By Per Bylund Rothbard wrote in the Libertarian Forum (v. 1, p. 184) that “… libertarians, if they have any personal philosophy beyond freedom from coercion, are supposed to be at the very least individualists.” Indeed, libertarianism holds high the rights and responsibilities of the sovereign individual: the right to self and to justly acquired property and thus the right not to be coerced or arbitrarily restricted; the responsibility for one’s own actions and the moral duty to respect and honor other individuals’ rights. Yet libertarianism, or at least a relatively large subset of proponents of libertarianism, has taken a strange collectivist turn in the recent years. This is evident in a number of issues, such as free trade, where libertarians used to be in agreement in principle, albeit not necessarily in all the details or the applications of those principles. In contrast, this new turn argues from a different starting point. Rather than the individual’s rights, the starting point for this group is instead a notion of the individual’s collective belonging and identity (such as one’s country or ethnicity). There has of course never been a problem for libertarians to recognize individuals for who they are, or choose to be, and thus within their preferred social and cultural context. No man is an island, and as social beings we are embedded in a context of community, culture, and tradition. The distinction between individualist and collectivist is not either-or, but which is primary: for collectivists, the individual is subjected to the will of the collective (or, in reality, the will of its leadership); for individualists, the collective has no right of its own but is subject to the individual’s choice to associate. For obvious reasons, the analysis of any state of affairs from a collectivist point of view is different than that …
Seeking Sponsors for Liberty International World Conference Speakers
With some funding support, LI has an opportunity to bring additional excellent speakers to the conference in Mongolia. As LI operates on a very frugal budget we normally ask speakers to fund their own expenses with support from their institutions or universities. In some cases this is not possible. So we are reaching out to potential sponsors to assist these important people to our event. Their biographical information follows. Please review the extraordinary activity of these speakers and contact Ken Schoolland <[email protected]> or Jim Elwood <[email protected]> if you are willing to help them come, or donate directly here: Dr. Khalil Ahmad—Founder of Alternate Solutions Institute, Pakistan Khalil Ahmad, Dr. is a political economist and a political philosopher. He cherishes a cosmopolitan spirit and considers himself a moralist and a rationalist. He founded the first free market think tank in Pakistan, Alternate Solutions Institute. He wrote/published hundreds of articles on the various aspects of political economy of Pakistan, and on a variety of issues. He is author of a number of books that focus on the state, economy and politics of Pakistan. Dr. Ahmad published six editions of Ken Schoolland’s book, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey, including 3 editions in Urdu, 2 editions in Sindhi, and an edition in Balochi. For his extraordinary work at the forefront of the liberty movement in a very challenging region of the world, Dr. Ahmad was given the Torch of Freedom Award by Liberty International at the Bali conference. Park, Jung Oh—North Korean Defector Mr. Park was born in 1968 in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, North Korea. After graduating from The Communication College, Park worked at the Radio Wave Surveillance Station from 1993 to 1998 as a supervisor. He continued his education at Yanggang University, where he graduated with a degree …
Hotel school aims to help build economy in war-plagued region
Building a hospitality school in an urban environment is one thing, but establishing a presence in an area plagued by a 70-year civil war is another. Developing and encouraging tourism in the Karen State of Burma (now Myanmar) has been a challenge for those hoping to revive the region—and financing options are hard to come by…
Announcing the Inaugural South East Asia Students For Liberty Conference!
Having had tremendous success across the globe, Students For Liberty first dropped anchor in South East Asia in 2015. After a year of inspiring, motivating, and educating students, the time and opportunity is now here for our first South East Asia Conference. This is a huge opportunity for SFL Indonesia in the current phase of their movement. They started small (with less than three Charter Team members) and now have over 20 students working to put this conference together. Sessions aim to give attendees a deeper understanding of the ideas of liberty. They are also focused on training attendees to be more effective advocates of liberty. We have put together a distinguished roster of speakers who have, in various ways, helped advance the vision of a free and prosperous society. These role models will inspire you, influence your ideas, and potentially become your mentors moving forward. The goal of this conference is to bring students from all over South East Asia to exchange their experiences, learn the ideas of liberty and energize their leadership of the pro-liberty movement in South East Asia. This event will be a massive celebration of freedom. Featured Speakers Tom G. Palmer Tom Palmer is the executive vice president for international programs at the Atlas Network and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and director of Cato University. He received his doctorate in politics from Oxford University. He frequently lectures in North America, Europe, Eurasia, Africa, Latin America, India, Asia, and the Middle East on political science, public choice, civil society, and the moral, legal, and historical foundations of individual rights. He has published reviews and articles on politics and morality in scholarly journals such as the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, as well as in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and …
An Honest Look at Government Accounting
“Accounting is a tool to find the right person for the right job,” said Hiroshi Yoshida at the World Conference on Market Liberalization in Bali in 2015, hosted by Liberty International. “If the performance is good,” said professor Hiroshi Yoshida, “we continue trade. If the performance is bad, you stop the trade.” According to professor Hiroshi, accounting is an important tool to evaluate the performance of an individual. However, government does not do honest accounting, said Hiroshi Yoshida. “The Japanese government has a very big liability,” said Hiroshi, “It is [bigger] than Greece . . . who pays for it?” “Our children will pay,” added Hiroshi. Watch the full video below:
Is Bali More Free than the US?
