Libertarians can be exhausting. Because libertarianism has so many attractive features and strong statements about “freedom” and “liberty” they have a lot of perceived political high ground when arguing with them. The problem with libertarianism - as it is with Marxism, capitalism and so many other philosophies - is that it’s entirely theoretical. Trying to construct an actual framework around the concepts they hold dear is like arguing over how Santa Claus fits down the chimney. That said, there’s a lot to like about some of the principles of libertarianism and its acolytes are growing in numbers every day. So let’s have at it. In part one of this two-part series we’ll unpack the origins of the philosophy, its dark beginnings and define several strains of the discipline. 

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:38

Prologue: 00:02:45

Segment 1: 00:04:41

Segment 2: 00:13:37

Segment 3: 00:23:53

Segment 4: 00:30:27

Show Notes: 00:40:36

Book Love: 00:41:17

Pod Love: 00:41:34

Emails + Shoutouts: 00:45:13

Outro: 01:06:46

Resources

Libertarian Party: Platform

National Archives: Brown v. Board of Education

ThoughtCo: The Declaration of Independence

ThoughtCo: America's Most Influential Founding Fathers

ThoughtCo: Laissez-faire Versus Government Intervention

ThoughtCo: What Is Free Trade?

ThoughtCo: Economics

ThoughtCo: Atlas Shrugged Quotes

ThoughtCo: History and Principles of the United Nations

Too Good To Go

Book Love

David Boaz: The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom

Nancy MacLean: Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America

Jane Mayer: Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

H. L. Mencken: Notes on Democracy

Thomas Paine: Rights of Man

Pod Love

Straight White American Jesus

Pitchfork Economics: How the Radical Right Weaponized Ideology (with Nancy MacLean)

UNFTR Episode Resources

The Prosperity Doctrine.

Ayn Rand Was a Dick.

Corporate (Ir)Responsibility (Part I): Financial Fuckery and Tax Evasion.

Corporate (Ir)Responsibility (Part II): Deregulation and Catastrophe.

F*ck Milton Friedman.

Procedural F*ckery.

Building the Climate Industrial Complex.

U.S. Progressivism from 1912 to 2021.

Capitasociafascilibdemarxism.

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