Saturday, August 25, 2012

by Carl Watner
1982

The leading English individualists as they appear in Benjamin Tucker's journal, Liberty, are Auberon Herbert, Wordsworth Donisthorpe, Joseph Hiam Levy, Joseph Greevz Fisher, John Badcock, Jr., Albert Tarn, and Henry Seymour. Ranked approximately according to their contributions and involvement in Liberty, this group also includes M. D. O'Brien, J. M. Armsden, W. C. Crofts, A. E. Porter and J. C. Spence.[1]Their activities and writings serve as the focal point for research into the history of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century individualist anarchism in England.Liberty, an international clearinghouse for libertarian ideas during the almost three decades of its existence (1881-1908), reported on and editorialized about the ideology and politics of the English individualist movement.The purpose of this paper is to bring to light some of the little known history and ideas of the movement, based on articles in Liberty and other sources.

"All Mankind Is One": The Libertarian Tradition In Sixteenth Century Spain

by Carl Watner1987

It would probably be looked upon as unusual to associate sixteenth century Spain with the libertarian tradition. However, during that time there arose a school of natural law thinkers and activists who espoused a universal ethic of freedom, which they saw as applicable to all mankind. Sixteenth century Spain was the golden age of Spanish culture and humanism. Unlike other European countries of that age, the Spaniards were vitally concerned with the moral problems of conquest, conversion, and the government of heathen peoples.[1] What constituted justice and how it could be achieved were everywhere concerns of the Spanish theologians, jurists, and statesmen. To these Spaniards, the basis for the just title by which they ruled the Indies was a palpable question through much of the sixteenth century.[2] Although the Spanish natural law thinkers never truly broke outside the feudal-statist mentality of their culture to become anarchists, they did elaborate a doctrine of natural rights based on both divine and human reasoning. In a very broad way, and using very typical libertarian logic, they elucidated a proprietary theory of justice by which they denounced the violent invasion and conquest of the New World and supported the rights of the native inhabitants. This was one of the greatest attempts the world has ever seen to make natural law precepts prevail in relations between peoples. Such was the Spanish concern for justice in its colonizing efforts, that its monarchs organized several major inquiries into the methods used to extend their empire. Spain is probably one of the few nations that, after having searched its "royal" conscience in light of natural law and Christian teachings, ever revised its colonial policy in order to correct and punish abuses.[3]

BENJAMIN TUCKER AND HIS PERIODICAL: LIBERTY

CARL WATNER

Baltimore, Maryland

In a letter to the New York Tribune on December 4, 1898, Benjamin Tucker (1854-1939) described himself as an Anarchist. "I was the first American--I may say the first Anglo-Saxon--to start (in 1881) an avowedly Anarchistic newspaper printed in the English language. I am still the editor, publisher, and proprietor of that paper. It is everywhere regarded as the pioneer and principal organ of modern individualist Anarchism. I either am, or have been, the publisher of the chief Anarchistic works in the English language. I am the author of the most widely-accepted English text-book of Anarchism. I have enjoyed the friendship, had the benefit of the instruction, and. have carefully studied the works, of those Americans from whom the Anarchists have largely derived their beliefs--Josiah Warren, Stephen Pearl Andrews, Lysander Spooner, and Colonel William B. Greene. I am the translator into English of some of the principal works of P. J. Proudhon, who was the first writer in any language to declare himself an Anarchist. I am acquainted, perhaps better than any other man, with the English-speaking Anarchists of the United States. It will be admitted then, I hope, that I speak by the card." (359-3)*

Tucker's Anarchist credentials were impeccable as he plainly stated. In August 1881, he started a "little fortnightly journal called Liberty. Its purpose was to contribute to the solution of the social problems by carrying to a logical conclusion the battle against authority . . . "[1]. This journal appeared more or less continuously under the guidance of Tucker, first in Boston, and then in New York, until 1908 when Tucker's bookstore and composing room were destroyed by fire. In the words of Paul Avrich, Liberty was simply "the best Anarchist paper in the English language".

