The dumbest(or funniest) arguments against liberty

Education: General

Streeter October 22, 2014 at 12:59 pm

I was listening to a podcast with Robert Murphy about his book ‘Chaos Theory’ wherein he brought up some arguments against market anarchy, Anarchocapitalism, etc.and one of them really struck me, to paraphrase:

“Some people worry that companies may rise up and begin to act like states, abusing power, limit rights and the like. So their argument is ‘Well, if we got rid of the state, its possible we might get the state again. Wouldn’t that be terrible?’ ”

It is on its face a pretty weak argument, I’m sure many of us have heard, and so easily refuted(or mocked).

So what are some of the dumbest/funniest arguments you have heard against liberty?

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PG (Pierre-Guy) Veer October 22, 2014 at 2:38 pm

“We need to be protected from people’s greed” is a very common one. As if government officials were selfless…

“We can’t let the poor die in the streets” (or some variation). Put your money where your mouth is then, buddy

“We need protection from monopolies/cartels/etc.” while incapable of naming ONE private monopoly that has acted as such (lower output/higher prices)

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Streeter October 22, 2014 at 2:56 pm

Protection from monopolies is by far one of my favorites. Particularly when speaking to leftists because it is such a good opportunity to show how anxious corporations are to work with government in exchange for protections, and how willing politicians are to oblige at the cost of the citizen.

How do you respond to the greed argument, aside from pointing out government officials are greedy too(and have more guns)

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  PG (Pierre-Guy) Veer October 22, 2014 at 3:22 pm
  
  I usually don’t engage in such conversations since they are bound to be “a deaf’s diaogue”. My time is too precious to get all pumped up over people too indoctrinated to see they have been fooled
  
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  PG (Pierre-Guy) Veer October 22, 2014 at 3:23 pm
  
  I usually don’t engage in such conversations since they are bound to be “a deaf’s dialogue”. My time is too precious to get all pumped up over people too indoctrinated to see they have been fooled
  
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  Account deleted January 26, 2015 at 1:26 am
  
  I counter the “protection from monopolies” by saying that I want protection from the most powerful and dangerous monopoly of all: the state.
  
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Jonathan Gillispie October 22, 2014 at 3:40 pm

“We need to stop climate change! Let’s regulate the $hit out of coal, oil and gas!” “Guns are dangerous! Let’s ban them!” “Government must control healthcare or greedy insurance companies will kill people!” “Government must license marriage or everything will flow into chaos!” “Government must control schools! Parents are too dumb to find proper schools for their kids.”

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Michael Bunch October 23, 2014 at 11:22 am

I had to argue against regulated money the other day. Guy was trying to tell me that because “hoarding” is common in the free market system, you need to legislate artificially high levels of demurrage into the currency. I face palmed pretty hard that day.

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Streeter October 23, 2014 at 2:13 pm

Yikes! I’m a bit ashamed to admit how long it took me, as someone with an Econ degree, to realize the inflation is one of the largest buy-offs of those in power. Especially since I had read Hazlett’s Economics in One Lesson, but it is as clear as day, if you are at the top of the inflation cycle it is a guaranteed X-percent gain on top of your investment returns. Who’s at the top? Banks->Large Manufacturing->Unions/Union Workers->General Goods/Service Economy-> and only then finally to the rest of the population. By the time it has done that most people see no gains from inflation, but DO see a degradation of their savings. I wish more rank-and-file ‘compassionate liberals’ would see this.

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Joey Priftis October 25, 2014 at 2:25 am

I’m impressed nobody has said “Muh Roadz” yet. Can’t forget the classics guys!

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  Tor Valamo October 28, 2014 at 12:40 pm
  
  I thought it was obvious that roads could be handled privately, but hey, just the other day someone slapped that argument in my face. Incidentally, they didn’t care about my counter argument, which I’m getting used to by now. I think the way you have to do it is sneak up on them. Pretend to agree with them and then gradually persuade them in the form of “I was just thinking…”
  
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Timothy Rieker October 27, 2014 at 4:40 am

You learnt about liberty via the internet. The government created the internet. Therefore liberty is wrong.

You could reduce your income to under the threshold that requires you to be taxed. You haven’t. Therefore liberty is wrong.

Whenever you started a new job you filled out a form to be taxed at the lowest possible rate. You consented. Therefore liberty is wrong.

Yes I am against violence and that the government is violence but contradictions don’t matter. Therefore liberty is wrong.

You should be shot and killed if you don’t pay your taxes.<– my own sister

Taxation is not theft because I like paying my taxes.

Saying government will use violence is just propaganda.

I wish I was making these up and I wish none of the people who made these arguments were my relatives.

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  Toni Sopocko January 26, 2015 at 8:09 am
  
  I learned about liberty from books and from my family. Don’t need no stinkin’ government to print muh books.
  
  (How DID anybody learn anything before the internet?!?)
  
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Ricky Peter Newins October 27, 2014 at 8:48 am

That some men are immoral hence why we need the state.

This is most probably the most uncritical and illogical argument of them all. Here are 3 reasons why I think deem it so:

1) The state is made up of men, not angels.

2) Immoral men will naturally be drawn to the state in order to implement their will and achieve their goals.

3) Immoral acts are committed by the state.

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Streeter October 27, 2014 at 10:09 am

Ricky, I have always loved the “There are immoral people who seek power over me and I am fearful of them, so we should create a system wherein people can agree to give themselves more power, and enforce it with guns” argument

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Streeter October 27, 2014 at 10:12 am

Timothy, I lack the words. All the words. Except I am sorry. That sounds horrible.

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  Timothy Rieker October 28, 2014 at 4:11 am
  
  Thank you Devon, I really appreciate that.
  
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Calin Brabandt October 27, 2014 at 1:38 pm

This one is so classic, it has become a mocking termination phrase a buddy of mine and I use whenever we end a conversation about peoples’ love for serfdom and the state. We always say (and then laugh together):

“But what about the roads?!!!”

It’s a great anarchists’ insider joke. Try it. You’ll like it!

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Calin Brabandt October 27, 2014 at 1:41 pm

Joey, I had a window open and I wrote my reply but it took a couple of days for me to press the “Post” button. You beat me to it! Haha–it is such a classic.

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Objectivist Dad January 25, 2015 at 7:31 pm

I actually had a state representative tell me the state needed to regulate marriage (ie prevent gays from being married) because the state had a vested interest in ensuring the continuation of the species.

Still waiting on a response to my question about over-population concerns.

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  starrychloe January 25, 2015 at 10:50 pm
  
  But without government, we will go extinct!
  
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Jeffrey Tucker January 25, 2015 at 10:00 pm

In my experience, the more specific the objection against liberty, the more effective it tends to be. People are willing to accept liberty in the abstract but not in the specifics. So one of the most effective arguments I’ve seen against anarchism is the suggestion that we would have no way to deal with communicable diseases. Weird. We need to create a state or otherwise everyone will catch the next disease that comes along, because the state is somehow magically granted the knowledge and skill to deal with diseases and otherwise we would have no clue.

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