Comments on: James Bovard

By: Jay

Jay — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:41:22 +0000

Thomas,

Who says I owe society for my success? From whence comes the moral authority to make such a pronouncement upon another person? Given your belief in this moral obligation I would assume that you are freely giving generously and liberally of your own material wealth to the poor and needy. What gives you the right to foist your moral system on me? Religion? Philosophy? Majority Rule? Why should I listen to you?

Please articulate for me a principled philosophy that rejects government coercion regarding war, but embraces government coercion regarding wealth redistribution. And be sure to include an argument that states how it is moral for you to legally enforce your moral principles on me.

By: Nate

Nate — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:08:33 +0000

I didn’t understand the connection either, until I accepted that the only way to end the warfare state is to restrict the Federal government to it’s most basic functions.

By: Anthony Gregory

Anthony Gregory — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:49:28 +0000

Of course, the warfare state is much more evil from a libertarian point of view, but they are always connected. In America, the presidents that expand welfare the most — FDR, Truman, LBJ, Bush — also expand warfare the most. A domestic government that cares for you from cradle to grave will treat you like it owns you, and can dispense with your life as you wish. This is why total welfare states — Communist regimes and fascist regimes — are so murderous.

By: Steve O

Steve O — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:11:47 +0000

Thomas wrote:

“Feeding the hungry is not in any way equivalent to using government to steal from hungry people in order to subsidize robber barons and their companies. Yes, you do actually owe a debt to a society in which you have become successful.

Nice interview though.”

I second Thomas’ points. While a left-wing socialist like myself can join with right-wing libertarians in opposing US empire (a primary cause of unjust wars foreign and domestic), I guess our dividing line is still, “Yes, you do actually owe a debt to a society in which you have become successful.”

But keep up the good anti-empire work, Anti-War Radio! I’m still listening.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:59:55 +0000

It really bothers me when libertarians refer to the “welfare-warfare” state. As if bombing, torturing and maining thousands of innocents is somehow comparable to food stamps for hungry Americans or free medical care for people who need it. Even simply refering to “welfare” conflates money paid to low income individuals and money paid to wealthy, non-human, often foreign owned, corporate entities or their billionaire owners (corporate welfare). Feeding the hungry is not in any way equivalent to using government to steal from hungry people in order to subsidize robber barons and their companies. Yes, you do actually owe a debt to a society in which you have become successful.

Nice interview though.

By: BOVARD » FISA Bashing on Antiwar.com Radio

BOVARD » FISA Bashing on Antiwar.com Radio — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:01:59 +0000

[...] Scott Horton of Antiwar.com RADIO and I chatted about FISA and other obscenities on Tuesday. The MP3 is now online and accessible here. [...]