The Humble Libertarian original

By: Wes Messamore The Humble Libertarian

My new book about the seriously cancerous life and personality of Karl Marx is out this week. Get "Karl Marx Never Bathed" here . Or enjoy this excerpt: Introduction - The Setting For This Book A zombie is haunting the world — the zombie of communism. All the powers of good old fashioned Reason and basic Science have entered into a holy alliance to finally put this zombie back in the grave where it belongs. But we just can’t seem to get through to the brainless, undead monster that refuses to die, despite the wreckage of a century with half the world living under the nightmare of mass murder, police state repression, forced labor camps, and millions upon millions of starving people, dead because of the fatal conceit of violent bureaucrats who couldn’t manage their way out of a paper bag much less the complexity of industries like farming and manufacturing that require specialized knowledge and you know, price signals to help them allocate resources effectively. ...

Yes! Communism is trying to take over the United States. Because you thought told yourself you were paying attention while making a concerted effort not to pay attention . The good news is you might just luck out and communism doesn't take over because the robots do first and trust me, we will all be lucky that it was the robot overlords that got on top of the Iron Throne and not the commissars. But anyway here... The Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx: 1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. Progress Bar: [][][][][] [][][][][] 50% Map of land owned by the Federal Government Property Taxes by State 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. Progress Bar: [][][][][][][][][][] 100% Full Communist! 3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance. Progress Bar: [][][][] [][][][][][] 40% US Estate Tax World's 4th Highest at 40% 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. ...

This free audiobook, The Origins of War in Child Abuse -- written by Lloyd Demause and read aloud by libertarianism's greatest living orator, Stefan Molyneux-- is a uniquely incisive work of historical scholarship that examines how human history was experienced by children, and why their experiences have created a society prone to the self-destructive frenzy of war. If you are anti-war, this book delves into the root causes of war in a way that no other has, and reveals so many interesting facts about the lead up to specific wars it will make your head spin. Demause makes a compelling case that war is not primarily an economic nor political phenomenon, but a psychological one. Demause's investigation into the history of war concludes that each war is an episode of mass hysteria centered on self-destruction and human sacrifice, and that the psychological motivations for war can only make sense to a society of people who were abused as children. If this is true, the one...

Writes Nick of his recent interview with Cody Wilson at TheTruthAboutGuns.com : 'The first thing we wanted to know is if he’s worried about a possible stretch as a guest of the the federal government in one of their high security greybar hotels. Cody’s response: “I’m looking forward to it. It’ll give me time to catch up on my reading.” As far as he’s concerned, the government might get him on any number of technicalities. Cody started listing the ways that Uncle Sam could justify putting him away, almost as if they were badges of honor — thumbing his nose at their attempts to control the proliferation of firearms. It fits well with the “crypto-anarchist” persona that he’s developed as his efforts with 3D printing have progressed. Robert was concerned that Cody didn’t have a lawyer already on speed dial in the event of his arrest. We started spit-balling lawyers that might be interested in taking his case, and Cody wasn’t too impressed with any of them. Alan Gottleib was de...

Orwell was so very astute in his understanding of the total state, yet the most visible mechanism of state control in 1984 , cameras everywhere, has turned out in the 21st century to be one of the most useful checks against state control. Observe this video from Adam Kokesh , posted to YouTube yesterday: Best part (2:05): "They're filming on the sidewalk. And they're filming on the sidewalk. And that guy's filming on the sidewalk. And that guy's filming on the sidewalk." The police don't want Kokesh to film on the sidewalk because it's part of a "commercial operation" and requires a license from the National Park Service. The quotation above and its concurrent video footage show how antiquated the government's understanding of cameras and information is. People are all over the sidewalk filming with their digital cameras and smartphones. The problem with Kokesh's camera then, is that it's too big and nice. Pretty soon, ...

This is the third Glenn Beck show I've watched in a few days, and I've got to say I'm having trouble with why any libertarian doesn't like what's going on here. Penn Jillette, as always, is one of the best advocates of libertarianism and atheism I've ever heard speak. His approach is so imminently reasonable and so gentle . Enjoy: Discuss:

In March, I mentioned that I had never written a book, and set a public goal of finishing one by the end of the month and then giving it away here at The Humble Libertarian for free. I missed my deadline. However, I'm glad I had a deadline to miss. Setting one motivated me to get started, and now that I've started, I'm going to finish. And I'm very happy so far with how it's turning out! Now I'm going to reveal the name and topic of the book. No, it's not going to be a book about politics. It's going to be a book about blogging, how to blog successfully, and how to use your blog to capture the imagination of your community and open doors to career and income opportunities. The title of the book is: " Because I Blog ." The idea is, many people try to make money from their blog, but in my experience, that's not the easiest or most ideal way a blog can help you transition from amateur writer to professional writer / activist / (...

'At the dances I was one of the most untiring and gayest. One evening a cousin of Sasha, a young boy, took me aside. With a grave face, as if he were about to announce the death of a dear comrade, he whispered to me that it did not behoove an agitator to dance. Certainly not with such reckless abandon, anyway. It was undignified for one who was on the way to become a force in the anarchist movement. My frivolity would only hurt the Cause. I grew furious at the impudent interference of the boy. I told him to mind his own business. I was tired of having the Cause constantly thrown into my face. I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it. "I want freedom, the right to self-expression, eve...

