Joe Patrina

Dear Joshua,

Thanks for the CATO article on Libertarianism. I appreciate your growing curiosity towards political philosophy, particularly American Libertarianism, as conceptualized by the founders.

There is a lot to cover in unbundling American libertarianism. 1) Its basic
philosophy as the protector of individuals over mob rule, 2) the governing
structure that provides this protection, 3) the use of case law to adjust these
protections over time, 4) the need to safeguard this paradigm from
incremental erosion orchestrated by the socialists, and 5) understanding
why socialism is on the march.

     1. PHILOSOPHY

Libertarianism is not a set of rules, but an aspiration. Whether through God
or genetics, our Homo Sapient species has what can only be classified as a
Natural Right to life, liberty and property, and Libertarianism aspires to
allow this instinctive liberty trait to flourish. As will be seen, mob rule,
cancel culture, economic dependency, money printing, propaganda,
racism, pandemics, foreign wars and other socialist government
manipulations are the anti-thesis of Libertarianism. 

The CATO institute, who published the opinion piece you sent, is a
Libertarian-philosophy devotee, and they are dismayed that others would
actually want to dilute and bury the key principals of libertarianism. In the
article, they even question the impurities of the Libertarian Party and some
of Trump’s policies as violations. Though they whole-heartedly promote
the aspirations of liberty, they analyze political behavior through a more
strict set of rules.

Still, the CATO author did a good job in citing the core of Libertarianism.

“Libertarianism, at its core, is the modern manifestation of classical
liberalism, the transformative movement that, beginning in the 18th
century, challenged monarchs, autocrats, mercantilism, caste society,
slavery and religious persecution. As heirs to that tradition, libertarians
believe in individual freedom, equality under the law, pluralism, toleration,
free speech, freedom of religion, government by consent of the governed, the
rule of law, private property, free markets and limited constitutional
government.”

Well said, although the great American libertarian Thomas Jefferson, put it
more succinctly, proclaiming:

“The policy of American government is to leave its citizens free, neither
restraining them nor aiding them in their pursuits.”
 

- Thomas Jefferson -

When Jefferson proposed this, another 1776 thinker – Adam Smith – the free
market economist, explained that in setting people free to attain their
separate goals ... that optimum human output and self-reliance would result.

This utopian view, never achieved before in human history and only
partially achieved since, has led to what is called “American
Exceptionalism”. Before the USA, the world was ruled by Kings, Emperors
and Religious Authorities. Hence we are “an exception”. Here is Adam
Smith’s key quote:

“As every individual endeavors as much as he can to employ his capital in
the support of domestic industry, he neither intends to promote the public
interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. He intends only his own
gain, and is led by an invisible hand to promote an end, which was no part of
his intention.”

Noam Chomsky, a 21st century professor at MIT, placed his well-spoken
critique of Smith as follows:

“He’s pre-capitalist, a figure of the Enlightenment. What we would call
capitalism he despised. People read snippets of Adam Smith, the few phrases
they teach in school.


But not many people get to the point hundreds of pages later, where he says
that division of labor will turn people into creatures as stupid and ignorant as
it is possible for a human being to be.

And therefore in any civilized society the government is going to have to take
some measures to prevent division of labor from proceeding to its limits.
 

This view, of course, stands correct. Noam’s view is called “Liberalism”. We
could not tolerate unchecked industrial barons while millions suffered
shackled to factory posts all across America’s industrial revolution mill
towns. That was not a Citizen’s Economy. Something had to give to provide
individuals a way to pull themselves up.

But, mind you, nothing really gave for a long time. Since Adam Smith in
1776, the American economy remained laissez faire (unencumbered) for more
than a century.

No one taxed your income or your property other than the brief time during
the Civil War. Instead the government raised money through import taxes.
Law concerned itself with murder, runaway slaves, and bank robberies, with
regulation and code dictates nowhere in sight. Government agents such as
the Earp Brothers, never burst onto someone’s property with commercial
building code manuals blazing.

Government exercised day-to-day law enforcement at most. It remained
unconcerned with business and it did not touch the economy: the people’s
domain. Keep in mind that the federal income tax only began in 1913 under
Woodrow Wilson, with property taxation never sanctioned. Until then, our
libertarian society breathed unfettered and alive.

2. GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE

But like Noam explained, something had to give as our numbers and our
technologies evolved, but that didn’t mean that anything goes. Change is
possible so long as the individual’s natural rights to life, liberty and property
are left intact. To assure this, the framers designed the United States
Constitution to create a Republic, and not a mob Democracy.
 

The first dimension of the design is the three separate branches of
government, the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial, making it
difficult to forge a lasting power monopoly where one party controls all
three branches.

The second dimension has each state having two U.S. Senators to dilute the
power that certain populous states would otherwise hold over the others.
Population advantage stays in the House of Representatives.

The third dimension is the dichotomy between the Federal government and
the States. Any power not granted in the Constitution to the Federal
government remains with the states. Hence, recently, with abortion, as there
is nothing in the Constitution defining this, any balancing of abortion rights
belongs at the state level.

Note: This need not be the end of the line. A Federal statute could be
passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President
allowing or forbidding certain elements of abortion, or ... a
Constitutional amendment could be passed by 3/5 of the states,
making it Constitutional law and not State law. But until one of these
is achieved, it stays a state issue.

The fourth dimension is the Electoral College. Though power is distributed
by population, states with common values can collectively protect their
interests.

3. CASE LAW

The fifth dimension is case law. All provisions sitting inside the Constitution
are open to interpretation, and over time, litigation at the Supreme Court
level is used to carve out precise guard rails for any given topic. “Free
speech” for example, has been reined in over time whereby one cannot yell
“fire” in a theater. After 250 years the Constitutional right to free speech has
coalesced around a political context as follows:

Everything American starts with “We the People”; people run the
government, not the other way around. Authority over government is
why “freedom of speech” exists. Unfettered dialogue amongst 
ourselves is essential in order for us to pilot our subordinate
government apparatus.

“Freedom of speech”, the right to influence the political opinions of
others out in the public domain, has no restraints. This includes hate
speech, agenda media, and even falsehoods claimed against public
officials so long as the optic is political (non-political falsehoods =
defamation).

Today, the “originalists” who interpret the constitution as written still
agree that free political speech sits above government authority. Deep
state socialists endeavor to use Big tech censoring to quiet their
opponents. This unconstitutional practice of blocking unfettered
dialogue needs to come before the court.

But overall, case law can only exist if there is a Constitutional clause sitting
there in the first place poised for debate. Hence with Roe V Wade in 1972,
the court overstepped its bounds establishing a case ruling without a
Constitutional reference being adjudicated.

And it does not matter the degree of pro-or-anti political support abortion
garners, it’s simply a state issue until either a Federal statute is passed or a
full Amendment is adopted. Popular will in either direction must pass
muster inside of the Constitution’s five-dimension system that prevents the
“tyranny of the majority”.

NOTE: After the Civil War, for a time, the Southern states lost their
representation in Congress. This is when the Republicans used their
monopoly to pass a series of amendments - XIII, XIV, and XV - designed
to end slavery and establish equal treatment under the law for all. Key
libertarian milestones were reached under “the spoils of war”,
establishing law not possibly supported by the Democrats of the era or
even for many years thereafter. (As late as the 1960’s Democrats fought
initiatives such as the Equal Rights bill of 1965).

4. ERROSION & COMPROMISE

As the CATO guys pointed out, even the Libertarian Party violates and
waters down the ideals of Libertarianism. But the socialists don’t simply
want to water Libertarianism down, they want to end it.

Before elaborating, let’s look at Trump for a moment. Personally, he is a
libertarian, but politically he is a populist, meaning that he is willing to draw
outside the libertarian lines to keep his country’s economic and world-standing
nose above the water line. Hence he gave out checks during covid – a terrible
infraction - as in printing money to pay for this, he strayed outside of the
Constitutional system, whereby only Congress can propose and pay for
outlays.

At least Trump did not super-flood the system with fresh dollars, and hence
inflation held at less than 2%. But the CATO people mark him down for
“circumventing the law”.

But this pales against the destructive actions of the democrat socialists.

Ignoring the law is their main weapon. A) They ignore the obligation to
defend the borders, B) their “sanctuary cities” selectively prosecute crime
and forgo cash bail C) their justice department does not apply equal
treatment under the law and brazenly targets political opponents, including
ex-presidents, parents and Catholics.

