tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post114370888680711491..comments2023-11-06T00:01:30.085+13:00Comments on New Zeal: How I Discovered LibertyTrevor Loudonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040453691836232676noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-85360198450681169042007-09-10T22:59:00.000+12:002007-09-10T22:59:00.000+12:00Excellent website. Good work. Very useful. I will ...Excellent website. Good work. Very useful. I will bookmark!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-33887197806104671092007-09-10T19:13:00.000+12:002007-09-10T19:13:00.000+12:00I see first time your site guys. I like you :)I see first time your site guys. I like you :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-31286075700223529102007-09-10T09:27:00.000+12:002007-09-10T09:27:00.000+12:00Nice! Nice site! Good resources here. I will bookm...Nice! Nice site! Good resources here. I will bookmark!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-67935426997406523822007-08-19T08:39:00.000+12:002007-08-19T08:39:00.000+12:00Thanks for interesting article.Thanks for interesting article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-284377024174769572007-08-19T02:52:00.000+12:002007-08-19T02:52:00.000+12:00Great article! Thanks.Great article! Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143947817430258782006-04-02T15:16:00.000+12:002006-04-02T15:16:00.000+12:00Lindsay and Rand are right. Trevor is bonkers. The...Lindsay and Rand are right. Trevor is bonkers. There are a lot of chances to avoid state spending that I bet Trevor doesn't take. He could deliver cheques around town in person instead of posting them for instance. It's doable but takes time. Is it right to take goods from a thief? Well, it depends. If the thief steals money from you and buys a TV with it then you may not get your cash back but you have the right to take the TV as partial compensation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143861034212772142006-04-01T15:10:00.000+12:002006-04-01T15:10:00.000+12:00Once again stanley shows why he should be locked u...Once again stanley shows why he should be locked up in a padded cell somewhere...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143851593062118572006-04-01T12:33:00.000+12:002006-04-01T12:33:00.000+12:00Lindsay, I think you're being a bit over complicat...Lindsay, I think you're being a bit over complicated here. It's a simple proposition. When you can possibly avoid taking cash or services off the state, do so. Don't get to hung up on it. If you have to go to a state run school to be vet, do so. If a better private school comes along, but costs way more, try to get the cash. This is a matter of personal morality, not a code dictated by Ayn Rand or anyone else.Trevor Loudonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040453691836232676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143851284692997582006-04-01T12:28:00.000+12:002006-04-01T12:28:00.000+12:00To Stevo, Jeremy and Liberty ScottThanks. I think ...To Stevo, Jeremy and Liberty Scott<BR/><BR/>Thanks. I think we can all relate how, if exposed to the right info, people can change their ideas over time. That emphasies the impotance of good Blogs, books, talkback radio etc. One article, speech or book can change a life. One life can change history. You can still see that idealism that made me a socialist eh? It's true though, one can never underestimate the power of good ideas.Trevor Loudonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040453691836232676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143850973940298622006-04-01T12:22:00.000+12:002006-04-01T12:22:00.000+12:00To anonymous, who wants to know why I was original...To anonymous, who wants to know why I was originally a socialist<BR/><BR/>I was brought up in a vaguely Labour household. Socialism was the dominant culture of the time. I was a child of the welfare state who had been fed on free school milk and educated to love the government. I was an idealist who wanted to help the world (still am) and socialism seemed the fairest option. It was the anti Vietnam war era so America was evil and capitalism was American. I had no inkling of what capitalism was. I was young and dumb. Is that enough?Trevor Loudonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040453691836232676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143847329834909792006-04-01T11:22:00.000+12:002006-04-01T11:22:00.000+12:00"It's in fact a powerful incentive to make more mo..."It's in fact a powerful incentive to make more money when you know you'll have to pay twice for many things."<BR/><BR/>That's like saying paying high taxes is an incentive which is the argument Cullen usually runs. <BR/>We can all do a bit of mental arithmetic and figure out whether we have paid for what we are getting back. I can't see anything morally wrong with that.<BR/>But I'm no expert on libertarian theory so I put the question to someone who is and he supplied the following.<BR/><BR/>The Question of Scholarships (Ayn Rand)<BR/><BR/>In this essay, Rand explains under what conditions it is acceptable for <BR/>someone who follows the Objectivist morality to accept scholarships. <BR/>Private scholarships are acceptable as a form of non-sacrificial <BR/>assistance. Government-funded scholarships are acceptable as a form of <BR/>restitution for tax monies taken from the recipient. "The recipient of <BR/>a public scholarship is morally justified only so long as he regards it <BR/>as restitution and opposes all forms of welfare statism. Those who <BR/>advocate public scholarships, have no right to them; those who oppose <BR/>them, have. If this sounds like a paradox, the fault lies in the moral <BR/>contradictions of welfare statism, not in its victims." Rand says <BR/>similar considerations apply to accepting money from social security, <BR/>unemployement insurance, or government research grants. She also <BR/>decribes the parameters within which it is acceptable to take a job <BR/>with the government.Lindsay Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04437693272797130833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143799090734116812006-03-31T21:58:00.000+12:002006-03-31T21:58:00.000+12:00Great stuff Trevor, I know the feeling - socialism...Great stuff Trevor, I know the feeling - socialism sounds so fair and attractive when you are young, until you find out it doesn't work and then it becomes clearer and clearer than it is immoral as well as impractical.Libertyscotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12741049550997300680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143797587464461072006-03-31T21:33:00.000+12:002006-03-31T21:33:00.000+12:00But how did you become a leftie in the first place...But how did you become a leftie in the first place?