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NORTHUMBERLAND A Northumberland Borough man will appear on the ballot as a Libertarian for the special election for the 108th state House District on May 16.

Elijah Scretching, 24, a Marine Corps veteran, said he wanted to run for the office to continue to serve the area.

I believe anything in this world is possible with faith, hard work, and dedication, he said in a news release.

Scretching said he is married with a 2-year-old daughter. Scretching said he joined the military at 18 and spent most of his career oversees.

Scretching will join the race with Democratic candidate and Montour County Commissioner Trevor Finn and Republican candidate Shikellamy school Director Mike Stender.

The special election is being held for the House seat formerly occupied by state Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver. Culver won a January special election to replace John Gordner in the 27th Senate District.

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Libertarian candidate will be on ballot for 108th House District race - Sunbury Daily Item

My guests today are University of San Diego philosopher Matt Zwolinski and Heterodox Academy President John Tomasi, authors of The Individualists: Radicals, Reactionaries, and the Struggle for the Soul of Libertarianism. This is the definitive intellectual history of a movement that they argue began in recognizable form in the 19th century in Europe as a response to socialism and in the United States as part of the abolitionist movement. I liked the book so much that I blurbed it for Princeton University Press. We talk about virtually every aspect of libertarianism, including its strange lack of interest in the civil rights movement given its origin in abolitionism.

Today's episode was recorded in New York City before a packed house at a Reason Speakeasy, a monthly live taping of this podcast. I spoke with Zwolinski and Tomasi about major 20th-century figures such as Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and Murray Rothbard, as well as the complicated and often-contradictory contributions each made to libertarian thinking. We also spoke about the rise of the Mises Caucus within the Libertarian Party, the seemingly complete rejection of libertarian ideas in the contemporary GOP, and whether the larger libertarian movement is ascendant or sputtering out.

Today's sponsors:

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Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi: Who Owns Libertarianism? - Reason

Have you ever felt that youre politically homeless?

If youve never felt at home as a progressive or conservative, well, you might be a latent libertarian. Yellow could be your color.

Here are some things you might do that could be a sign youre a libertarian.

Tax avoidance is when you use legal loopholes to pay less in taxes.

If youve tried avoiding taxes, or have, you probably believe that the money you earn is rightfully yours. It seems unjust to you that 30-40 percent of your money is taken away every year and spent by the government on things you may or may not support. Progressives and conservatives both seem to love spending more tax dollars to help people, but you might be skeptical of how much good thats actually doing.

Avoiding taxes may also indicate that you believe the broader libertarian mantra that taxation is theft or that consent matters.

So, if youve ever humored avoiding taxes, or have used tax loopholes yourself, you may have a libertarian streak in you.

Tipping is how a lot of waiters and waitresses make their money. The beauty of tipping is that if a waiter or waitress is especially good, they can earn more tips.

You may tip because its a social norm, but have you ever seen tipping as a form of voluntary action that benefits society?

Voluntary action matters because if we expect someone else to do something for us, then unforeseen consequences can occur. A recent FEE article shows that California, known for its stringent laws and government handouts, has the least amount of tipping of any state. Why? Its likely because Californians view the government as a charitable organization, which makes them think Why tip when the government does it for me?

The issue is, the government is not charitable, it spends our dollars, which are collected through force. And although the government spends the money, theyre probably not tipping waiters and waitresses with it. The money ends up in the hands of people that didnt earn it. If you think that charitable giving, like tipping, is something better done voluntarily, you might be a budding libertarian.

Negotiating for a pay raise can be a daunting and rewarding task. Nonetheless, many people rely on the government to give them pay raises. For example, the majority of public schools increase their teacher's salaries by a few percentage points every year, whether or not theyre adding value to the system. All federal employees are paid this way. Good, right? Not if youre trying to negotiate for a pay raise.

Now imagine that you were a teacher who wanted to negotiate to get paid more than other teachers because youre providing more value, but youre told you cant get paid more because that would be unfair to others.

If youve ever thought that stance is ridiculous, then you likely believe in individual free trade, which is a libertarian principle.

Spring cleaning is a good time to dust off the old stuff and sell it on places like Facebook Marketplace or to your buddy down the street via PayPal.

However, the issue with selling on platforms like these is that theyre monitored by the IRS. On platforms like PayPal, if you make $600 or more, youre forced to report those earnings because they count as self-employment income. But, as many of us have done, weve sold things for cash because cash sales are more difficult to trace and tax.

If you think its silly to be taxed for selling an old TV for anything more than $599.99, then you probably believe in peoples right to trade freely. Libertarians do too. Do you think you might be one?

Back in 2018 when I first learned about Bitcoin, it changed my whole viewpoint on the US monetary system. Its how I learned about the importance of money.

If youve ever seen cryptocurrency as a valid investment vehicle or an alternative to US dollars, as I have, you likely believe that theres something fundamentally wrong with how money works in our country.