Is Bali more free than the United States? In some ways, it is, said Jack Blaylock at the World Conference on Market Liberalization in Bali in 2015, hosted by the International Society for Individual Liberty. “I have more freedom and liberty in this environment than anywhere in the United states,” said Jack, about his time in Bali. Jack Blaylock moved to Indonesia from the United States 32 years ago, and he says that Bali offers individuals more freedom in may ways. “Freedom and liberty really does work the way we all theorize it’s supposed to be — in small scale examples that I see all the time.” Jack presented many examples of spontaneous order in Bali, from legal matters, to traffic, business freedom, and resolving disputes. He compared this to America, where it is illegal in many areas to open a lemonade stand. He also recognized that freedom can be healthy for self development. “When you’re in an environment like this where you have so many day to day little freedoms, what it does for you, is it unleashes the power of your creative mind. The freer you feel, the more creative you become. And everybody values the ability to think creatively. Not just artists. Thinking creatively is problem solving. Creative problem solving is one of our most important evolutionary gifts that governments try to kill.” Watch the full video here:
Casey Lartigue on Teaching North Korean Refugees
Casey Lartigue gave a talk at the Harvard Extension Alumni Association 2015 Innovation Symposium at Harvard University, 24 May, 2015. Casey quoted Christopher Hitchens, saying, “A place that you can’t live, but that you can’t leave, is the definition of hell.” Casey continued to give some examples of the horrible atrocities in North Korea, and then described what his organization is doing to try to help teach North Korean refugees. Casey helps teach the refugees English, or other languages, and also society integration skills. Casey also helps students feel comfortable giving speeches, and tell their story. After Casey helped Yeonmi Park through the program, she became an international super star because of her powerful story. Yeonmi’s book can be purchased here. Click here to watch the rest of the video:
Ken Schoolland in Mongolia
Ken Schoolland recently appeared on Mongolian National Broadcasting to speak about economics, and why the Austrian school is so important. Host: Please tell us about the, since we talk about the Austrian school of economics, and the certain direction of economic teaching. What kind of major branch of economics teachings exist, and what makes the Austrian school so specific? Ken: Well, I usually display four categories. The Marxian is that the government should own all the resources and make all the decisions for society. What is to be produced, how, and so on. The Keynesian school of thought is focused in on government intervention in the economy through fiscal policy, spending taxation, debt, and regulatory controls over every aspect directing the economy as officials in government see fit. A 3rd school of thought is the monetarist school that argues that monetary policy through banking regulation, interest rates, money supply, is the way to control and manipulate the economy utilizing the banking system. And the Austrian school argues that they’re all the cause of the problem, not the solution. It’s sort of like a disease masquerading as it’s own cure. The government creates problems and then creates more agencies and officials to try and solve these problems it created in the first place. The Austrians are the ones who believe that it is better to trust individuals with their own decision making, not only to own yourself, but to own the product of your wealth. The government shouldn’t intervene by trying to manipulate your behavior with taxation incentives and punishments. Because government officials aren’t any smarter than the rest of us — as a matter of fact, they’re much less smart. It’s just that when they spend other people’s money, they spend it rather grandly on their friends and …
Interview with Riya Basnet and Nisha Niraula
Riya Basnet and Nisha Niraula are young leaders in the liberty movement in Nepal. They are involved with Students for Liberty, Women for Liberty, and published the first Braille edition of Jonathan Gullible. They spoke with Joe Kent at the World Conference on Market Liberalization in Bali in July, 2015. Joe: Can you talk about the Women for Liberty Project? Nisha: A year ago, we did the campaign, and we specifically focused on women. We went to the rural areas of eastern Nepal. We tried to explain our program to the rural area. But before moving to that grassroot level, we conducted seminars in the four walls of the room. But while conducting seminars, we found that the main issue, main problems, are in the area where the women are facing problems. Joe: What kinds of problems are they facing? Nisha: Women are dominated by society, dominated by norms, they are intervened by societal norms, their families and such. Women in rural areas want to work outside — going beyond the boundry of their home because of the dominance of the family. Joe: So your talking about women in rural areas are oppressed right now, and you’re trying to spread the message about liberty, and more power for women?” Riya: Yes. These women they save certain savings, but they don’t know where to invest it. So first of all we did research. We found out what are the major problems that are hindering them to go out and work for themselves. So we decided to conduct a workshop where we invited local female entrepreneurs . . . and we helped these women to know about what to do about their savings, how to invest it. Joe: What does investment look like in rural areas? Riya: Like small shops, like tea …
Liberty Entrepreneurship Camp in India
This report is posted by Venkatesh Geriti This is Venkatesh Geriti, Founder and C.E.O of India’s Future Foundation, a free market educational foundation who mission is to educate, train and connect young people who believe ideas of free markets, entrepreneurship and limited government. I had great days during this summer with lot of libertarian programs such as Foundation for Economic education summer seminars, the independent institute’s challenge of liberty seminars, Acton University in USA, International Society for Individual Liberty World Conference on Market Liberalization in Bail and Liberty Entrepreneurship Camp by our organization. This is best and most productive libertarian summer in my life and I was happy to end it with our first Liberty Entrepreneurship Camp successfully in Vishakhapatnam, India from 8th July – 12th July 2015. Liberty Entrepreneurship Camp is a five day workshop promoting the moral and ethical dimensions of entrepreneurship and educating young people about economic freedom, free markets and classical liberal ideas. The liberty camp was jointly organized by India’s Future foundation and the Language of Liberty Institute (USA) in Vizag, India from 8th to 12th July 2015 with 30 students. The main purpose of this program is to help young people explore alternative ideas for existing problems; to help young people understand the value of entrepreneurship, free markets and limited government. Language of Liberty Institute speakers who had great experiences within economics, business, entrepreneurship and politics and introduced the principles of classical liberalism, free and competitive markets to participants. Local Indian speakers who are experts in ideas of free market in local context explained the need for free market ideas. The Camp combined lectures, discussions and workshops as speakers presented various topics such as the roots of classical liberalism. The first day we started with an introduction of the liberty camp and the activities of Language of Liberty Institute and …