I can’t be bothered to read this many commenters so forgive me if this has been said but, is a hitler apology? Defense of socialism? Capitalism and its forebears have many crosses to bear but this is just sickening to me. Hitler was a good guy, what the f is this? It’s depressing to read so called “revisionist” history that while partly true in terms of Churchill and the over demonization of Hitler the amount of literary license here is a joke. Don’t listen to this idiot.

Saker Ive enjoyed your writing for a few years now after finding Unz listening to the Scott Horton Show. But lately Ive come to be more than a bit put off by it, not only the endless (!!!) that seem to find their way into your text but your demonstrable ill will toward Israel. I have no love for the state of Israel, they are an apartheid regime first and foremost. The settlers in the west bank and Jerusalem seem intent on Arab eviction. But sir, I can tolerate much anti state rhetoric, and Israel deserves much, but you border on the absurd lately on your jubilation of a war against defenseless people, even if the Palestinians “won” this war, there are no winners, just death. You are right to condemn the state of Israels actions but you seem to take joy in what can only be described as shooting fish in a barrel. Those poor people in Gaza maybe brave and have pushed back against Israel, but they lose hundreds each time to Israels few, and their cities destroyed, what victory is there in this?
You seem to have picked sides in a war sir, and that I cannot condone, in any sense being pro “side” in a war even if it leads to some “positive” outcome in terms of the Palestinians defiance of Israel, is still a losing side for the dead and displaced.

Love Saker, and the empire is no doubt a blight. I also think the Russians and Chinese overstate thier capabilities as a deterent, much like the empire still pretends it is unmatched. The truth is somewhere in the middle i believe. For instance, the RAND corporation is funded by the people who stand to gain from what, more military spending, so is it in their interests to say that the US would spank Russia or China in a war? Me thinks not. But undoubtedly the US has spent 20 years of constant war, and her capabilities and obvious corruption have clearly diminished her. The F35 is surely a boondoggle, but lets put some perspective on actual warfare. Russia has a tiny economy, military and modest capabilities. China has massive manpower but has 0 innovations of its own, and has 0 proven combat equipment equivalents to that of Russia or the US. She has some harrassment capabilities in the SCS and many planes but are they a capable military? This is seriously in doubt. Russia, would beat the US on her home soil likely, I think less likely China. However just because the US is a wounded aging giant, doesn’t mean she won’t take the world down in order to maintain her empire. Food for thought.

My only criticism of the piece is saying America is really a capitalist country anymore. Except for mom and pop shops it is a quasi Marxist corporate oligarchy. Central banking, strong centralized state, quasi socialized medicine, SS etc. There is capitalism at small levels, but Uncle Sam doesn’t really like it. It would do us all a favour to not really refer to America as capitalist, it really ceased being it for good somewhere between 1913 (federal reserve, income tax) and 1971 or 2001 (closure of the gold window, patriot act).

While I completely disagree with her on economic matters, she is a breath of fresh air in terms of war and peace. Not since Ron Paul has a principled anti war candidate emerged and I wish her well. This also means like Ron, she will be incessantly attacked, because the war machine doesn’t want it’s pockets getting lighter. Let’s go Tulsi!!!

So you talk of liberalism in the classical sense as if this is what we have today. You talk of Corbyn and Sanders as if their ideology hasn’t seen the massacre of 100+ million in the 20th century alone. You indulge in the fantasy that what we have is hyper “liberalism” aka capitalism but don’t really name it. This disgusting walk around, that we need more community, more “we”, etc is just Marxist rhetoric. How your rotten ideology has come back to modern politics scares the help out of me. Capitalism is flawed in one sense it makes life a competition, which it is anyway, we can’t change that. You have socialism everywhere, it’s pervasive, it’s disgusting. Talking to a guy at work the other day, here in Canada he couldn’t believe the government pot shops had lousy service and sucked but the private vendors were awesome. You had to wait for your pot at the government office for a week, it was dull and the people didn’t care. At the private vendors it was like a Starbucks, you get choice, service and an environment that one wants to be in. People like this misunderstand life, they believe that people are a collective, some Borg, it’s not true, it’s a sad reality of the fact that either they themselves aren’t productive or have very little to offer the world other than ideology. Hooray, ideology. What you people offer is death, collective death, you don’t really understand economics, you have your own ideology and Twitter suits people who have solgans like you. Thomas Sowell an avid Marxist as a youth worked for government and immediately became a classical liberal, because despite imperfections it’s the best system, far from what we have now. I’ll close with exactly how much “liberalism” do we have today?
Government programs are rampant, in debt and failing. It isn’t that liberalism is failing, it’s your creeping Marxist ideas, that have soaked up half most western economies. Health care, old age pensions, welfare, etc, this is not liberalism, central banks that create credit from thin air is not liberalism. Head check pal, what you seek will just doom us further.