10 Tips: How Romney beats Obama

Republicans will win by staying on message

By Brett M. Decker

Enlarge Photo
Kal The Economist, London, England more >

Every day brings more good news for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. As Republicans gather in Tampa, Fla., for their national convention, their standard-bearer is ahead of President Obama in most national polls. The incumbent’s approval rating is in the basement and the economy stinks, so it will be a steep uphill climb for the president to win a second term. The challenger has to be careful not to get overconfident while simultaneously shifting to a frontrunner’s posture. Here are 10 pointers Mr. Romney needs to follow to stay on course and win the White House:

Rough waters at GOP convention

Republicans are united behind ticket, not on all issues

By Brett M. Decker

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Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan of Wisconsin speaks Aug. 14, 2012, ... more >

It will be a shame if Hurricane Isaac washes out the GOP convention in Tampa. Mitt Romney has done all the big things right so far in his run for the White House. He won a hotly contested Republican primary by sticking to an issues-oriented message that avoided attacking his opponents and isolating their supporters. Then, by picking Rep. Paul Ryan as his running-mate, he enheartened the conservative base and unified the party behind the ticket. Even though elephants are lined up for battle behind Romney-Ryan, there are a few policy differences bubbling beneath the surface.

Box Office Sneak: '2016: Obama's America' Nation's Number One Movie

by Breitbart News

Deadline:

The anti-Obama movie "2016 Obama’s America" went into wider release around America today and is opening right now in first place at the domestic box office. That’s quite a feat since the Rocky Mountain Pictures political documentary is still playing in only 1,090 North American theaters – or about 1/3 as many theaters as big-budget actioner "The Expendables 2" (3,355 theaters). The Stallone picture from Millenium/Lionsgate is expected to end the weekend #1 and should top the box office tonight....
Both online ticket-sellers Fandango and MovieTickets.com showed advance buying for "2016 Obama’s America" were accounting for 35% to 28% respectively before this weekend.

Story the Media Won't Tell: Obama Is Losing

by John Nolte

Actions speak louder than polls…

It's 8:21 on a Saturday morning and according to this photo snapped by Sharon Broadie, this is the size of the crowd that showed up in Powell, Ohio, (just outside of Columbus) to see Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan:

Here's a look at the line to get in, and another look at the crowd from another source. And a real jaw-dropper.

Meanwhile, President FailureTeleprompter is relegated to rationalizing his lack of turnout into a "deliberate" desire for smaller, more intimate crowds. Yeah, that sounds like the Mr. Greek Column we've all come to know and grow tired of.

Obama Ad Pretends Voters Disillusioned with GOP, Not Him

by Ben Shapiro
Obama for America has released its first response to the devastating attack on President Obama leveled by the new Citizens United documentary, "The Hope & The Change," directed by Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon. That film shows Democrats and independents speaking about their disillusionment with the President in heartrending terms. And it demonstrates that swing voters are moving away from Obama with alacrity. Now, Obama for America has put out an online ad featuring “Republican Women for Obama.” It shows former Republicans complaining that the GOP has become too extreme. “Something’s happened in the last couple years that has completely turned things upside down,” says one woman.

by Ben Shapiro

This evening on Fox News’ "Hannity," Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon, director of "The Hope & the Change," David Bossie of Citizens United, producers of the film, and adviser Pat Caddell appeared to discuss the massive disillusionment of Democrats and independents with President Barack Obama – and their film, which details that disillusionment in devastating detail.

The show opened with a promo of former Obama voter after former Obama voter decrying Obama’s horrible record and their own disappointment with the Obama administration. “I fear for my children,” says one. “I’m exhausted, and I’m tired,” says another.
The film will premiere on Tuesday at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
“This is the most powerful documentary I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Sean Hannity. “There’s no way that anybody who watches this film can vote for Barack Obama. It’s impossible. You bring us back and walk us through the whole election cycle.”

Brandon Darby: Anarchists Plan to Take Down Emergency Medical Services at RNC

by John Sexton

Yesterday, I interviewed my co-worker Brandon Darby as he was traveling toward the Republican National Convention in Florida. The interview focused on strategies used by anarchist protesters at the 2008 Republican National Convention and how those strategies will be used once again next week by the Occupy movement.

RON PAUL: TELL ROMNEY TO "TAKE A BOW"!

Friday, August 24, 2012

China Confronts Mounting Piles of Unsold Goods

Forbes Conrad for The New York Times

Bags of toys stored at a shop in a wholesale market in Guangzhou, a city in southeast China.

By KEITH BRADSHER

GUANGZHOU, China — After three decades of torrid growth, China is encountering an unfamiliar problem with its newly struggling economy: a huge buildup of unsold goods that is cluttering shop floors, clogging car dealerships and filling factory warehouses.

Multimedia

Graphic

China Producing More Than It Sells

The glut of everything from steel and household appliances to cars and apartments is hampering China’s efforts to emerge from a sharp economic slowdown. It has also produced a series of price wars and has led manufacturers to redouble efforts to export what they cannot sell at home.

The severity of China’s inventory overhang has been carefully masked by the blocking or adjusting of economic data by the Chinese government — all part of an effort to prop up confidence in the economy among business managers and investors.

