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News Link • Philosophy: Libertarianism

Welfare-Warfare State Reform Is Not Freedom

• FFF.Org - Jacob Hornberger

I fall within the latter group. Why? Because I want to be free. Reform doesn't get me freedom. At best it gets me a better serfdom. That's nice, but it's not want I want for the rest of my life. I want to be free, and only by dismantling infringements on freedom can I attain genuine freedom.

Consider 19th-century slavery, for example. Imagine libertarian reformers in the state of Mississippi calling for slavery reform. They would say, "Slavery is here to stay. It's in the Constitution. We have to strive for what we can get. We also need to gain the respect and credibility of the people of Mississippi. We won't do that by being radical and calling for the end of slavery. We must settle for advocating slavery reforms, such as shorter working hours, fewer lashings, better food, improved working conditions, and a bit of education."

Would the slaves have been happy with such reforms? Undoubtedly, because their slavery would have been improved. But there would have been one big problem with these reforms: They wouldn't have meant freedom for the slaves. To achieve freedom would have necessitated a dismantling of slavery, not its reform. Thus, the dismantle-libertarians would be raising people's vision to a higher level — one that showed the evil, immorality, and destructiveness of slavery itself.


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