, the first step, surely, is to announce that we’re here and not going away.
"There are some highly credentialed libertarians who believe voting, let alone running for office, is incompatible with our perspective. They are entirely wrong, if libertarianism is defined as adherence to the non-aggression principle (NAP). Is voting a per se violation of the NAP? Of course not. Is running for office and losing, necessarily an uninvited border crossing onto someone else’s person or property? Of course not. Is winning and actually taking office incompatible, if the MP becomes a Dr. No like Ron Paul and votes against every bill incompatible with our philosophy? It is really difficult to see how this can be the case.
"But, do we not give “sanction” to the state when we enter the dirty realm of politics? No more so than when we use a government road, its post office, carry its currency in our wallets, visit a public park or museum, go to a public school, etc. This applies even to those of us who eat food, wear clothing, live in housing, etc., since the omnipresent state is involved in all of those things. My book on Ron Paul is almost entirely devoted to making the case that politics and libertarianism, correctly understood, are not logically incompatible.
"So, please, Canadians, if you value liberty at all, seriously consider running for office on the Libertarian Party ticket."
Read more: https://www.dollarvigilante.com/blog/2015/05/21/open-letter-to-canadian-libertarians.html
'via Blog this'
May 21, 2015 - "'“Why Canada needs more election debates' from the April 23, 2015 edition of Maclean’s Magazine ... mentions only six political parties in Canada (Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, Green, Bloc Québécois and Forces et Démocratie). But is there any such organization that he overlooks? Go to the head of the class if you note the absence of the only political party in Canada that actually supports limited government, private property rights, legalization of victimless “crimes,” economic freedom and a non-interventionistic foreign policy. That is, of course, the Canadian Libertarian Party.
"Why this insulting oversight? Of course the main reason is that the powers that be (Maclean's, other major media) are not exactly in sympathy with the libertarian philosophy. But another cause is that high profile libertarians in Canada – and yes, yes, there are many – simply do not run for office on the Libertarian Party ticket. So I ask you, I plead with you, please contact the Canadian Libertarian Party and offer to run for Parliament in the next election....
"This insult, and insult it was, simply could not occur in the U.S. There, of course, the Libertarian Party is much stronger than in Canada, and cannot as easily be totally ignored. True, libertarianism in the U.S. has been fueled by the Ron Paul phenomenon.... There is no such phenomenon in Canada at present, unfortunately. But, there wasn’t always one in the U.S. either. It always has to start somewhere. If not right now, when is better?
"Running for office need not be an arduous task. A paper candidacy, where you do absolutely nothing but lend your name for this purpose, is better than leaving any ridings completely uncovered. Of course, the more you do in this regard the better for promoting liberty, and running for MP will give you a megaphone otherwise unavailable to you. Murray N. Rothbard, Mr. Libertarian, used to say that the average guy was mainly interested in beer, pizza and bowling (substitution for Canada: hockey) most of the time. But, whenever there was a national election, this man in the street could sometimes become interested in politics at least for a brief moment, and that we could best acquaint him with our philosophy on these occasions. No truer words were ever uttered.
"Of course, of course, politics is far from the only way to promote our beloved libertarian philosophy. There are many other roads to this end. But, the political system is surely one of them. Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul. He has brought more people to our camp than any other person now living, and he did it all though the ballot box; I rest my case if anyone really doubts that political action, too, can promote liberty; hey, the first step, surely, is to announce that we’re here and not going away.
"There are some highly credentialed libertarians who believe voting, let alone running for office, is incompatible with our perspective. They are entirely wrong, if libertarianism is defined as adherence to the non-aggression principle (NAP). Is voting a per se violation of the NAP? Of course not. Is running for office and losing, necessarily an uninvited border crossing onto someone else’s person or property? Of course not. Is winning and actually taking office incompatible, if the MP becomes a Dr. No like Ron Paul and votes against every bill incompatible with our philosophy? It is really difficult to see how this can be the case.
"But, do we not give “sanction” to the state when we enter the dirty realm of politics? No more so than when we use a government road, its post office, carry its currency in our wallets, visit a public park or museum, go to a public school, etc. This applies even to those of us who eat food, wear clothing, live in housing, etc., since the omnipresent state is involved in all of those things. My book on Ron Paul is almost entirely devoted to making the case that politics and libertarianism, correctly understood, are not logically incompatible.
"So, please, Canadians, if you value liberty at all, seriously consider running for office on the Libertarian Party ticket."
Read more: https://www.dollarvigilante.com/blog/2015/05/21/open-letter-to-canadian-libertarians.html
'via Blog this'
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