Seeking justice for Mexico state's female victims

Hundreds of women and girls are killed every year in Mexico state, known as Edomex. One woman who lost her daughter, 14, puts her life at risk to press her case.

Political activist David Mancera reads to reporters in Ecatepec, Mexico, the names of women slain in Mexico state. (Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times / July 31, 2012)

By Tracy Wilkinson

ECATEPEC, Mexico — At 14, Jessica Lucero had already lived a hard life. A stint in rehab, dropping out of school, making her way, day in, day out, in a terribly violent, desperately poor neighborhood.
But things were looking up. She had stayed clean and was planning to resume studies. She dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist.
Then, in June, Jessica was raped by a man she later identified as a notorious neighbor, a known drug pusher. Jessica's reaction was to do something that few people twice her age have ever dared. She went to the authorities and denounced the crime.

Was Mexican prison warden's kidnap retaliation for penal reforms?

MEXICO CITY -- Three years ago, when the armed gang showed up at Cieneguillas prison, they managed to free 53 inmates -- including killers, kidnappers and drug cartel gunmen. Not a shot was fired, and the warden was arrested on suspicion that it was an inside job.
On Thursday, an armed gang came again.
But this time they came for the new warden.
Her name is Fabiola Quiroz Zarate, and officials in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas say she was forcibly taken from her home Thursday in the city of Fresnillo, along with a nephew who served as her bodyguard, and a visiting friend.
The state attorney general’s office has opened an investigation into the kidnapping, and has advanced two possible motives for the crime -- both of them tied to changes that have been put into effect recently with the purported goal of firming up Mexico’s notoriously weak prison system.

Mexican federal police fire on U.S. officials' vehicle, injuring two

MEXICO CITY -- Two U.S. government employees were injured Friday when their truck was fired upon by Mexican federal police in a bizarre incident whose details, as provided by Mexican authorities, are far from clear, leaving open the possibility of a tragedy sparked by a case of mistaken identity.
The U.S. State Department issued a statement Friday saying the two embassy employees were attacked by "unknown assailants" and were in stable condition at a local hospital. The State Department statement did not mention the federal police, but the Mexican Naval Ministry, in a statement, said that the Americans' vehicle had indeed taken police fire.
According to the navy´s statement, the episode began at 8 a.m. near a highway linking the Mexican capital with the popular tourist destination of Cuernavaca. The Americans, accompanied by a Mexican naval official, were on a dirt road on their way to visit a military facility when they encountered a vehicle whose passengers displayed firearms. When the driver of the Americans' truck tried to evade them, the armed men opened fire.

by Jesus Huerta de Soto

On pages 33–35 of my book Socialism, Economic Calculation, and Entrepreneurship, I examine the process by which the division of practical entrepreneurial knowledge deepens "vertically" and expands "horizontally," a process that permits (and at the same time requires) an increase in population, fosters prosperity and general well-being, and brings about the advancement of civilization. As I indicate there, this process is based on

the specialization of entrepreneurial creativity in increasingly narrow and more specific fields, and in increasing detail and depth;
the recognition of the private-property rights of the creative entrepreneur to the fruits of his creative activity in each of these areas;
the free, voluntary exchange of the fruits of each human being's specialization, an exchange that is always mutually beneficial for all who participate in the market process; and
constant growth in the human population, which makes it possible to entrepreneurially "occupy" and cultivate a rising number of new fields of creative entrepreneurial knowledge, which enriches everyone.

According to this analysis, anything that guarantees the private ownership of what each person creates and contributes to the production process, that defends the peaceful possession of what each person conceives or discovers, and that facilitates (or does not impede) voluntary exchanges (which are always mutually satisfactory in the sense that they mean an improvement for each party) generates prosperity, increases the population, and furthers the quantitative and qualitative advancement of civilization. Likewise, any attack on the peaceful possession of goods and on the property rights that pertain to them, any coercive manipulation of the free process of voluntary exchange, in short, any state intervention in a free market economy always brings about undesired effects, stifles individual initiative, corrupts moral and responsible behavior habits, makes the masses childish and irresponsible, hastens the decline of the social fabric, consumes accumulated wealth, and blocks the expansion of human population and the advancement of civilization, while everywhere increasing poverty.

by Percy L. Greaves, Jr.

