Libertarian Presentation

A few weeks (months, maybe?) ago, Mr. Bond invited Cody to speak in front of the class about political issues and economics. Being the narcissist that I am, I couldn't allow Cody to keep the spotlight all to himself. So I asked Mr. Bond for the same opportunity... and got it!

So, that was on the 4/26/11 which is now yesterday at the time of the writing of this post.

This is how I felt it turned out:


1. I felt like I really wasn't particularly effective in explaining the 'Libertarian Rights argument' and why it would imply a minimal 'watchman' state like the one Bastiat described in, "The Law" (thank you, Mr. Chiou, for that recommendation all that time ago... brilliant read).

2. When discussing the war on drugs, I never got to the actual CONSEQUENCES of such a policy. I had told the class that there were TWO ways of thinking about issues, but in my 'Libertarianism applied' section; consequential and moral. Here is a copy/paste of the quickest consequential argument against the war on drugs that I posted as a response to one of the students over facebook:

"Austin Reddy: 

bah, I barely got anywhere with anything!

I didn't even get to talk about supply/demand curves (which make my heart swell... that is, when I don't mix them up) and how the war on drugs shifts the supply curve, while leaving the demand curverelatively untouched.

Because of this, being a drug dealer is INCREDIBLY profitable (which is why drug dealers become millionaires) and it becomes justifiable to use violence, bribe officials, etc. to sell drugs. That's why during alcohol prohibition, you had people like Al Capone who were having gang wars in the streets.

One of the consequences of the war on drugs is higher crime rates.

I DIDN'T GET TO SAY IT :("

Indeed, I did not get to say it. Foreign policy, on the other hand, was almost completely skimped except for a two minute Ron Paul video. I love this video, though.

All I can write for now!