Ep 184: Liberty, Authority, and the Political Spectrum

Ep 184: Liberty, Authority, and the Political Spectrum

*Streamyard defaulted to my computer microphone and not my recording microphone. I apologize for the terrible sound quality.

In this episode I explore how the American progressive left and conservative right share many fundamental assumptions about the use of authoritarian power. While the political spectrum in the West is usually conceptualized as left vs. right, I argue that it should be more accurately characterized as liberty vs. authority. I discuss the libertarian non-aggression principle, which states as a moral principle that violence should never be initiated against a peaceful person, and I read from Murray Rothbard and Hans-Herman Hoppe to elaborate the point. I then compare this with conservative and progressive conceptions of power, both of which affirm the use of arbitrary state power and violence to achieve their preferred social ends. This is why our only two political options are between liberty and varying degrees of authoritarianism. I then read from Mark 10:35-45, John 15, 1 John 4, and Matthew 23, showing that self-sacrificial love for others and the rejection of worldly authoritarian powers are principles fundamental to Christianity and explain how libertarianism is a more consistent modern political application of those fundamental principles.

Additional Resources

• Rothbard, For a New Liberty: https://a.co/d/2nP2PZC
• Hoppe, A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism: https://a.co/d/0jub6a2
• Jesus and Capitalism: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-180-jesus-and-capitalism/
• Mises vs. Wright: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-178-ludwig-von-mises-vs-a-christian-scholar-round-3-n-t-wright/