[Understanding the Dollar Crisis (1973)]

This lecture is primarily on the subject of labor, wages, and employment. A good deal of what was said about prices in the last lecture applies also to the subject of wage rates. Unfortunately, there is more emotion in this area, because it is a bit more personal. Here, too, of course, we also find evidence of the great sin of economic ignorance. In seeking solutions, economic science is largely neglected. As a result, many governments attempt to solve these problems by means that will not accomplish the desired ends.
Please do not think, as many do, that economics — which is a science — takes sides on this issue. This is not a question that can be settled by bias, that is, by taking one side or the other. It is always a question of what helps everybody, and what policies will help to produce the ends that people want most.
All of us in this world want peace and prosperity. No one wants poverty even for other people.

Free Market: An Application of the Golden Rule

A major question that we face is the problem of reducing or eliminating poverty. I suggest that free market policies have eliminated more poverty than any other policy or system that has ever been known to man. In a truly free society, everyone enjoys the fruits of his own labor, and no one is entitled to special privileges. Everyone is free to choose his own actions. Everyone is free to take that job open to him that he believes will provide him with the greatest compensations. In a free society we constantly tend to act according to the Golden Rule, that is, by serving others as we serve ourselves.

The presidency

So, Mitt, what do you really believe?

Too much about the Republican candidate for the presidency is far too mysterious

WHEN Mitt Romney was governor of liberal Massachusetts, he supported abortion, gun control, tackling climate change and a requirement that everyone should buy health insurance, backed up with generous subsidies for those who could not afford it. Now, as he prepares to fly to Tampa to accept the Republican Party’s nomination for president on August 30th, he opposes all those things. A year ago he favoured keeping income taxes at their current levels; now he wants to slash them for everybody, with the rate falling from 35% to 28% for the richest Americans.
All politicians flip-flop from time to time; but Mr Romney could win an Olympic medal in it (see article). And that is a pity, because this newspaper finds much to like in the history of this uncharismatic but dogged man, from his obvious business acumen to the way he worked across the political aisle as governor to get health reform passed and the state budget deficit down. We share many of his views about the excessive growth of regulation and of the state in general in America, and the effect that this has on investment, productivity and growth. After four years of soaring oratory and intermittent reforms, why not bring in a more businesslike figure who might start fixing the problems with America’s finances?

The Catholic church in America

Earthly concerns

The Catholic church is as big as any company in America. Bankruptcy cases have shed some light on its finances and their mismanagement

BOSTON, NEW YORK AND SAN DIEGO

OF ALL the organisations that serve America’s poor, few do more good work than the Catholic church: its schools and hospitals provide a lifeline for millions. Yet even taking these virtues into account, the finances of the Catholic church in America are an unholy mess. The sins involved in its book-keeping are not as vivid or grotesque as those on display in the various sexual-abuse cases that have cost the American church more than $3 billion so far; but the financial mismanagement and questionable business practices would have seen widespread resignations at the top of any other public institution.
The sexual-abuse scandals of the past 20 years have brought shame to the church around the world. In America they have also brought financial strains. By studying court documents in bankruptcy cases, examining public records, requesting documents from local, state and federal governments, as well as talking to priests and bishops confidentially, The Economist has sought to quantify the damage.

Mitt Romney’s chances

The changing man

He has many factors in his favour. But to win the presidency Mitt Romney will have to reinvent himself once again—this time as a likeable, sympathetic guy

GEORGE ROMNEY, father of the present Republican presidential nominee and himself a candidate for the White House in 1968, used to joke that his campaign had been “like a miniskirt: short and revealing”. By analogy, his son Mitt’s bid for the presidency has been more of a crinoline: long and cumbersome.
The younger Mr Romney has been running for president for six years at least, since the waning days of his governorship of Massachusetts. He has proved doubters wrong by progressing as far as he has, in spite of his flip-flopping, his woodenness, his wealth and his Mormon faith. Yet he has not made it look easy, and is currently behind in the polls in an election that many pundits think is the Republicans’ to lose. Mr Romney, who will officially be anointed the Republican nominee at the party’s convention in Tampa on August 30th, is still very much in contention—but more by virtue of doggedness than flair.
Mr Romney has run for public office three times before. He won one of those races (for governor, in 2002) and lost the other two (for the Senate in 1994, and for president in 2008). He came third in the Republican presidential primaries last time round, measured by number of delegates won, or second, if you go by his share of the vote. He conceded to John McCain just over a month into the race.

What Liberals Don’t Understand About Ayn Rand

Critics of the Russian-born writer miss what's important in her ideas.