If you believe your money shouldnt be manipulated by government printing presses, you just might be inclined toward libertarianism.

All of us have broken the speed limit at one time or another. You may have done so to whiz through a yellow light just in time or because you enjoy living in the fast lane.

Breaking the speed limit might indicate you believe that laws arent always right. Perhaps the speed limit is too slow in a given area. The road is a straightaway, so why is the speed limit 40 mph? Plus, everyone else on the road is already going 10-20 mph over the speed limit, so it doesnt hurt if you drive the same speed.

If youve broken the speed limit for any of those reasons, you might accept the libertarian principle of natural order. Natural order is when society automatically organizes itself through human action. For example, drivers, like you, naturally go at the speed that the road and their cars will allow. No faster, no slower. There is no need for a government to organize that behavior. It happens on its own.

You have a healthy libertarian streak if youve broken the speed limit.

The weeks leading up to the 4th of July rekindle Americans favorite pastime: shopping for fireworks.

Fireworks are considered dangerous, but you might believe that shouldnt stop you from being able to buy them. Things like fireworks should be at the user's own risk, much like swimming in the deep end of a pool without a lifeguard on duty.

A more silly example of a dangerous item is a chocolate egg called the Kinder Surprise. Back in 2011 a woman was stopped by US border officials and was threatened with a fine of $300 if she was caught with the chocolates in the United States. Little did she know, they were illegal.

If you think its ridiculous for the government to tell you what you can and cannot buy, you probably believe in free trade, a pillar of libertarianism.

One of the most frustrating activities is trying to mail a large item or renew your license.

I remember one time I tried to mail a laptop at the Post Office and it took an hour to do so. Why did it take so long? There was only one person on staff for a line of 30 people. This was at noon on a Saturday, a day youd think the Post Office would have more employees to keep up with demand. Ive had similar experiences at my local DMV when trying to renew my license.

Places like the Post Office and DMV have one thing in common. Theyre government-run monopolies. If youve ever been frustrated with businesses like these, you might be in support of freedom of competition. Imagine if entrepreneurs were allowed to compete with monopolies like the Post Office or the DMV. Mailing something or renewing your license could be as easy as buying something on Amazon. This is possible with freer markets.

So, if you are in support of more efficient business models, you probably appreciate free markets, because they make it possible for better business models to emerge. And, if that all sounds good, you might be an emerging libertarian.

Weve all stood in line for a taco at a food truck or when checking out at the grocery store. But what is it about standing in line that has anything to do with libertarianism?

Standing in line means you believe in voluntary action and the natural order that stems from it. If you approach a line of people, you know that its fair that the person who came before you gets to go first. Why? Its because we as humans, when left alone to act on our own, will develop hidden rules of engagement that all of us understand as we integrate with our society. When all of us follow these hidden rules, natural order, like a line of people, emerges.

What you may notice is that natural order happens without government intervention. Itd be silly to see signs posted telling everyone to stand in line or else because we know the rule and its importance already.

Standing in line is only a small example of natural order. Natural order tends to occur anywhere there is freedom of choice. However, government intervention prevents natural order from occurring by placing laws on people that they themselves never asked for. These laws then create negative unintended consequences by incentivizing poorly-organized human behavior.

If you understand standing in line as an example of the importance of natural order, you might have some yellow in you after all.

What we do reflects what we actually believe.

If you observed that youve done, or at least valued doing 80 percent of the things on this list, you probably believe in the power of free markets, voluntary action, natural order, and individualism. Inversely, you probably see that the alternative to those things, government rule, isnt the way to make society flourish.

If you think you might be a libertarian after reading this, welcome home. Just remember that realizing youre a libertarian is only the first step towards a longer journey.

Being a libertarian isnt just about identifying with a party so you can feel at home. Its about understanding the principles of the freedom philosophy and their value to society and yourself.

Being a libertarian is harder than being a progressive or conservative, but at least you can sleep soundly knowing that you chose this path by thinking for yourself.

Originally posted here:
9 Signs You Might Be a Budding Libertarian - Foundation for Economic Education

Ubet, WIThe Libertarian Party of Wisconsin (LPWI) plans to build its membership and its public appeal during its April 14thto April 16thConvention at the Potawatomi Casino & Hotel in Milwaukee, using an online Live Cast on Saturday, April 15th, to share its message of prosperity and peace for all.

Our partys platform calling for the peaceful consent by the governed, NOT the violent coercion by a government, has a universal appeal and logic, and can solve the ethical and material decay of our state and our nation, the LPWI Press Office said in a statement. The LPWIs principles translate as the idea and action we practice and propose for the world: Dont hurt people; dont steal from them. It stays that simple and positive. People can understand it.

As traditionally the third most important party in the state since its founding fifty years ago, the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin knows that a larger membership, reflecting the diverse people of the state and its communities, can take it to another, higher level in politics.

