Urban Warfare Exercises in Richmond
April 30th, 2007
Although you may not think Richmond is in danger of military occupation, Mayor Wilder wants the Marines to be prepared for any possible contingencies. From April 19th through the 29th, the U.S. Marines - in cooperation with the FBI - have been using our community as their prop for military training. No cause for alarm, though, according to this press release from the Mayor's office:
“We are pleased to support the Marine Corps in its efforts to better prepare our soldiers for potential combat in urban areas abroad as well as right here on home soil, if ever needed,” commented Mayor L. Douglas Wilder.
Citizens may see and hear low-flying helicopters during the time period and may hear simulated sounds of combat, including gunfire with blank ammunition, particularly on April 29.
Representatives are planning to go door-to-door to alert individuals who live around areas where combat simulations may take place.
Isn't that thoughtful of them?
One of the big reasons I'm excited about the potential of this group is to coordinate activism on matters such as this one, where left libertarians have a very clear and vehement position. I just now found out about protests that happened yesterday on this very issue - hopefully with the establishment of the alliance, we can better coordinate with our leftist friends.
Come out to the (first) Alliance meeting tomorrow, where we'll talk about left libertarianism, the menace of the State and its military, and what we can do to advance the former over the latter. And drink beer.
Less than a week to go!
April 25th, 2007
Our first meeting is still happening on Labor Day. Please sign up at upcoming.org if you're planning to attend!
Perspectives on Left Libertarianism
April 13th, 2007
One of the most consistent questions I've been asked by libertarians and others would have to be, "What is left libertarianism?" There's enough confusion about just the word "libertarian" without the bizarre qualifier. Well, Richmonders interested in exploring that vein of thought have no paucity of opinions available to choose from. Of course, there's leftlibertarian.org, a site where the best bloggers in the Blogosphere of the Libertarian Left are syndicated. But in this post I thought I'd share some different personal statements on our philosophy from around the internet.
Joseph Van Hoven at Complicated Visionary is a good starting point, as he attempts to define the sociological distinctions within the libertarian movement, including the left-leaning variety, the special category in which he places himself:
Left Libertarians believe big, powerful government is as oppressive and bad as big, powerful corporations. They are anti-war (including the War on Drugs), pro-choice, and against government favors for corporations (or against large corporations altogether). They usually favor participatory action and mutual aid over government for social justice and environmental causes, as well as smaller, more local businesses and community-centered marketplaces. They may caucus with right-libertarians (“vulgar libertarians” is a commonly used phrase) for strategic purposes, which is the primary reason they are on the list at all. They are also likely to work with Green parties. Often Georgist on physical property and against extensive and restrictive intellectual property (and a major front behind Open Source), they are related to others of the broad libertarian left--agorists, mutualists, libertarian socialists, cyberpunks and anarchists; also “Buddhist Economics.”
Brad Spangler advocates for a left libertarianism in line with agorist revolutionary theory:
Among the variety of political labels I claim for myself is “Left Libertarian”. That should, however, be a redundancy and I believe that it will come to be regarded as such. Genuine libertarianism is very much left wing. It’s revolutionary. The long and tragic alliance of libertarians with the right against the spectre of state socialism is coming to a close, as it served no purpose after the fall of the Soviet Union and so-called “conservatives” have subsequently taken to letting their true big-government-on-steroids colors fly.
Longtime political blogger James Leroy Wilson at Independent Country was one of first left libertarian writers I encountered. His explanation of left libertarian themes, on which he further elaborates, identifies some of the key distinguishing traits of our adherents:
By being both anti-authoritarian and anti-corporate monopoly, Left Libertarians present a clean break from right-wing coalition of neo-cons, the Religious Right, and Big Business. In opposing the war, in promoting local control (which many Greens do), in fighting state-sanctioned corporate privilege, and in fighting to protect our civil liberties, the Libertarian Left has far more in common with the Left than with the Right as it is presently identified.
What this does not mean is that I prefer Hillary to Congressman Ron Paul. It does not mean outright partisanship in which liberals are my friends and conservatives my enemies. I still feel a sense of common cause with many on the Right, especially strict Constitutionalists. But historically the Right has been the party of the Establishment, of landed privilege. The Left has been opposed. Libertarianism ultimately belongs on the Left.