Cathy Young

Ayn Rand, the Russian-born writer and self-styled philosopher who died three decades ago, is back in the news as a favorite author of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. In recent years, the passionately individualist, pro-capitalist Rand has been embraced as a champion of freedom by many conservatives and libertarians, and denounced as a prophet of greed and narcissism by many liberals. Yet, if Rand admirers tend to ignore the flaws of her vision, her detractors reduce her to grotesque caricature—and invoke her popularity as proof of right-wing nuttiness.
One major misconception is that Rand worshipped the rich and saw moneymaking as life’s highest goal. In fact, most wealthy characters in her novels are pathetic, repulsive, or both: businessmen fattened on shady deals or government perks, society people who fill their empty lives with luxury. (There are also sympathetic poor and working-class characters.)

Mitt Romney: What I Learned at Bain Capital

My business experience taught me how to help companies grow—and what to do when trouble arises. When you see a problem, run toward it before the problem gets worse.

By MITT ROMNEY

The back-to-school season is here, and as parents take their children to shop for school supplies, I suspect that many of them will be visiting a Staples store. I'm very familiar with those stores because Staples is one of many businesses we helped create and expand at Bain Capital, a firm that my colleagues and I built. The firm succeeded by growing and fixing companies.
The lessons I learned over my 15 years at Bain Capital were valuable in helping me turn around the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. They also helped me as governor of Massachusetts to turn a budget deficit into a surplus and reduce our unemployment rate to 4.7%. The lessons from that time would help me as president to fix our economy, create jobs and get things done in Washington.
A broad message emerges from my Bain Capital days: A good idea is not enough for a business to succeed. It requires a talented team, a good business plan and capital to execute it. That was true of companies we helped start, like Staples and the Bright Horizons child-care provider, and several of the struggling companies we helped turn around, like the Brookstone retailer and the contact-lens maker Wesley Jessen.

By Charles Krauthammer

Either Israel is engaged in the most elaborate ruse since the Trojan horse or it is on the cusp of a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
What’s alarming is not just Iran’s increasing store of enriched uranium or the growing sophistication of its rocketry. It’s also the increasingly menacing annihilationist threats emanating from Iran’s leaders. Israel’s existence is “an insult to all humanity,” says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Anyone who loves freedom and justice must strive for the annihilation of the Zionist regime.” Explains the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Israel is “a true cancer tumor on this region that should be cut off.”

Iran’s quest to possess nuclear technology: Iran said it has made advances in nuclear technology, citing new uranium enrichment centrifuges and domestically made reactor fuel.

Noonan: America Meets Mr. Romney

Anticipating the highlights of the GOP's Tampa convention.

By PEGGY NOONAN
Like this columnist

It is good that Joe Biden is going to the Republican National Convention to hold high the flag of his party. People make fun of his gaffes, of his embarrassing verbal forays, but he's no fool and he knows how to take it to the other guy. The speech he is working on, to be given in the heart of downtown, just across from the convention site, will be stirring and stentorian: "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Tampa, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words, 'Ich bin ein Tampon.'"
I wish that were mine. It came in the mail from a Hollywood screenwriter, one of the gifted conservatives who quietly toil there.

***

Enlarge Image

Associated Press

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann in Schaumburg, Ill., in March.

This, amazingly enough, is how the campaign feels at the moment: both neck and neck and wide open. A week ago a longtime elected official, who's been making the rounds in his swing state, told me he thought the national polls were correct and yet wrong. Americans are telling pollsters they've already made up their minds, they know who they're for. But, he said, he's seeing a number of people who don't feel fully satisfied with their decision, who aren't certain they've made the right choice. They may change their minds. "Ten or 15%", he guessed, "are still persuadable," still open to argument.
If he is right, that's big. It would be in line with the singular nature of this election year, and would explain what has been, so far, a fervor deficit.

Key gains on convention’s eve

John Podhoretz

Hurricane permitting, the GOP convention kicks off Monday, and with it, the preliminaries are over and the general election begins in earnest. How stands the race?
At first glance, and even second and third glances, every indication is that we’re in for a nail-biter. The RealClearPolitics average, which aggregates all public polls, now has Barack Obama ahead nationally by a mere point.
The two tracking polls, which survey voters every day and collect data over each three-day period, have the race tied.
There’s reason to think Mitt Romney is in better condition than the national polls show.

Getty

A winning hand: Mitt Romney is in fine shape heading into next week’s GOP convention in Florida, where his support among seniors has boomed.

First, one has to consider the effect on Romney of the Obama campaign’s unprecedented barrage against him. Chicago spent an astounding $120 million over the summer, much of it on negative ads targeting Romney personally, and almost all of it in 12 battleground states. To give you a sense of how much spending that is, the McCain campaign in 2008 spent a mere $75 million in the general election against Obama in all 50 states.