Written by Jeff Deist, President of the Mises Institute, says Ross Ulbricht was no hero. A victim for sure, but a martyr? He thinks not.
Personally, I’m not big on glorifying drugs or drug dealers. I don’t much care for the drug culture element of the libertarian movement. I don’t like this whole “fiscally conservative, socially liberal” image that people try to frame our ideology in. So I can in some ways sympathize with Jeff’s repulsion at the placing of Ulbricht on a pedestal.
But Ulbricht was no ordinary drug dealer. He didn’t just facilitate transactions, or avoid the State. He didn’t just create a massive reduction in the violence and danger inherent in black market activity. He spawned a business model that has been replicated by numerous individuals, and is continually being improved upon by others to make the drug trade safer and more reliable for everyone. The proliferation of this technology is unstoppable now, Ross Ulbricht made that happen, and he gave his life up to do it.
Say what you will about drugs, but yes, Mr. Deist, Ross Ulbricht is a hero, and a martyr.
I think it’s important that we have such heroes in the movement. We need brave people willing to lay it all on the line, to risk it all and face down the enemy, to change the world come what may. That kind of bravery is lost on most of society, and reserved almost entirely for the State and its mercenaries. So long as that is the case, we can’t expect any sort of victory against our oppressor.
In other news, a Marxist government is surprisingly heading towards a bad outcome.
Q. What happens when your country is in debt in excess of 175% of GDP, and you elect a radical leftist government?
A. Nothing good.
I wrote back in January about Greece being on the path to economic suicide, after electing the Syriza party to power in a move I was shocked to see so much social media support for. Syriza translates to “coalition of the radical left” and is run by full bore, unapologetic Marxists and Trotskyites. Not exactly the soundest of economic plans when your economy is already entirely reliant on foreign debt and regulated to the point of strangulation.
Unsurprisingly, matters have not improved in the last five months. Efforts to “renegotiate” (violate the terms of) their debt agreement have failed miserably. Today, a payment of €300 million is due to the International Monetary Fund, and will not be made. It is the first time that a developed country has ever missed a payment to the IMF since the creation of the Bretton Woods institutions at the end of the Second World War.
Now, telling the IMF to get lost might sound appealing to a lot of us. The problem here is that there is absolutely no intention of solving the problem that got the IMF in their affairs to begin with. Foreign creditors are demanding that the Greek government undertake austerity measures to cut government spending and free up their economy before any further money will be lent. Greece seems convinced that more government spending is somehow going to reduce their debts however, and basic math is getting in the way of their campaign promises.
Not good at all.
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