In a recent post on my blog, I identified many of the issues I think are wrapped up in my identification as left libertarian:
I don’t claim to possess any extraordinarily superior spark of insight, but I do think many libertarians suffer from a failure of imagination when applying libertarian principles thoroughly to these issues. Corporations are creations of government privilege which are granted limited liability, preferred access to our leaders, and constitutional rights as if they were living, breathing human beings whose interests were no different than ours. The power differential they exploit is not “laissez faire” economics, but rather the result of State intervention in the otherwise voluntary, human-scale economy, resulting in artificially bloated organizational behemoths. We are certainly not becoming freer, and direct government manipulation, while ever present, is only dwarfed by big business’s need for a rational, sanitized, intimidated customer base to dump junk on. Environmental problems go deeper than mere property rights issues and get down to the incentives and privileges afforded industry by the State. Poverty, suffering, and unfair labor practices here and around the world cannot be the result of a “free market” if what we have now is demonstrably not free. So why shouldn’t we oppose them on the same grounds that we oppose other side-effects of central planning and top-down command? What are the alternatives to the institutions, practices, and concepts that have created these problems?
And finally, I just wanted to thank fellow Richmonder Robert Russo at RichmondLiberty.org for his perspective on left libertarianism:
I believe Alliance bloggers themselves will admit the term "left" is not to emulate the divisions of mainstream politics by calling other libertarians "right", but is a perspective on libertarianism itself. (The first time I heard a non-lib speak of our party they described us as being "on the far left". To anyone who has seen the world's smallest political quiz, libertarianism is actually "up".) Basically the material on these sites focuses on the achievement of our lifestyle, culture and philosophy in ways that don't appear in most party discussions because the electoral process is not the means (i.e. libertarianism within the home, in business and around the globe), and for those who feel unrepresented by the idea that the LP should stick to "party line" issues because it leaves many stones unturned, whereas this site is for a more general audience. Quelle difference insignifiante!
My only response to Russo's comments is that for many left libertarians, we feel that libertarianism is a radical tradition. We are seeking long-term social, organizational, even psychological change that will inevitably result from more freedom and less centralized control. And yes, in part our label is a reaction to the long-running libertarian alliance with the Right. If eight years with Bush is not enough to put those notions to rest, one wonders what kind of empty philosophy "right libertarianism" must necessarily be.
I'm interested in collecting different personal statements on left libertarianism, so if you have one - or you want to write one - let me know and I'll be sure to put it up here!
Libertarianism is more than right wing partying
April 12th, 2007
Via fellow Richmonder Keith Preston, I found this great article by Anthony Gregory attacking the perverse version of libertarianism practiced by most on "the Right":
For years I was confused by this misconception that libertarians were just libertine conservatives, but I understand it now. It is because of all the conservatives who have come to call themselves libertarians just because they want to be free to smoke a joint and have unprotected sex knowing that abortion is always a legal option. And there’s the irony that so many fail to see. Smoking marijuana might be illegal, but most of these conservatives will probably get away with it, anyway. If all they seek in libertarian theory is a cover for their current lifestyles, they might as well just call themselves conservatives, for the status quo allows them most of the freedom they seem to want for their own lives. They might think they’re so radical because they got really wasted last night. But their ability to get intoxicated is obviously something they can conserve without changing much about the current law. Their lifestyle, such as it is, is not in jeopardy the way our more fundamental freedoms are, and it is freedom, not lifestyle, that is after all the real issue at stake in such issues like drug policy in the first place.
If you are concerned about the economic fascism of the current American system, the military-industrial-complex, the perpetual war and ubiquitous American empire, the secret spying, the torture, the fraud of central banking, the massive theft known as taxation, the war on drugs as a threat to everyone’s liberty, the welfare state’s destruction of our economy and social fabric – if you consider public schools institutions of wickedness and tyranny and believe freedom is the only answer to any of these problems – if you think every individual has a right not to be aggressed against, not to be forced to pay for war and not to be killed by US bombs – if you believe that private property, freedom of association, peace, free trade and individual liberty are the recipe for a just world – then, by all means, call yourself a libertarian. I couldn’t care less what you do after work or who you want to sleep with.
But those who think libertarianism is just a libertine brand of Republicanism, please just admit you’re conservatives so we can all move on. Libertarianism is neither libertine nor un-libertine in itself. But in terms of policy and political philosophy, it is not conservative, it is not warmongering, and it is definitely not just a social club for party animals with money. There’s already a group for that kind of animal, a group that is not as sectarian on religion or lifestyle as you might think, a group that will welcome with open arms anyone who will capitulate to the imperial executive and military state, regardless of where he went to bed last night. And, if Rush Limbaugh was any indication, someone at any of their shindigs is bound to have whatever recreational pills you might need to help you get through the day thinking you actually stand for something other than a slightly more decadent version of American imperialism, a groovier variety of the total state.
It's an essay that deserves a full read, and it highlights the reasons why many of us have chosen an additional qualifier to describe our politics - if for no other reason than to differentiate us from the "party kids".
Setting the agenda
April 4th, 2007
I've whipped up a loose agenda for our first meeting. Leave comments there if you have any ideas / feedback / contributions to make.
