Fantastic, but I would expect little else from Mike Munger. In full disclosure, that he is from my alma mater provides no motivation for me to say that---none. (That I also know him personally means even less.) As an aside, while he did quote this particular thinker, I figure the sentiment is relevant.
"Before granting any power to government, first imagine that power wielded by the politician you hate most, because one day, it will be."
I had forgotten about this quote - and it seems more apropos for current day than any time since I came of voting age. Also more true (and concerning) today is that even such a clarifying point can be utterly missed in political discourse in a public forum - the bait of divisiveness is too attractive, and resulting fear/anger driven emotion always undermines rational thought, and can overtake it completely if unchecked (even for the otherwise level-headed among us).
All that to say - thanks for the reminder;
I'll be referring to that quote more often in conversations that need to be snapped out of cruise control.
Over the last few months, I have ramped up my efforts to expose people to anarcho-libertarian ideas (with the zeal of a comparatively new convert!), and what Munger describes above is one of the biggest impediments I am encountering. This prompted me to admonish, in my piece yesterday,
"The question is not whether voluntary order will work better than how government describes itself on is own brochure—as a mystically impartial protector that is doing its job perfectly and that we cannot possibly live without. The question is whether voluntary order will work better than what government actually is and what it actually does." (https://christophercook.substack.com/p/building-the-island-introduction)
People argue as if some stylized, abstract ideal of the state exists, and it is against that ideal that we must compare any alternative.
But then Munger takes the whole thing a step further with the Munger Test. Very useful. I will try it!
Another excellent piece, Max. We need more people to think this way. More people reading Hayek, public choice, theory, and so on. (Hey! How about a recommended reading list?) In my early 1990 piece, "Deep Anarchy", I tried to show that the State did not exist and we need to look at the people who compose it. [Published a year before I changed my surname, in case anyone is confused.]
Fantastic, but I would expect little else from Mike Munger. In full disclosure, that he is from my alma mater provides no motivation for me to say that---none. (That I also know him personally means even less.) As an aside, while he did quote this particular thinker, I figure the sentiment is relevant.
"Before granting any power to government, first imagine that power wielded by the politician you hate most, because one day, it will be."
~ Coyote's Law
I had forgotten about this quote - and it seems more apropos for current day than any time since I came of voting age. Also more true (and concerning) today is that even such a clarifying point can be utterly missed in political discourse in a public forum - the bait of divisiveness is too attractive, and resulting fear/anger driven emotion always undermines rational thought, and can overtake it completely if unchecked (even for the otherwise level-headed among us).
All that to say - thanks for the reminder;
I'll be referring to that quote more often in conversations that need to be snapped out of cruise control.
Excellent piece, and great comments below.
Over the last few months, I have ramped up my efforts to expose people to anarcho-libertarian ideas (with the zeal of a comparatively new convert!), and what Munger describes above is one of the biggest impediments I am encountering. This prompted me to admonish, in my piece yesterday,
"The question is not whether voluntary order will work better than how government describes itself on is own brochure—as a mystically impartial protector that is doing its job perfectly and that we cannot possibly live without. The question is whether voluntary order will work better than what government actually is and what it actually does." (https://christophercook.substack.com/p/building-the-island-introduction)
People argue as if some stylized, abstract ideal of the state exists, and it is against that ideal that we must compare any alternative.
But then Munger takes the whole thing a step further with the Munger Test. Very useful. I will try it!
Another excellent piece, Max. We need more people to think this way. More people reading Hayek, public choice, theory, and so on. (Hey! How about a recommended reading list?) In my early 1990 piece, "Deep Anarchy", I tried to show that the State did not exist and we need to look at the people who compose it. [Published a year before I changed my surname, in case anyone is confused.]
https://www.manchesterism.com/deep-anarchy-an-eliminativist-view-of-the-state/
P.S. After quickly looking at that old piece, I see that I also mention unicorns!
Oh, wow, I am gonna drink this up, MM. Thank you for sharing! (And I love the idea of a recommended reading list.)