Regarding the Jimmy McMillan presidential campaign

Jimmy McMillan is running for US President in 2012 as a Republican. Of course, the Center does not endorse or support candidates running for public office — either particular candidates or the notion of candidates running for public office. Even so… Yes, the [artificial scarcity] rent(s) really is/are too damned high.

Our official editorial policy

The Center has now officially adopted a formal editorial policy. This policy reflects the outcome of careful discussion among various stakeholders. Although we expect it to be subject to intermittent revision, based on the continuous feedback we receive, the general expectation is that the overall sentiment and approach expressed will guide our editorial practices for the foreseeable future. It is offered both to guide our staff and volunteers as well as inform potential supporters.

The policy is published here and it is anticipated that any future revisions will be published on the same page. Links to it can be found on our About the Center page and our Writer’s Guide.

The policy reads as follows:

The Center for a Stateless Society commissions and distributes media content designed to challenge the state: to undermine the false perception of its legitimacy, demonstrate its irrelevance to truly solving social and economic problems, and encourage its abolition. At no time will any Center publication implicitly or explicitly support the state’s continuation or augmentation.

The Center’s publications will convey a positive vision of voluntary, peaceful cooperation as the basis for flourishing life in society: they will seek to foster not only the free exchange of goods and services but also the many other kinds of voluntary interaction that help to make social existence viable and attractive. Thus, they will urge the abolition of all those privileges that impede peaceful cooperation, while unequivocally rejecting the privilege-riddled capitalism so frequently mistaken for a genuinely freed market. And they will help to realize a culture free from authoritarianism, exclusion, and deprivation—whether effected and sustained violently or non-violently—as well as aggressive violence.

The Center will emphasize education, direct action, and the construction of alternative institutions, rather than electoral politics, as strategies for achieving liberation.

While its basic commitments will be consistently embodied in the Center’s publications, not every Center author will embrace all of them, and the Center’s core values are reflected in part in its willingness to publish the work of a broad range of thinkers who oppose the state and who value economic and cultural freedom.

What tax cuts?

In the midst of controversy over supposed “tax cuts”, we should remember that the only true tax cuts are reductions in total government spending. Everything else is just rearranging the tax burden, perhaps to the relative benefit of some in comparison to others, but always to the collective detriment of the American people — at the very least in that it is an obstacle to realizing that tax burden is neither necessary nor desirable.

Second Draft, C4SS Editorial Policy

Below, please find the second draft of a proposed C4SS Editorial Policy for your consideration and comment. The first draft is here.

The Center for a Stateless Society commissions and distributes media content designed to challenge the state: to undermine its legitimacy, demonstrate its irrelevance to truly solving social and economic problems, and encourage its abolition. At no time will any Center publication implicitly or explicitly support the state’s continuation or augmentation.

The Center’s publications will convey a positive vision of voluntary, peaceful cooperation as the basis for flourishing life in society: they will seek to foster not only the free exchange of goods and services but also the many other kinds of voluntary interaction that help to make social existence viable and attractive. Thus, they will urge the abolition of all those privileges that impede peaceful cooperation, while unequivocally rejecting the privilege-riddled capitalism so frequently mistaken for a genuinely freed market. And they will help to realize a culture free from authoritarianism, exclusion, and deprivation—whether effected and sustained violently or non-violently—as well as aggressive violence.

The Center will emphasize education, direct action, and the construction of alternative institutions, rather than electoral politics, as strategies for achieving liberation.

While its basic commitments will be consistently embodied in the Center’s publications, not every Center author will embrace all of them, and the Center’s core values are reflected in part in its willingness to publish the work of a broad range of thinkers who oppose the state and who value economic and cultural freedom.

On the death of Richard Holbrooke

US news media will be filled today, undoubtedly, with mass eulogizing of now-deceased diplomat Richard Holbrooke.

“The empire lost an architect yesterday.” — Sheldon Richman

It’s a natural human tendency, upon someone’s death, to speak especially well of them. But when a political class elite figure dies, this tendency takes an insidious turn — away from the little white lies about what a great guy Uncle Rufus was and toward collective false affirmation by the political class of their own moral worth.

If you want to understand who Richard Holbrook was, just listen for how many times his contributions to “peace” are going to be celebrated in the next few days and mentally substitute the word “empire” — or, at the very least, “hegemony”. That’s who Richard Holbrooke was.

C4SS Editorial Policy Under Consideration

Based on feedback from supporters, the Center is considering development of a formal editorial policy — both in order to guide our writers and to inform potential supporters. Below is the draft that’s currently being kicked around. It reflects prior and ongoing discussion, incorporating input from a variety of people. Comments are welcome.

The Center for a Stateless Society commissions and distributes media content designed to challenge the state: to undermine its legitimacy, demonstrate its irrelevance, and chart a course toward its abolition. At no time will any Center publication implicitly or explicitly support the state’s continuation or augmentation.

The Center’s publications will convey a positive vision of voluntary, peaceful cooperation as the basis for flourishing life in society: they will seek to foster not only the free exchange of goods and services but also the many other kinds of voluntary interaction that help to make social existence viable and attractive. Thus, they will urge the abolition of all those privileges—including tariffs, subsidies, patents, copyrights, politically rooted land titles, and the currency monopoly—that impede peaceful cooperation, while unequivocally rejecting the privilege-riddled capitalism so frequently mistaken for, and misrepresented as, a genuinely freed market.

The Center’s publications are designed to help realize a culture free from exclusion, subordination, deprivation, and aggressive violence. Thus, they will oppose not only statism but also militarism, imperialism, workplace hierarchy, and cultural intolerance (including sexism, racism, and homophobia).

The Center’s publications will emphasize education, direct action, and the construction of alternative institutions, rather than electoral politics, as strategies for achieving liberation.

While these basic commitments will be consistently embodied in the Center’s publications, not every Center author will embrace all of them, and the Center’s core values are reflected in part in its willingness to publish the work of a broad range of thinkers who oppose the state and who value economic and cultural freedom.

OBAMACARE Individual Mandate Struck Down, What Now?

The court ruling striking down the ObamaCare individual mandate to buy health insurance is good news, but it shouldn’t be portrayed as some grand victory for “Liberty-with-a-capital-L” because the status quo isn’t liberty. The existing system is itself thoroughly statist rather than a free market. The court ruling presents an opportunity to talk about why actual liberty would reduce health care costs. More info here.

In Defense of Miley Cyrus

If Miley Cyrus continues experimenting with psychedelic drugs, she runs the risk that her music might become interesting.

“You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don’t believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. ‘Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that’s enhanced your lives throughout the years were rrreal fucking high on drugs.” — Bill Hicks, Relentless, 1992

That isn’t to say that salvia use might not have risks — but her life and health are her own to rightly risk how she pleases.

Violence and UK Tuition Fees

Any time the price of a service is set politically, there is a massive amount of systematic violence going on. A mere riot pales in comparison. Free the market.