Reaching out to Richmond libertarians
April 3rd, 2007
I attended the Patrick Henry Supper Club tonight, and I was delighted to meet so many interesting people with whom I have so much to talk about. There is definitely interest in my idea of a dialogue / mutual aid thing with leftist activists, and hopefully a few people from the supper club will show up on May Day. People are curious about the left libertarian label, which is great because it really offers the honest thinker a way to recast some assumptions along different yet equally libertarian lines. I fully expected the "left" part of the label to get under some people's skin - which occurred in at least one case - but that's part of why I like it: we libertarians shouldn't be complacent about our ideas, we should be challenged, engaged, upset, damn it! Most of all, we should be hashing these big ideas out instead of arguing over the typical minutiae libertarians always end up bickering over - that's the kind of political talk that ends up forging new inroads into the corporate leviathan State.
So I extend a hearty welcome to all visitors from tonight's meeting and look forward to our next discussion - hopefully over a good beer!
Latest News
April 3rd, 2007
- We were down for a little while today; the problem should be resolved. Ping me if it returns.
- We got a great shoutout from Robert Russo over at RichmondLiberty.org! Thanks for the announcement and the critical commentary, Robert - I plan to address some of the points he brought up, and it's great that this discussion about the Left and libertarians is finally occuring!
- I will be attending the Patrick Henry Supper Club meeting tonight to touch base with Richmond libertarians.
- Make sure you sign up at upcoming.org if you plan on attending our May 1st meeting!
The Loyal Opposition
April 2nd, 2007
Michelle Malkin has put together her "John Doe Manifesto". Caution: extreme helpings of smarmy self-righteous national socialism and jingoism contained in the following:
...
I will act when homeland security officials ask me to "report suspicious activity."
I will embrace my local police department's admonition: "If you see something, say something."
I am John Doe.
...
Remember: now that the Right is in power (they are not the victims they portray themselves to be) they have made themselves the convenient movement of fascism, nationalism, and the unencumbered authoritarian government. As Greenwald explained, the Left is now the movement that necessarily opposes the state - at least, for the moment. If you don't agree with a corporate state that sees no limits on its power, you are the enemy of these John Does by their own admission, and if we're all the enemy, we might as well pool our efforts to resist these Barney Fifes.
Incidentally, I'd like to think that left libertarians have no enemies save those who seek to use state privilege to impose conditions on their fellow men and women which they would otherwise not accept, and even then only to the extent that they do so. The current political climate requires the solidarity of individuals, not the hive-mind tribalism of political grandstanding and labeling. Malkin and her ilk, though contemptible, are not my enemies - the system they support is.
And our allies are all those on the Left (and maybe some disgruntled paleoconservatives) who work to confound the Right's totalitarian plans for a surveillance society - even if we don't always agree on the alternative. After all, any theoretical differences we may have with one another pale in comparison to the immediate threat posed by the leviathan state and it's corporate complex. It's time for action!
RLLA Inaugural Meeting
April 2nd, 2007
The Richmond Left Libertarian Alliance will hold its first meeting at Commercial Tap House (111 North Robinson Street) on May Day 2007 at 7:00 PM. This meeting will basically revolve around everybody meeting one another and talking about stuff while drinking. Maybe we can actually figure out what we want to accomplish as well. Who knows.
Feel free to leave questions in the comments or contact me at admin at leftlibertarian period org. Also, if you're planning on attending please visit the page for this event on upcoming.org so I can plan for the turnout.
We're all left-wingers now
April 1st, 2007
Via the excellent blogs of Brad Spangler and Wally Conger, two great agorists in our Alliance of the Libertarian Left, comes a reaction by Glenn Greenwald to a recent David Brooks column. Brooks proclaims the Right's official abandonment of limited government and individual rights as motivating goals, preferring empire and an expanded, authoritarian state:
And now here is Brooks, very explicitly repudiating the Goldwater/Reagan template and admitting that this movement is devoted to large expansions of federal power -- justified in the name of "protecting" Americans -- all devoted to what that movement claims is promotion of some objective Good. The central tenets of the right wing movement in this country -- which has seized and now defines the term "conservative" -- are easy to see. They're right there in plain sight -- they want to expand government power in pursuit of mindless, bloodthirsty warmongering and empire-building abroad, and the accompanying liberty-infringement at home.
As a result, to be considered "liberal" or "leftist" now means, more than anything else, to oppose that agenda. All of the people now deemed to be on the "left" -- including many who have quite disparate views about the defining political disputes of the 1990s -- have been able to work together with great unity because all energies of those "on the left" have been devoted not to any affirmative policy-making (because they have had, and still have, no power to do that), but merely towards the goal of exposing the corruption and radicalism at the heart of this extremist right-wing movement and to push back -- impose some modest limits -- on what has been this radical movement's virtually unlimited ability to install a political framework that one does not even recognize as "American."
I had earlier wondered whether it was really necessary to identify this group as explicitly left; Brooks demonstrates the need for the kind of realignment that our name invites.