Libertarianism is an Ideology, But Not a World View
Libertarianism is an ideology, but not a world view, according to a distinction offered by Ludwig von Mises in Human Action. A world view, Mises explains, is “an interpretation of all things,” “an explanation of all phenomena.” In short, world views “interpret the universe.” Ideology, by contrast, is a narrower concept comprising “the totality of our doctrines concerning individual...
Welcome to Borroloola Land
Every failure in Aboriginal affairs creates an opportunity to offer a shiny new bauble to public servants and the journalistic cheer squad. Last weekend, in light of the failure of the Voice referendum, there were three baubles – naming an Indigenous state, renewable self-determination, and a new economic development plan. The cost of the baubles is to put off the...
A Nation of Takers
One of the many inequities of Australia’s welfare system is the exclusion of family homes from the means test. Recipients of age or disability pensions can own houses worth millions of dollars while remaining eligible for pensions funded by the taxes of people who cannot afford to buy a house at all. In private, many politicians agree that excluding the...
The Arguments and Rebuttals for Government Maintenance of Competition
This week the US Federal Court handed-down its decision in the United States of America et al v Google LLC, in which the US Government challenged Google for using exclusionary monopolistic behaviour to deny its rivals access to distribution channels provided by Apple and Samsung. Google lost but may appeal. Formidable, straight-shooting American libertarian, Hannah Cox, raised some interesting points...
Olympic Dam’s Gold Medal Performance
It is exactly 50 years since Western Mining first discovered the massive gold, silver, copper and uranium ore body at the aptly-named Olympic Dam in South Australia. A golden anniversary indeed! But discovering the ore was just the beginning. The fight to allow uranium mining at Olympic Dam was brutal. The ruling Labor Party, under then Premier Don Dunstan, was vehemently opposed...
More Political Competition
According to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, increasing competition among supermarket giants will help deliver lower grocery prices: "If it is more competitive, more transparent and people are getting a fair go, better outcomes will be seen at the supermarket checkout". The ACCC also notes that competition encourages innovation. But where enhanced market competition can lead to improved consumer outcomes, enhanced political competition...
“Fight!”
In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, mainstream media urged us all to “cool the temperature” of political discourse. While I am all for a more civil political discourse, forgive me if I find it a bit rich coming from the same media that has spent the best part of...
How Sunk Cost Fallacy Drives Authoritarian Policies
Sunk cost fallacy is the tendency of people to stick with a decision or course of action that isn’t having a positive result because the person has invested time, money and/or resources that cannot be recovered and do not want to feel that they have wasted them. In many cases, sunk cost fallacy can even drive people to double...
Carpet Call: The Imperfect Gift of Religious Freedom
John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) is a clever guy. As Robert McCall (aka Denzel Washington) says in the movie Equalizer 2 to Miles, a troubled teenager: ‘It takes talent to make money, Miles, but it takes brains to keep it’. Regardless of one’s taste in music, there’s no doubting John Lydon had talent – and brains. ‘Imperfection is...
CFMEU Should NOT Exist in the First Place
In light of recent scandals surrounding the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), it is time to consider a more fundamental issue: the very existence of unions in modern society. Unions like the CFMEU are outdated organisations that do more harm than good to the people they claim to protect. From a libertarian perspective, unions disrupt voluntary...