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143789697963909082006-03-31T19:21:00.000+12:002006-03-31T19:21:00.000+12:00I can assure you Lindsay, Dave H adhered to that p...I can assure you Lindsay, Dave H adhered to that philosophy long before he could afford to. It's in fact a powerful incentive to make more money when you know you'll have to pay twice for many things. I'm certainly not trying to be pious or sanctimonious here, (you did raise the issue) but there is a principle here. If every individual took as little from the state (taxpayers) as possible, the state really would begin to wither away. Everybody has to make a judgement call on this one, depending on their cuircumstances and level of commitment to their beleifs. My beleif is that its easier to reduce the power of the state if you're as little as possible beholden to it.Trevor Loudonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040453691836232676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143784802462783402006-03-31T18:00:00.000+12:002006-03-31T18:00:00.000+12:00"I'll avoid state money if possible". Trevor, the ..."I'll avoid state money if possible". Trevor, the state doesn't have any money, only taxpayer money. Having been forced to pay into their monopoly accident insurance scheme, if you had an injury and needed treatment wouldn't you take the ACC subsidy towards the treatment? Having paid the premiums, it's your money. If it was private insurance I assume you wouldn't have a problem. Being a libertarian doesn't require you to be a martyr. Dave Henderson can probably afford to but what about people with ordinary incomes who can't afford to pay twice for services? Or can only some people can afford to be libertarians?Lindsay Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04437693272797130833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143780403031498282006-03-31T16:46:00.000+12:002006-03-31T16:46:00.000+12:00I use to be deep in the left, but in 2004, in the ...I use to be deep in the left, but in 2004, in the fifth form, I did Economics. While it was mainly simple demand and supply models, it converted me to the right. I am currently taking seventh form Economics which is quite advanced, and according to last years' Seventh formers, all of the past three years’ curriculum is basically the first year curriculum at university.<BR/><BR/>The free market allows the most efficient use of scarce resources, basically, because when prices are left alone they reflect the scarcity of a resource rather than being adjusted to something that is artificial, but socially acceptable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143774045689319732006-03-31T15:00:00.000+12:002006-03-31T15:00:00.000+12:00Wow. What a great story, bringing all those thread...Wow. What a great story, bringing all those threads together.<BR/><BR/>Rangoon!Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06315796390662297759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143769538042172342006-03-31T13:45:00.000+12:002006-03-31T13:45:00.000+12:00Had something of a similar experience myself. Was ...Had something of a similar experience myself. Was a bit of a bum in my teenage years. Was very left of centre. Then in mid-90s started listening to "Banksie" on Radio Pacific. The worm was turning. And finally it all changed. The buildup to the 1996 election...I waited avidly for a Pam Corkery (!) "speech" at polytech...after 15 minutes of verbal diarrhea I was fully commited to the "right".....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143768243896084862006-03-31T13:24:00.000+12:002006-03-31T13:24:00.000+12:00As Dave Hendo often says "being a libertarian cost...As Dave Hendo often says "being a libertarian costs". I never take state money if I can help it. I'm not stupid about it, if I break my leg I'll ride to a state hospital in a subsidised ambulance. However I'll avoid state money if possible and have never been on ACC or a benefit.Trevor Loudonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040453691836232676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143764806953651252006-03-31T12:26:00.000+12:002006-03-31T12:26:00.000+12:00You made a comment about refusing to go on ACC aft...You made a comment about refusing to go on ACC after "converting" - is it wrong to accept ACC when you pay your premiums and have no option to insure elsewhere?Lindsay Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04437693272797130833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143756005106077232006-03-31T10:00:00.000+12:002006-03-31T10:00:00.000+12:00Anonymous said... free market economics fails t...Anonymous said...<BR/><BR/> free market economics fails to take into account the enviroment past the mid to short term, it also has a tendency for an elite to build up and gain control of the resource base leaving the vast majority to scratch out a living with the meager left overs "<BR/><BR/>Yeah right Anon.That tired false crap is laughed at by teenagers who have a better grasp of reality than you do.Wise up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143738252021859322006-03-31T05:04:00.000+12:002006-03-31T05:04:00.000+12:00Very interesting TrevorVery interesting TrevorRob Goodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03696059924886120946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143713664035552902006-03-30T22:14:00.000+12:002006-03-30T22:14:00.000+12:00http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2006/03/acts-new-v...http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2006/03/acts-new-vp.html#commentsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18947592.post-1143712465388932972006-03-30T21:54:00.000+12:002006-03-30T21:54:00.000+12:00free market economics fails to take into account t...free market economics fails to take into account the enviroment past the mid to short term, it also has a tendency for an elite to build up and gain control of the resource base leaving the vast majority to scratch out a living with the meager left oversAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com