Inaugural Post

Hi, my name is Ben Doublett.  I am a new member of the Libertarian Party of Ohio and I started this blog to have a place to discuss politics and economics in a respectful, civil setting.  I will be commenting on various political and cultural issues from the perspective of someone who believes in maximizing human freedom and minimizing violence and coercion.  

It shall be the position of this blog that the government is not a tool for anyone to use towards a cultural, religious or economic end, but rather that government exists only to perform the three functions Adam Smith laid out in Wealth of Nations:  1) to protect the national borders from attack or invasion, 2) to establish a justice system that protects people from fraud and violence, enforces contracts and protects property rights, and 3) to provide a very limited amount of “public institutions” that create positive externalities—goods and services that would be under provided by a free market.

Thinkers who have influenced my positions include Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Henry Hazlitt, Thomas Sowell, James Surowiecki, Ron Paul and many others.  Since my thinking has been shaped to such a great degree by these and other defenders of the free market system, it would be impossible for me to cite the exact source of every idea that I allude to, so I will only cite direct quotations.  I will also, as I go, add blog posts on specific books that I have read which make the case for the libertarian position.   There is a wealth of libertarian literature out there, and I highly recommend that everyone read at least a few books from the libertarian perspective. 

I welcome criticisms of my work from both people who are and who are not libertarians.  I will be happy to engage you in email or in the comment section of a given blog post.  If I think your comment has merit, I may even repost it and respond to it publically.  Please know that I reserve the right to do this with all comments and private emails, unless you request otherwise.

 

I hope you enjoy my new blog!