Say No To Libertarianism
By Robby Burns
According to a libertarian, this is freedom.
And I’m not even kidding. Cato Institute, an actual libertarian organization, states this on their “economic freedom” page.
The foundations of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, and open markets. As Adam Smith, F. A. Hayek, and Milton Friedman stressed, freedom of exchange and minimally regulated markets provide the fuel for economic progress. Without exchange and entrepreneurial activity that is coordinated through markets rather than by governments, modern living standards would be impossible. Cato scholars explore policy reforms that could increase growth by strengthening property rights and the rule of law, safeguarding the value of money, reducing excessive taxes and regulations, scaling back government interference with trade and immigration, and reducing federal spending on programs that harm economic productivity.
Starting from the top, we see the terms personal choice, voluntary exchange, and open markets. The only personal choice I see in this picture is that of the mine owner to open the mine for production. Voluntary exchange, while technically true in the case of the workers, isn’t so voluntary for the only other option would be to starve. Open markets? The mine is only open because the market was open enough for foreign-owned corporations to barge in.
Next, the term economic progress, a libertarian favorite, is invoked. It doesn’t seem as if the children and their mother are going to experience much economic progress as a result of their hard work. As mentioned in an Axios study, the number of people currently enslaved has actually risen in the past five years. Except for Confederates, that definitely isn’t progress.
The next sentence is about how modern living standards are so good. Clearly, for the people in the picture above, this is not the case.
After that, we hear of another libertarian all-time favorite, property rights. But the only real property one could have a right to is that of the exploiter. The worker owns nothing but their labor, which they must sell to the capitalist in order to survive.
As we approach the closing sentences of the paragraph, we see nothing but criticisms of government intervention. But I don’t know if those children would have more freedom under an oppressive capitalist or a comprador government, especially given that the interests of the two go hand and hand.
Furthermore, Cato Institute wouldn’t exist without the generous support of American billionaire Charles Koch. Koch Industries happens to run mines and process chemicals in many third-world countries including India, South Africa, Colombia, and Egypt. It’s quite possible that they engage in the same plunderous actions seen in the photo the same day they write fancy words about freedom.
All in all, we see that most of the freedom libertarians want isn’t for you. It’s only for the robber barons and parasites who practically own you.