D) they print money like crazy to fund their schemes, like hiding the Green
New Deal inside the so-called Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction bills,
leading to massive permanent price hikes that clobbered the purchasing
power of every household.

But just as devastating, they F) weaken America’s position in the world by
intentionally foregoing American energy independence, draining our
national petroleum reserves, and simultaneously allowing Iran to sell oil to
China, thus funding Hamas, Hezbollah and the Hootie terrorists.

Then there is G), sheer incompetence, leaving 100 billion in arms behind in
Afghanistan (thereby encouraging Putin), building only a handful of
charging stations after raising billions, letting Mexico off the hook in
throttling the migrants, and running the Secret Service as a D.E.I.
experiment.

Next, they H) ignore Supreme Court rulings to pay off student loans to
attract voters. Finally, I) for years, they relish the dishonesty of covering up
Joe Biden, pawning him off as a moderate, and then installing Kamala Harris
without even one primary vote counted – but only one week after the Trump
assassination failed ... Geeez, are you following this?

But the Democrat socialist goes deeper, using a psychological gimmick
called “Double Think”, a type of propaganda, something defined by George
Orwell in his novel 1984.

“ Doublethink” means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in
one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”

—GEORGE ORWELL—

Typical double think scams include claiming the border secure, that inflation
is transitory, that Hunter’s lap top was Russian disinformation, and that the
economy is sound, even though 70% of recent new jobs are with the
government. There appears to be no end to the double think practice.

But the most grotesque examples of double think involve Black history and
the death penalty, as follows:

Black History – Though left-wing revisionists constantly obscure
Democrat Party history, most know ... that slaves were primarily
owned by Democrats, that Democrats fought a war to keep their
slaves, that Democrats held down emancipated Blacks using the Jim
Crow laws, that Democrats ran the KKK, that Democrats fought the
Civil Rights Amendment, that Democrats re-enslaved Blacks into
urban plantations, and that LBJ’s Great Society dependency programs
would break 70 percent of Black American family units down to
nothing ... yet claiming to be in their corner.

Death Penalty - The worst example of Doublethink is, of course, the
simultaneous views on the death penalty and abortion. Democrats
oppose the death penalty (and other aspects of crime prosecution)
saying many perpetrators are fundamentally victims of society,
inherently innocent people. But they support abortion, even though
every fetus killed is innocent.

Oh well. These can easily be brushed aside by those itching to support the
Democrat socialists.

Whether its destructive policies or double think corruption of minds, as a
Libertarian, I cannot tolerate any of it. Which is why every vote for the
Democrats erodes my Libertarian aspirations. Self-determination gets
replaced with dependency, unfettered life gets replaced with 1984 fear and
behavior cudgels, and so on. There is no compromise. Give them an inch
and they take a mile. As Orwell said in his totalitarian prediction:

“The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but
between authoritarians and libertarians.”

—GEORGE ORWELL—

5) UNDERSTANDING WHY SOCIALISM IS ON THE MARCH

Libertarians wonder: Who doesn’t want freedom, wealth and self-determination?
And: Who can turn a blind eye to all of these Democrat shenanigans? The answer:
Many crave security, kind words, fun personalities, simplicity and family
tradition rather than the grind and intellectual responsibility of navigating
American Exceptionalism.

Most have no high-altitude aspirations anyway, so why not sign up for just
getting by? For now, with the wealth of the USA still somewhat intact,
joining double think and imposed obedience will for now get you a nice
pass in life. What could possibly go wrong?

Libertarianism was not simply the political design of America, it was a
way-of-life wanted by the initial liberty seekers who fled here to make a go
of it - knowing no one would help them. America simply had a pre-ponderance
of true libertarians who married each other, and a couple of smart guys, like
Jefferson, who set it all up.

But over time, Americans inched left, drifting closer to other world societies.
This drift is explained by understanding libertarianism to be a genetic trait.
Hard to believe, but like sexual orientation, political orientation is also
inherited. It is not the debate of ideas we were taught about.

Libertarianism, though, is a recessive trait, as compared to the dominant
primate orientation for troop order found across the Homo Sapient species
(i.e. socialism; it’s everywhere!). And so, as new Americans are born, more
and more will be attracted to socialism as their dominant political preference.