As always I enjoy your writing, you give average people of the west like myself a glimpse, an outsiders mind you, but a glimpse into modern Russia. My only critique is that you openly say Marxist ideas have not been challenged, then less the a paragraph later say the only way to freedom isn’t through oppression. Now I’m not sure how to say it, while one should take heed of Marx’s words, one cannot discount the murderous submission it commands. One can respect him for being a so called visionary but his ideas, wherever implemented anywhere in the world have led to poverty and death. This cannot be overstated and the fact that it is becoming fashionable here in the west is quite sad, since you’re an American now Saker to my knowledge, you must know the fundamental difference is freedom from government. That was the original idea anyway, libido dominande has long since ruined what was the greatest experiment in liberty in history. I’d advise you to visit the Mises institute website anytime if you need a proper demolition of Marx, or visit north Korea, Venezuela for modern examples.

If you listen beyond he married a Nirobian and became a Muslim I applaud you because this nonsense shouldn’t be tolerated by any thinking person. Does this man have one Muslim friend? I doubt it, one wonders if he has one black friend. Jeff Tucker, does not represent Rothbardians, he’s off in some sjw world that he thinks works and let him have it. This social commentary with a supposed high brow is just lazy.

I’m not sure how to respond to this article but with contempt. It seems like you’re making a case for the open admission of racial inferiority, and then trashing libertarians for wanting to abolish state welfare? Perhaps I’m missing something here, the disparate impact notion is one I’ve not thought much of until reading this, but do you really think in terms of groups of people like this? Any libertarian worth his salt will tell you culture and likeness are big factors in why people associate it’s not inherently racist to want to live in a white neighborhood, wanting to have
something in common is a normal part of the human condition. So the question I’m asking after reading this screed is, are you really questioning inherent racism of libertarians, or is it just you.

Read the gulag archipelago. Nuff said.

I almost pee’d my pants when I read
“Martha’s vineyard is said to be in recession as a result”

Exactly how did the allies start WWII? Treaty of Versailles was a catalyst, to be sure and Roosevelt knew of Pearl Harbor, allowing many to be slaughtered, but where did the allies invade first? Unless I read history incorrectly, which I don’t believe I do, although the victors write it as they say, Germany and her subjugates rebelled first.

Because being moral and understanding economics is clap trap. How disappointing it must be, to have no real rebuttal, to simply speak in generalities about how you are against fundamental humanity. Personally, I’d be ashamed to make a comment like yours with nothing to back it up.

I understand the plight of the letter, things in Greece are obviously bad, but I think we need to come to our senses about what position the Greeks have put themselves in. The Greeks have a socialist economy, which is discourages labour, makes hiring/firing people next to impossible, and heaps lavish benefits to retirees.
As a libertarian, Greece should immediately default, leave the Eurozone and dismantle as much of its “Welfare State” as possible. If the Greeks want pensions and free medical care, along with policing, fire, ambulatory, etc. It must be paid for, monetizing debt, is a farce that robs from savers and productive people to pay for a parasitic class, of which is much of Greece.
Greece should sit down with sharp pencils after default, tell the people how many of their services were over promised and write down everything until they find a balanced budget, period. Remove the useless barriers to free enterprise everywhere expect for the most basic social services if this is what the Greeks want. Allowing a socialist welfare state to simply default without acknowledging the fact that the reason they’re bankrupt is because their government is over promising and waited until bankruptcy to cry for help. Goldman Sachs and the like did not cause Greece’s problem, they may have taken advantage, but the cards were already on the table for default given their system anyway.
As far as privatization, allow as much as possible, entrepreneurs create wealth, nothing else, government is a wasteful, dinosaur of an institution that is slowly destroying every freedom people have ever enjoyed. If we continue to allow a parasitical class of politicians, central bankers and supra national organizations to make rules and regulations for us, the world economy is surely going to implode. It’s to to allow man to be free and independent, with all centralized authority only being local, with simple rules no exceptions. Socialism does not and cannot work, predatory capitalism ala central banks and supranational organizations is just as bad, it just works differently, but is still parasitical. Take away government power to create money, or to centralize any social service, period. Education, insurance, banking all of it should be left as much as possible to market forces. Why do the costs of these things are keep rising instead of falling like tv’s or cell phones? Government bureaucracy and central bank inflation, no other reason. So while the authors hearts may be in the right place their prescriptions are dead wrong. Allowing a govt to run basic social services may be reasonable, but no deficit ever, period. So with a market standard in money, less barriers to employment and entrepreneurship the Greeks can flourish. Some regualtion on banking and what can be defined as a currency to protect people is reasonable, some small regulatory body for food and drug is the same, perhaps even a parks a rec, and some environmental protection. Once again all within a strictly balanced budget no exceptions.
All the authors of this essay are proposing is what has most of the western world and it’s protected fiefdoms on the verge of bankruptcy, just like poor Greece. This parasitic class only wants to protect its power, but it’s everywhere, teachers unions, doctors unions, all the state run fiefdoms from banking to roads is nothing more than a protected class that should be completely decentralized. Think of the possibilities decentralization, everywhere, no protected classes, equal rights for all, as few parasites as possible.
Realize all that these people propose is the same ideologically flawed system we have now, not promoting freedom or the value of savings and work. They propose serfdom only the kind of serfdom they agree with, not the kind some other protected class would like to see.
It’s human freedom everywhere or serfdom and stagnation until people throw of the shackles of this sociopathic class that deems what we can and cannot do.