R.J. Rummel calls for an end to free speech in America. Why? Cos’ he’s a freedomist, silly.
Back in November, we ran this eminently unobjectionable piece in which Rummel wrote,
- The more power those who rule have, the less libertarian the government, the more likely the rulers will commit genocide and mass murder. …
Therefore, how do we try to assure “never again”? Foster freedom – reduce power at the center.
Now, at the time Rummel submitted that, I was only aware of his Death by Government, not his fanatical liberventionism (mea culpa, mea culpa). His follow-up piece, however, revealed the bait-and-switch: no longer was he talking about freedom and decentralization, but about his pet “democratic peace” theory. I kept earnestly asking what he could possibly mean, given the incredible bellicosity of the U.S. and other democracies over the last century and a half.
Finally, I just gave up on him.
Well, now he’s given up on us. I don’t know how libertarianism will ever recover from losing another authoritarian loon. Fly, fly away, Professor, to the ranks of the “freedomists.” Maybe if you suggest boiling opponents of the war, you can get a cushy position at a D.C.-area “libertarian” institute.
[Hat tip: Anthony Gregory]