2nd-tier arguments for liberty
There seem to be three distinct approaches to taking a position. I sometimes call these the 3 'P's -- principle, practical, persuasion -- and sometimes the 3 'E's -- ethics, economics, emotions.
The first-tier approach is for those of us who believe the ends can't justify the means. The second-tier approach is for people who not only say that they are results-oriented, but who actually mean it! The third-tier is for everyone else -- it is the realm of both the a-rational and the irrational.
The only necessary argument for liberty is the ethical, first-tier argument: The Non-Aggression Principle: "No one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, nor to delegate its initiation." -- L. Neil Smith
But I've never managed to bring anyone over to libertarianism with a first-tier, ethical appeal to principle.
For almost anyone I've ever talked to, the ends justify the means! As H.A. Scott Trask says, "Americans are quick to deny the ethical legitimacy of this doctrine when it is presented to them as a naked proposition, yet there is no doctrine that they more readily turn to in order to justify morally questionable practices."
So, sadly, I turned to the study of economics and game theory a year or two ago, to learn more about the practical realm of the second-tier. (I say "sadly" because the move from first- to second-tier was an emotional defeat, but I am, in fact, very happy to have discovered economics!)
Not all second-tier arguments would be recognized as "economic" by most people, which is why I also describe E2/P2 as practical, strategic, utilitarian and consequentialist.
The third-tier is where most people really choose their positions, but I don't have the strength to address that here and now. I've written a piece on the 3 'E's of the Minimum Wage, and I will post a link when and if I get it published. [update]
Meanwhile, I highly recommend these two second-tier arguments for liberty, both published today at LewRockwell.com:
The first-tier approach is for those of us who believe the ends can't justify the means. The second-tier approach is for people who not only say that they are results-oriented, but who actually mean it! The third-tier is for everyone else -- it is the realm of both the a-rational and the irrational.
The only necessary argument for liberty is the ethical, first-tier argument: The Non-Aggression Principle: "No one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, nor to delegate its initiation." -- L. Neil Smith
But I've never managed to bring anyone over to libertarianism with a first-tier, ethical appeal to principle.
For almost anyone I've ever talked to, the ends justify the means! As H.A. Scott Trask says, "Americans are quick to deny the ethical legitimacy of this doctrine when it is presented to them as a naked proposition, yet there is no doctrine that they more readily turn to in order to justify morally questionable practices."
So, sadly, I turned to the study of economics and game theory a year or two ago, to learn more about the practical realm of the second-tier. (I say "sadly" because the move from first- to second-tier was an emotional defeat, but I am, in fact, very happy to have discovered economics!)
Not all second-tier arguments would be recognized as "economic" by most people, which is why I also describe E2/P2 as practical, strategic, utilitarian and consequentialist.
The third-tier is where most people really choose their positions, but I don't have the strength to address that here and now. I've written a piece on the 3 'E's of the Minimum Wage, and I will post a link when and if I get it published. [update]
Meanwhile, I highly recommend these two second-tier arguments for liberty, both published today at LewRockwell.com:
Those Good Old Days, by Gary North.
The pattern behind what gets better and what gets worse over time.
Don't Vote, by Bretigne Shaffer.
So-called liberals (left-wing social democrats) are naive to think you can have a Welfare State without the Warfare State.
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