What to do about Cologne

Reports of a terrifying incident in Cologne, Germany have left social democratic politicians scrambling for an expedient solution to the very real problem of immigrants who are less than respectful of individual rights. And while opponents of open borders are quick to latch upon this tragic mass attack as an opportunity to espouse their dogmatic fear of 'the other' what this really underlines is the general social democratic policy of leaving citizens defenseless towards criminals and promoting dependency upon the state and it's monopoly on security.

Those of us who have ever been a victim of crime realize how truly apathetic the police are about the citizens they are supposed to protect. Most cops are abusive bullies who sought this professional because they like hurting people but they don't like getting in trouble for doing so. Since police are given effective immunity for any crimes they commit in the line of duty, their badge and their gun give them virtual impunity to harass, assault, confine and otherwise assail innocent civilians. We have seen in recent times in America an astonishing variety of assaults and outright executions, often caught red handed on video tape, gone completely unpunished as some idiot judge excludes the evidence or some corrupt DA subtly leads the grand jury not to indict.

One immediate reform that would enable ordinary citizens to look after their own protection, instead of being forced to rely on the apathetic and incompetent enforcement arm of the state, would be for western governments to immediately legalize both open and concealed carry. If every two bit thug that went out to commit a sexual assault or break and enter had a very reasonable fear that he would end up with a bullet between his eyes, there would be a lot fewer of these attacks (or better yet, they could actually end up dead). But guns are tightly controlled in Europe and North America. Guns are a great equalizer between men and women.  How else is a tiny, 95 lb female supposed to fight off a hulking, 250 lb assailant? Krav Maga simply is not going to cut it.

Another very real problem are the lenient sentences that violent criminals routinely attract. Instead of coddling those who victimize others, the government should crack down on them. They should be incarcerated in brutal conditions for the rest of their lives. Instead of giving them a slap on the wrist, they should be forced to endure hard labour on minimal rations in some awful gulag until one day they simply collapse from exhaustion and never recover. Instead, horrific monsters are given comfortable living conditions and even access to violent movies and video games. We should bring back the death penalty for murderers and make the penalties for serious crimes absolutely brutal. Forget about second chances, we need to protect innocent people and stop fretting about the 'rights' of criminals. With all due respect to Jesus Christ, our enemies must be crushed mercilessly, not loved and forgiven.

A free society with a functioning legal system does not fear newcomers. Perhaps it is a good idea to limit male immigration from nations where respect for the rights of females is not as well developed. It is important to understand that despite the social democratic platitudes, not every cultural attitude is equal. Not every culture is equal.  Traditional liberal values of equality before the law, the right to own property and the right to be free from assault and a tremendous thing and people who do not respect these rights have no place in our society.

libertarianism is not a big tent movement

The last decade has been an exciting time for our movement. With the campaign for president of Congressman Ron Paul libertarianism has become mainstream and with this new found popularity, many disaffected conservatives and social democrats have come to identify, in part or in whole, with this label.  Too many perhaps.

It is important that the struggle for a free society attract new converts.  The movement desperately needs fresh blood. But we also have to ask ourselves, what are we trying to accomplish?  What are our ends, what are our means, and are our means suitable for achieving our ends? If we are to accept, as we should, that our struggle is righteous, even vital to the long term prosperity of the human race, then it behooves us to engage in some critical examination of our activities and to ensure that we have the greatest chance of success in combating the state and promoting the ideals of the truly voluntary society.

The problem is ideological purity. In our present etatist climate, libertarianism an anti-populist vanguard movement. The problem is as these newcomers enter the fold they dilute and moderate our message. This is both poor strategy and poor tactics. It is bad in a strategic sense because this weakens our chance of long term success, and emboldens and strengthens our enemies. By advocating for half measures either in a bid to appeal to the public or because these are the actual beliefs of those who push for them we weaken our case and make the middle of the road or pro-state position seem more reasonable. And it is also poor tactics to make these half-hearted pleas for freedom because it is the very radicalism of the pro-freedom crowd which can attract newcomers and youngsters. The most attractive thing about this philosophy is that it is uncompromising and relentless in pursuit of justice. There is an acknowledged hypocrisy in the social democrat viewpoint and this is the Achilles heel of the menshevick belief system. By turning into hypocrites ourselves, we provide no contrast and offer aid and comfort to those who support the state. And the limited government position is self defeating, since once you acknowledge that a government monopoly on X is important, you open the door for a monopoly on Y, and Z and everything else. If your logic is not internally consistent then what hope do you have of promoting your world view?

Another problem is that there are many who are attracted to our blossoming movement with their own ideological axes to grind. Both social justice warriors and racist bigots tarnish our great ideas with their idiocy. These people must be shouted down, ridiculed and ex-communicated. By allowing every half baked idea to fly under our flag, we set ourselves up for failure.

Peer consensus is something that only teenagers should obsess over. Ultimately, our movement is iconoclastic. We are necessarily alone and apart from the respectable voices of society. One day in the future our work will be completed and libertarianism will be a mass movement. One day the man in the street will mouth the pro liberty platitudes that have echoed down from our work.  But that day is not today and we must never compromise our beliefs and ideals in order to hasten it, lest it never come at all.