Categories:
Economic and Political Philosophy
I don’t think I’ve ever quoted an entire post before, but today I’ll make an exception for the incomparable Hanson:
Today is Memorial Day. In a park near my home is a plaque that reads:
We honor all those who fought for our community.
There is probably a similar plaque near you. I would be more proud to live in a community with a plaque that read:
We honor those who fought against our community when it was wrong.
Yep. And even if you don’t want to see these in the U.S., how about Russia, Germany, Japan, China, Spain, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Mexico, India, Pakistan…?
Umm, just make that every country in human history other than the U.S., the land where the majority is always right. 🙂
READER COMMENTS
Nathan Smith
May 28 2007 at 9:30am
To be fair, Americans do honor Martin Luther King. A generation from now they will likely honor those who defied unjust immigration laws.
spencer
May 28 2007 at 12:17pm
Except for those who fought for you community are the ones who paid for your freedom to fight against your community when you think it is wrong.
Do you have a freedom is not free sticker on the back of your car?
jody
May 28 2007 at 2:54pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like Robin and Bryan are endorsing political violence, particularly in the context (fighting for the community on Memorial Day refers to physical violence, specifically wars).
Steve Sailer
May 28 2007 at 6:21pm
Are you guys not quite right in the head?
Craig
May 28 2007 at 6:50pm
Probably the most disappointing Memorial Day post I’ve read. For just one day, there’s nothing wrong with honoring those who fought for us.
Brad Hutchings
May 29 2007 at 12:45am
Chapter 752 in “Why Libertarianism Will Never Catch On”. At least this one is a short read!
If we don’t start with the very reasonable premise that the United States does offer us the best deal of of all national alternatives in the world, and we don’t recognize that (perhaps) people we knew or (likely) our parents knew or (undoubtedly) our grandparents knew died in wars fought by our country… If we don’t start there, we’re just as screwy and marginal as John Edwards. Quibble with the language of that plaque if you must, but it’s not so harmful of a sentiment that it demands that libertarians shoot themselves in the foot taking issue with it. Geez.
Edgardo
May 29 2007 at 5:56am
Bryan, now you should write about The Myth of the Smart Economists.
At least you should have attempted to explain why the two plaques are not inconsistent–they refer to different threats–and why no community must celebrate internal fights–they are an excuse for the next fight.
Horatio
May 29 2007 at 7:34am
Brad
You can make a good case for the US offering the best deal of all the large nations, but it certainly doesn’t offer the best deal in the world. Monaco, Andorra and the Cayman Islands all offer better deals than the US.
Jody
May 29 2007 at 9:37am
all offer better deals than the US.
As I once had a discussion with a German friend of mine, it all depends on the metric. And whatever country maximizes your metric, you should live there (assuming solution feasibility of solution, i.e., the country may not let you, and negligible transaction costs).
Randy
May 29 2007 at 10:18am
I understand the concept of standing against a community if one feels that it is wrong. The problem is that people who don’t stand together are no longer a community. I understand why those who do not feel threatened might decide not to stand with me just because I do feel threatened, and perhaps even why they would choose to stand against me if my methods are extreme. But I see no reason for them to then expect me to stand with them when they feel a need for some other community service at some later point in time. What comes around, goes around.
Horatio
May 29 2007 at 12:05pm
Jody
You are quite correct. My metric was what I believe to be the average preferences of American libertarians. The strongest component of that metric is low taxes.
tom
May 29 2007 at 12:11pm
What would it say on the Ayn Rand Memorial Fountain?
Brad Hutchings
May 29 2007 at 1:18pm
It’s actually possible for libertarians to avoid stepping on their own, er, feet, when confronted with holidays like Memorial Day. Check out Dave Barry (Link).
tom
May 29 2007 at 3:46pm
Ok, here is something from an old-fashioned American patriot that not all will appreciate:
(from Wikipedia: Ayn Rand, citing Rand, Ayn. “Philosophy: Who Needs It?”. Retrieved on 2006-03-31. Address to the Graduating Class Of The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York – March 6, 1974.)
Barkley Rosser
May 29 2007 at 4:10pm
spencer,
You refer to those who pay the cost, and on Memorial Day we are aware that the “cost” that is being referred to is the giving of one’s life.
Did not Martin Luther King, Jr. give his life?
Oeystein
May 30 2007 at 9:06am
Fighting for a community per se is not the point, fighting what is wrong is.
Randy
May 31 2007 at 9:59am
That depends, Oeystein, on the value of the community itself. If we destroy a highly valuable community to fight against some point of relatively insignificant value, then we lose much more than we gain.
Comments are closed.