Back in the sixties, once American socialism gained enough members via
both genetic drift and immigration, modern ideological leaders became
proficient at running all the levers of societal control, infiltrating the media,
law, academia, the big corporate perches and “the deep state”.

The pioneer of this was Saul Alinsky (who died in 1972). Alinsky, the
anarchist, a disciple of Al Capone and Frank Nitty, wrote “Rules for Radicles”.
His two great disciples were Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama. In recent
years, Barrack eased Hillary out, and he now runs the movement with an
iron fist, but in stealth as per the Alinsky system. Here is Saul Alinsky’s
opening premise:

“Any revolutionary change must be proceeded by an attitude change amongst
the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so
futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past
and change the future. To bring on this reformation requires the organizer
work inside the system.”

—SAUL ALINSKY—

 Here are a few Alinsky directives:

Alinsky Directive #1 – Do not advertise or ever mention the big
revolutionary vision. Instead communicate with the tone and
promises each interest group wants to hear and refer to yourself
positively using the term “progressive.”

Alinsky Directive #2 – Patiently move the agenda forward taking any
compromise they give you, then ignore the deal and create pressure
using public ignorance of the storyline to set up the next compromise.

Alinsky Directive #3 – Prevent individuals from using business to gain
personal independence. Instead make business people dependent
upon satisfying your goals using government contracts as carrots, and
government agents (EPA, FDA, IRS, etc.) as sticks.

Alinsky Directive #4 – Ridicule and silence those who do not embrace
you.

Alinsky Directive #5 – Don’t be afraid of spending any amount of
money necessary to attain the revolution’s goals. Once you get into
billions and trillions, the people tune out and won’t realize what is
happening to them.

Alinsky Directive #6 – Blazingly accuse your political opponents of the
very crimes you are committing.

CONCLUSION

I am not fighting this socialist title wave; it’s genetic, not learned, so no one
can be influenced. If someone thinks Kamala Harris will be good for their
wellbeing - caring nothing of the above framework designed to protect
individuals - then so be it.

But they are doubling down on destructive practices, corrosive double think
and a disdain for the Republic form of governing. Go ahead ... Pack the
Supreme Court! Sign Executive orders galore! Make D.C. a State. Print lots
of money! Invite more migrants! Ignore law & order! The socialist will
have won the numbers game, submerging the Constitution.

Here’s a test.

Recently, an ABC reporter confronted Trump asking him if he thought
Kamala Harris was D.E.I. chosen, just because she is Black. Trump
responded that in previous chapters of her career Kamala had said she was
Indian, from India, and now she says she’s Black. So he can’t say.

Now if you think this was a quick-witted, take-no-prisoners comeback, you
are likely a libertarian. If you think Trump abrasive and divisive, you are
likely a Democrat socialist, seeing him as unfit and a threat to ”our”
democracy. There is no right or wrong here; it’s genetic. One sees what one
wants to see to justify backing their genetically-suited candidate.

Politics becomes a delusional popularity contest, rather than a choice of
domestic policy options and commander-in-chief qualifications. But
delusion either way comes with a price. Consider:

“The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women
submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments”

GEORGE WASHINGTON

“ People do not really want freedom, because freedom involves
responsibility and most people are frightened of responsibility.”

SIGMUND FREUD
 

It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully
rationed, and, Democracy is indispensable to socialism. 

VLADIMIR LLENIN
 

Democracy passes into despotism. 

PLATO

Only Americans can hurt America. 

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

The United States was designed to avoid the above mentioned pitfalls of
pure democracy; instead designed as a Republic with multiple legal
dimensions to protect us against mob rule.
 

Personally, with my one “live free or die” vote, I vote for the candidate most
likely to promote my interests, with saving our Republic (and not some mob
socialist Democracy) my top interest. I fear that those voting left will lead
us all into to an American variation of systemic subjugation. After all, the
German’s voted Hitler in, leading to one-party rule. Finally consider:

EDWARD GIBBON

And,

My entire life can be measured against the word “freedom”.

JOE PATRINA

NOTE: Author Joe Patrina’s Constitutional specialty is the sanctity of private
property in the American system. Unlike income, the U.S. Constitution was
never amended to allow assessment based taxation of our homes and
automobiles. For a deep dive into this, go to JoePatrina.com/property.

Libertarianism Joe Patrina 2024