Letters to the Editor
from Ward Griffiths, A.X. Perez, Dennis Wilson, Puck Smith,
Bill St. Clair, Frank Ney, Marc V. Ridenour, Frank Ney, L. Neil Smith,
Chris Claypoole, Curt Howland, and David Earnest
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Collectivism's Last Stand
by L. Neil Smith
I am not an economist, nor—unlike a half-vast majority
of the hairsprayheaded newsies who have somehow lately, miraculously, become
overnight experts on all matters economic—do I pretend to be one on TV. What
I am is an individual who has worked hard for forty years in a difficult,
exacting, and not terribly rewarding profession, which has nevertheless offered
me the opportunity—an expensive one, but worth it—of telling the truth,
exactly as I see it, without having to worry about what interests, corporate
or otherwise, I might offend. And it seems to me that this is the moment—the
very moment—when whatever I have sacrificed for that opportunity will now
begin to pay off.
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Cops. What good are they?
by Paul Bonneau
Interesting that Neil has also been thinking of police thuggery
lately, although his solution had a bit of a pollyannish aroma to it. After all,
how can one expect the ruling class and their enforcers (with maybe a few exceptions)
to embrace policies inimicable to their interests? One might as well wish for
reform of government schools. Ain't gonna happen.
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Liberty or Utilitarianism: Mutually Exclusive Ethical Systems
by Russell D. Longcore
I read an essay by the late Murray Rothbard recently, taken
from his book Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature. In the essay,
he focuses on the reasons that people choose to be Libertarians, and the reasons
others choose Utilitarianism. (note that he wrote "Libertarians," not "liberty."
One can love liberty without becoming a Libertarian.)
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Burden of Proof
by A.X. Perez
Fair warning, this is a gong I intend to beat regularly (drums
ain't loud and annoying enough). Those who hold political power must be required
to prove the benevolence of their means and ends. They must be required to do so
not to the satisfaction of their followers, but of their most bitter and
uncompromising opponents. They should expect no slack for good intentions. They
should assume there is no excuse for breaking promises to those who distrust them.
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Fleas on a Dog? Change? A New Direction?
by Dave Earnest
Fellow Prisoners! As I begin my 51st year it has become clear
to me that the world, The Planet Earth it seems, is turning against us. The Planet
is treating humans like fleas on a dog. Shaking, scratching, heating up the
traditionally cool areas, cooling down the traditionally warm areas. Raining in
the dry places, drying in the rainy places. I think you get the idea. Not a battle
we can hope to fight if it's only fractionally true. We humans are an odd bunch.
We like continuity, tradition and habit. When things happen outside the ordinary,
the customary and the habitual we call that "stressful."
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Atlantea The Beautiful
by L. Neil Smith and Rex May
Number 7 of a weekly cartoon series.
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