Book of the year must go to Keir Martland's Political and Cultural Essays, which is really just
'an extension and overhaul of [his] first book', Liberty From A Beginner. This is an ideal starter for anyone interested in libertarianism. Keir is sharp, thorough and insightful; I can't rate him highly enough.
https://thelibertarianalliance.com/2016/11/04/political-and-cultural-essays-by-keir-martland/
The movie with the most outstanding libertarian qualities surely must be Captain America: Civil War. Captain America and Iron Man come to blows over the centralised power of the UN attempting to take control of the superhero team, the Avengers; Iron Man explains that if they don't sign the accords handed to them, they are 'no better than the bad guys' - what's the difference between an outlaw and a vigilante working outside of the law? This is of course the struggle all statists must face when confronted with their love of superheroes. Do we want a strong, Nietzschean ubermensch to come and get shit done or are we too afraid to trust in the goodness of the vast majority of people, even within a homogeneous society, and demand instead that the state micro-manage our interactions? Captain America is the good guy here and stands firmly on the side of individual sovereignty without losing an inch of the hearty nationalism his character embodies. When confronted with the authority of the UN, he complains that this is a political organisation run by people with agendas and that shifting the blame to another isn't good enough for him. He trusts in his own goodness and wants to take responsibility. To sign, he argues, is to 'surrender our right to choose'.
Civil War is nothing short of a radical stand against globalism and centralised state power. Captain America as an archetype has been a real hero in the world. The film is very personal; the villain is a simple man with very personal motives and the clash betweeen Cap and Stark is just as personal. Captain America must go beyond the law to do what he knows is right and is ultimately proven right. This is a milestone moral chapter in the West in that we are remembering that one man can be right when the majority and the loudest voices are not.
(Hunt for the Wilderpeople deserves an honorary mention and is a MUST WATCH!)
TV has been overtaking cinema in its ability to not just impress with high-budget scenes but also to make us think. Whilst The Walking Dead has continued an anti-coercive theme, one of the best shows of the year is Stranger Things. Three young school-nerds must go outside of the law to protect a young girl who appears to have been part of some secret, MK-ultra style psy-ops program run by a shady federal outfit in the US; meanwhile, they are trying to find their friend who has. The local sheriff, who has one of the best mantras ever (mornings are for coffee and contemplation), eventually concludes something is suspcious and also joins the youngsters and others outside of 'the law' - that is, tyrannical legislation. The show is a heart-warming pastiche of all the elements we loved about children/teen adventure movies as 80's and 90's kids. The message is similar to Civil War but much more emotional as it's experienced between children and parents. This show is very cool and very libertarian.
The choice of game pains me but is nonetheless libertarian in its scope and achievement. Pokemon Go is a worldwide experiment in spontaneous order. A game is created by augmenting the reality of our world when viewed through the lens of one's phone and players from all around the world have had to organise themselves civilly in order to politely compete to collect small monster and to engage in friendly cock-fights with the monsters they collect. Moreover, people have opened their homes and businesses to act as gyms and spaces which they virtual world benefits from.
Just recently I was engaged in a 'conversation' about roads etc., as anarchic libertarians such as myself sometimes are. I tried to explain that the roads here in the UK were developed privately during the Industrial Revolution and the same with the railways in the North-East US. This did not result in chaos but, rather, different businesses benefitted from co-operating peacably with each other and so did everyone else as a result. Pokemon Go has go people out of the house, engaging with many others and making the world around a more lively and interesting place; it's not just keeping people fit but reinvigorating a sense of community in its own, small way. This is essential for helping us understand the pro-social nature of individualism and the ability of our market community to handle organisational issues that arise.
Enjoy these and please offer your thoughts in the comments section. Happy New Year!
