Saturday 5 March 2011

What It Means To Be Libertarian

Via Reason, a two minute discourse on what it is to be a Libertarian.


Very well put, Mr Miron. Hard to believe, isn't it, that such an eminently sensible fellow can be employed by the same institution which published this load of ill-informed nonsense.


9 comments:

Frank Davis said...

You may be being slightly unfair. Jeff Miron is from Harvard's department of economics. The other piece comes from the Harvard school of public health.

In my experience of universities, different departments have entirely different cultures. Universities aren't monolithic entities, with a single culture.

Or at least, they weren't 30 years ago.

Frank

timbone said...

It may not be the case with Jeff Miron, but there are scores of poeple whose views on every subject are libertarian, except for smoking. Not just individuals like a certain MP from Newport who wants to decriminalise drugs but criminalise smoking, but also groups of people who have themselves suffered predjudice, abuse, marginalisation and even imprisonment in the past, gays.

There is one single thing which excludes smoking from libertarianism, the belief that it harms innocent bystanders, second hand smoke.

smokervoter said...

Now that it's been 'proven beyond any doubt' that secondhand smoke can enter a smoke-free residence through shared air spaces, ventilation systems, windows, elevator shafts, hallways, holes in walls, and pipes and electrical outlets it seems we'd better lace up our shoes a bit tighter, too.

Toenail Nicotine

Is there anything these people won't study about smoking?

auntieban said...

@smokervoter

Nope.
They've got you covered from tip to toe.

http://www.allnaturalhairrestoration.com/smoking-and-hair-loss-how-smoking-causes-baldness.html

Anonymous said...

"it can cost $10,000 to rehab an apartment after a smoker moves out"

Fucking expensive decorators over there !!

Richard Allan said...

timbone, there are no "innocent bystanders" on private property. They're either trespassers, or they're there with the owner's permission - in which case he can insist on pretty much whatever conditionality he likes.

And as for public property... well, it shouldn't exist.

Unknown said...

Dick, the link you gave above scares the shit out of me as I live in a high rise block of flats. I got married from here in 1971 and have lived here almost constantly ever since. In the mid eighties they went 'warden controled' and started housing only elderly and infirm people here.

Since then I have noticed the council, and especially Erimus housing, have been getting up themselves with rules and regs and plastering posters promoting themselves all over the hallways and entrances.

Imagine my surprise, and disdane, when someone came to my door last week and screwed this to my wall behind the front door without a by your leave!!!

It cannot be long now before I/we are told that smoking in the 'council' home where I/we live that smoking is verboten.

This offending sign will be taken down shortly, cant bear to look at it now that I've calmed down somewhat.

Tomrat said...

Have to disagree with him on abortion I'm afraid.

Ian R Thorpe said...

Dave was making the right noises about bureaucracy in business yesterday, let's hope he realises the need to get offical pokenoses out of private life too.

Course if he tried he'd have to take on not just the tax eaters and the Thought Police but the bleeding heart wing of the Lib Dems too.