Occupy Wall Street Protesters Oblivious to the Difference Between Capitalism and Corporatism

On her Facebook page today, Corie Whalen, a friend of mine and a respected colleague in the fight for liberty, wrote a quite succinct and, as far as I can tell, mostly accurate assessment of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement:

"I'm all for the left/right working together when interests converge. With libertarians and progressives, this actually happens a lot. For example, via an interest in civil liberties, anti-war matters, and protesting the drug war. Typically, this coalition makes sense when both sides find themselves against certain sets of government action.

However, I'm highly concerned by some people who claim to be interested in liberty supporting this "Occupy Wall Street" movement. Maybe I'm missing something, but as far as I can tell, OWS is purely leftist in the worst, authoritarian sense of the term.

Look at this pro-government list of demands, and tell me this has any relation to liberty. All I see is a bunch of misguided 20 somethings who take Michael Moore seriously and don't comprehend the difference between capitalism and corporatism."

You can follow Corie on Twitter here.

Wes Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
Articles | Author's Page

My 2011 Trip

Hey Patriots! Hope your New Year is off to a good start! I am multitasking my head off to prepare for a trip around the country of indefinite length and scope starting next week. I'll be headed for Colorado first where I'll investigate medical cannabis laws and their effects; then I'll be flying out to Washington DC for the month of February to attend CPAC and ISFLC; and after that I'll move north to New Hampshire to spend March hanging with members of the Free State Project and learning more about it. I'm not positive what's next after that, but I've got a general inkling, and it might involve venturing overseas to learn a little more about the broader world around us and relay everything I see to you readers here at The Humble Libertarian ! Wish me luck and keep your eye out for updates as I travel. Peace, Wes Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

I've Been an Outspoken Critic of Censoring Conservatives, But I'm Not Leaving Patreon Over Sargon of Akkad's Ridiculous Remarks

By: Wes Messamore The Humble Libertarian Photo: Gage Skidmore

Occupy Mordor or Destroy the Ring?

There has been mixed responses to Occupy Wall Street by libertarians. Some see the movement as a positive, while others see them as little more than lazy hipsters. But libertarians must be sensitive to why people feel the way they do about issues. The occupiers point out a legitimate concern that "the 1%" control vastly more power and wealth than "the 99%", and corporations have accumulated more power and privilege than is healthy for an open society. Some other concerns and demands are absurd, but the heart of the matter is on track. The question is why has this happened? While many on the left are quick to blame a nebulous thing called "greed", or lack of regulation, the matter is more complicated than that. This calls for a Lord of the Rings metaphor. Let's say that Sauron, the big cheese bad guy of Lord of the Rings, is the corporate hegemony. The 1%. Most people in Middle Earth agree that this is a problem, but there are a few differ...

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