The LPWIs ideal of a general peace and its free-commerce and free-minds agenda would allow individuals, their families, and their communities to control and run their own affairs better than a forceful and centralized government, the statement said. Watch our convention on the Live Cast to find out more.

For more on the LPWI platform or details about the convention, including the Saturday online Live Cast beginning at 8 AM, please visit the website:www.lpwi.org(Convention).

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The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: Libertarians look to grow at ... - WisPolitics.com

Meow.

Affirmative: Jason Russell

Cats don't take orders from anyone.

It's not that cats don't understand human speech or can't be trained. Cats just do what they want. "Cats don't do what you expect them to do," Charlotte de Mouzon, a cat behavior expert at the Universit Paris Nanterre, told The New York Times last year. "But if cats don't come when we call them, it may be because they're busy doing something else."

Thus, it should be no surprise the queen of self-interest, Ayn Rand, was a cat owner. She wrote in a letter to Cat Fancy magazine: "I love cats in general and own two.I can demonstrate objectively that cats are a great value" (emphasis in original). She was seemingly referring to pictures she enjoyed in the charter issue of Cat Fancy, just one installment in the centuries of cat art that humans have enjoyed. Today, that enjoyment often takes the form of memes of grumpy cats or videos of cats in silly acts.

Entertainment aside, cats provide economic value. Cats work on farms, ships, and elsewhere to scare off and eat rodents and small creaturesand when their employers desire it and the cats consent, they accept scritches.

Meanwhile, far too many dogs are playing dead and leeching off the public dole. The worst are dogs in government work, like the K-9 cops who will narc on you for a victimless crime such as drug possession. A cute kitten stuck in a tree may mean a call to the fire department, but animal control employees used to be called dogcatchers for a reason. As the number of dog parks grew rapidly in the last decade, the vast majority have taken up public dollars and space that would be better used for human purposes.

When cats work in a government job, they're usually trying to keep government buildings mouse-freenot driven by a sense of public service, but instead by a self-interested desire to catch rodents. Public employee cats are actually saving taxpayer dollars by reducing money spent on pest control.

Cats don't ask the government to build them parks. They hardly ask their owners for any special space eithermaybe a nice cat tree, but even the box from the last Amazon delivery will do. Cats find comfort and joy in things humans and other animals have no interest in.

Cats, like libertarians, think for themselves. In the Netflix show The Sandman, one cat says to another, "I'd like to see anyoneprophet, God, or kingpersuade 1,000 cats to do anything at the same time." What could possibly be more emblematic of a group of libertarians?

Negative: Peter Suderman

To imagine that cats are more libertarian than dogs is to commit a fundamental error by assigning libertarian values to an animal's generalized character and behavior. It may well be true that cats are more independent-minded than dogs, that they follow fewer rules and orders, that they have an anarchic streak. But when determining whether cats or dogs are more libertarian creatures, the behavior of the animal on its own is irrelevant. The libertarian project is the project of human civilization and human liberty. A world with fewer anarchic catsor even, for that matter, no cats at alland far greater human freedom would obviously be a far more libertarian world.

The question, then, is whether cats or dogs contribute more to human liberty. Framed that way, the answer is quite clear: Dogs have been agents of choice and freedom for thousands of years. Humanity is happier, safer, more prosperous, and more peaceful because of dogs.

Humans have lived with dogs for nearly 40,000 years. Not only were dogs the first domesticated animals, but some scholars believe they were key to letting our ancestors outcompete and outlast their Neanderthal rivals. In a 2012 essay for American Scientist, the anthropologist Pat Lee Shipman argued that dog domestication gave prehistoric people a critical advantage, helping them hunt, particularly large mammoths, and perhaps assisting with carrying meat back to camp. Ever since, dogs and human beings have evolved together in a mutually beneficial bond: They helped our ancestors kill big game, and now we provide them with food in exchange for companionship.

That dogs are companions is no small matter. Research shows dog owners are less lonely, have fewer mental health issues, and get more exercise. Today's dogs may not help hunters strike down mammoths, but they are clearly good for human physical and mental health.

Unlike cats, dogs exhibit a clear bias toward private property and self-defense. Neighborhoods with more dogs are safer, in part because of people walking the streets with dogs. Dogs are protectors of property, and ownership facilitates a sort of private security network, no police needed.

Dogs also help with human sociability. Anyone who has ever lived on a block with a large number of dogs knows that dog owners get to know each other merely because their dogs want to meet. Dogs are ambassadors and intermediaries; they make the always awkward but important business of getting to know strangers easier. They build trust beyond households and kin networks, which is the key to peaceful civilization, trade, and mass prosperity.

Dogs aren't just our best friends. They are natural allies in the fight for a more libertarian world.

Subscribers have access toReason's wholeMay 2023 issue now. These debates and the rest of the issue will be released throughout the month for everyone else. Consider subscribing today!

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Debate: Cats Are More Libertarian Than Dogs - Reason