Atlas Shrugged film fans, fear not! Despite all the frigid treatment that the independent film offering of Ayn Rand’s literary masterpiece received from critics (with the New York Times declining to even review it), the films producers will not be “going Galt” and leaving us an unfinished symphony. They have raised all the necessary funding to finance the sequel, Atlas Shrugged Part II, and production will begin in April: Read the rest of my article at The Silver Underground . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

From The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: "It was a contest without time, a struggle of two abstractions, the thing that had created the building against the things that made the play possible--two forces suddenly naked to her in their simple statement--two forces that had fought since the world began--and every religion had known of them--and there had always been a God and a Devil--only men had been so mistaken about the shapes of their Devil--he was not single and big, he was many and smutty and small." Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

The Hill reports : Michelle Obama finally went there. The first lady jumped head first into a discussion about racial issues. She and her husband, the first African-American president, have mostly avoided addressing race except in oblique terms since reaching the White House. Earlier this week, responding to the publication of New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor’s book “The Obamas,” Michelle Obama veered sharply off that cautious path. Though she said she had not read the book — which was the target of a fierce White House pushback that was widely criticized as counter-productive — Obama took issue with the criticisms she perceived had been leveled against her. “That’s been an image that people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced,” she told CBS’s Gayle King. “That I’m some angry black woman.” From what I understand, Kantor's book reports that Michelle Obama was quietly fuming about the failures of Barack Obama's staff, including Rahm Emanuel, ...

From The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: She stood at the window, looking out over the city. She said: "You've never actually done anything against Roark. I didn't know you cared quite so much." "Oh, my dear. Haven't I?" "You've never mentioned him in print." "That, my dear, is what I've done against Mr. Roark. So far." Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

So I guess technically, this is a “Miniseries” Monday post, but I absolutely had to share just how incredible this cinematic offering of David McCullough’s book ( of the same name ) is. If you haven’t seen it, get thee to your nearest Blockbuster ( if it hasn’t been closed ) and rent it, or else hop on Amazon and treat yourself to a libertarian stocking stuffer for the holidays. One thing to remember about the American War for Independence is that it was a war of rebels fighting for their independence from the perpetual and costly warfare of an imperialist regime in London, with Thomas Paine arguing in his famous pamphlet Common Sense that as long as America remained under the rule of England, it would be drawn into her costly wars and become a target for her many enemies. The American rebels were also fighting for their monetary and economic independence from the powerful financial sector in London and its various machinations, as the John Adams miniseries makes especiall...

Tolstoy on War and State by Vasko Kohlmayer Reprinted with permission from LewRockwell.com Considered one of the greatest novelists of all time, Lev Tolstoy authored such celebrated works as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. But even though he is mostly known for his novels and short stories, Tolstoy was also a prolific non-fiction writer. His non-fiction, however, has been largely dismissed. A pacifist and passionate proponent of the non-aggression principle, his ideas were deemed too extreme from his day onward. Already during his lifetime it was said that Tolstoy was a brilliant novelist but only an average philosopher. The latter part of this conventional wisdom is wrong. The truth is that in addition to being a genius story teller Lev Tolstoy was also a superb political theorist and philosopher. As you will see, Tolstoy's analysis of the nature of government is as incisive as anything Murray Rothbard ever wrote on the subject. Below you will find an excerpt from To...

Cutting to the core mentality of envy and hatred of the good for being the good... From The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: He got up, walked over to her, and stood looking at the lights of the city below them, at the angular shapes of buildings, at the dark walls made translucent by the glow of the windows, as if the walls were only a checkered veil of thin black gauze over a solid mass of radiance. And Ellsworth Toohey said softly: "Look at it. A sublime achievement, isn't it? A heroic achievement. Think of the thousands who worked to create this and of the millions who profit by it. And it is said that but for the spirit of a dozen men, here and there down the ages, but for a dozen men-- less, perhaps-- none of this would have been possible. And that might be true. If so, there are-- again-- two possible attitudes to take. We can say that these twelve were great benefactors, that we are all fed by the overflow of the magnificent wealth of their spirit, and that we are glad...

The overall decline of American conservatism is evident and it is particularly so in its literature. Few books these days have titles like The Road to Serfdom , God and Man at Yale , or Suicide of the West . Now they have titles like Demonic , See I Told You So , or David Mamet’s coming out party, an article entitled "Why I Am Not Longer a Brain Dead Liberal." As a general rule, one should probably be generally skeptical about anyone who has any sort of late-term conversion experience. During the 2008 Republican primary battle, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee questioned Mitt Romney’s sincerity on abortion when he quipped how odd it was that Mitt was sixty years old before he considered the question of when life begins. Similarly, one has to wonder why David Mamet was in his late fifties before he started thinking about the nature of government. In Mamet’s case, he has today become a conservative much like the old Trotskyites became neoconservatives, which is to s...

“Wesley, you have to read this book! It makes me hate the government so much!!” -my roommate I’m weird. Like really weird. My tastes and interests seem to lack any measure of coherence at times. Here I am blogging almost daily about the evils of central banking and inflationary monetary policy, something that many of my friends consider pretty heavy reading, and then I go and shock them with my absolute love for books and movies like Twilight– which it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that many of my friends consider pretty shallow reading. I disagree with them. But it’s my bizarre range of interests that make my current living arrangement absolutely ideal. I live in Colorado with my best friend (who I’ve known since fourth grade) and his wife who has also been my best friend for the better part of a decade now. Today is actually their “year-and-a-half” anniversary, as the cat chewing on roses in the dining room while I write this can happily attest. Bear with me… I’m getting to Th...

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...