Philosophy
There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
Although commonly attributed to Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, the expression “There ain't no such thing as a free lunch” long predated him. In fact, it described the practice of saloons (bars) offering a “free” lunch to patrons who purchased at least one drink. The luncheon was generally high in salt (cheese, salted crackers, nuts), enticing patrons to purchase generous volumes...
INFOGRAPHIC: The Coercion Wheels
When consuming the day’s news, I bet you first respond by gut feel. Everyone does. Human are instinctive beings. Shoot first, ask questions later. The problem with that was illustrated by the Great Pandemic Overreach of 2020-2022. Fear was weaponised and the world community fell for it. Some people try to think. As a subscriber of Liberty Itch, you are most likely a...
Libertarians And Conservatives: Similar But Different
In Australia, conservatives and libertarians tend to get along. Neither has sympathy for the woke, neither declares their pronouns, chooses their gender, or seeks to cancel those with whom they disagree. They both believe in things such as equality before the law, the presumption of innocence, parental responsibility, religious freedom and democracy. Indeed, some conservatives tend to think that...
Why I Oppose The Voice
Whether to oppose or support the Voice referendum is an easy decision for me. The proposal is fundamentally racist, and I’m a libertarian. Racism is a collective concept and simply incompatible with libertarianism. Libertarians see people as individuals, not as members of a group. The proposal is for people of the Aboriginal race to elect members of the Voice, which will...
Free Will, Libertarians and Easter
Sam Harris does not believe ‘free will’ exists. He believes we are creatures playing out compulsive, repetitious behavioural cycles like any other animal and, like them, we just don’t realise it. Except for him. He knows what none of us can see, apparently. He has elevated himself above the primal, it is suggested we acccept. Forgive my skepticism. On the contrary, I see ‘free will’ exercised daily, at life’s inflection points and...
Remembering Bert Kelly
In my last piece, Remembering Frederick Douglass, I discussed the evils and folly of centralised wage-fixing which, amongst other things, prevented people – young people in particular – from getting a start in the workforce; a foot on that first rung of the employment ladder. Today, we look at centralized wage-fixing’s partner-in-crime – tariff protection. The other side of the micro-economic...
FREE! The Kerry Packer Classical Liberal Masterclass
Some thirty plus years ago, a fellow by the name of Kerry Packer appeared before a House of Representatives Inquiry into Print Media. The context of the inquiry was that the owner of the main metropolitan newspapers and classifieds, Fairfax, had gone broke. And with Fairfax having gone broke, Packer was trying to buy into the re-floated business. This was a...
ANSWER: The Carlson-Shapiro Question
I admit it. There I was on 27 February 2023, making a little mischief with my article: VOTE NOW! Tucker Carlson or Ben Shapiro? Well, it was mischief-making in the sense that I like to sharply define the line between liberal and conservative and then, with all the goodwill in the world, provoke people to think and explore these differences. There is a difference, you...
Hayek Gives Liberal Democrats Its New Name
Word on the street is that the Liberal Democrats are searching for a new name. Malcolm Turnbull and the Greens forced it upon them. It was his parting gift. It is now the Eleventh Commandment. “Thou shalt not use any English word of an older party’s name in your own.” So, despite being named the Liberal Democrats for 21 years, the Liberal Party...
