Nearing the end to Jersey’s War on Drugs?

By Zaid Abuhouran

Spring 2009

In a highly controversial topic, the New Jersey State Senate recently passed a bill that will allow the use of medical marijuana for patients with “debilitating medical conditions”. This has caused debate among Senators and is receiving mixed reactions from New Jersey residents. To become New Jersey law, the bill still needs to pass in both houses and be signed into law by Governor Corzine. Even then, there will be restrictions on who can use it and who can’t.

Although this is only a small step towards is the end of the drug war, it is a sign that politicians are waking up to the reality this is costing us. According to Students for Sensible Drug Policy, more than $50 billion is spent EVERY YEAR waging the failed War on Drugs, and %55 of inmates are incarcerated for drug related offenses.

This governmental restriction of personal freedom violates the fact that a person is in control of their own body, and, regardless whether it is for medical use or not, it demonizes a drug that is more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes. Everyone’s hero Barry has admitted to “inhaling”, along with other prominent politicians and Supreme Court justices. I’m sure that if they were arrested they wouldn’t be where they are today.

I personally have never tried marijuana, nor do intend to in the future. However, those who choose to smoke in private should not be restricted from doing so, as long as they do not harm other people in the process and violate their liberties. A person owns their own body, and no one else should be given authority over what that person can do with their body, especially not the government.

Zaid Abuhouran is a member of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences freshman, majoring in Biology and Political Science.

A is A: What is Taxation?

by Ryan Felder
Spring 2009

Anyone who is familiar with the writings of Ayn Rand has most certainly heard the phrase "A is A." This idea is known in logic as the law of identity. The idea simply means that any act or object is itself. It seems like a silly point to make, as it appears to be an obvious redundancy. But the meaning that we can extrapolate from it is actually quite profound.

Let's take the idea of taxation. Most people dislike the idea of paying taxes but view it as a necessary evil. They see it as the price we pay for societal organization. But let's take a closer look at what taxation really is. In taxation, the government essentially reaches its hand into the individual pocket and demands money. The government then takes the money and distributes it as it sees fit, whether in the form of welfare programs or administrative expense. Often, corrupt politicians will skim off the top and keep the money for themselves. Most of the time, however, taxation is touted as a kind of forced charity which makes people do their fair share to help less fortunate people. Now, if an individual were to walk up to you on the street, point a gun at you, take your wallet, and give your money to charity, he would be arrested and punished as a thief. But if the government does the exact same thing (and it does; see what happens if you refuse to pay your taxes), it is celebrated as serving the people.

Now let's return to the idea of the law of identity. Since anything is inherently itself, it seems to follow that an act of theft is an act of theft, regardless of what you call it. Since one would normally consider an act where one agent forcibly takes property from another agent against the latter's will an act of theft, it seems that the government does this all the time. Call it our civic duty, say that the ends justify the means, but A is still A, theft is still theft. It follows that taxation is little more than theft with written words justifying and codifying it.

Ryan Felder is a member of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a School of Arts and Sciences Freshman majoring in Psychology.

Steep Bills on Capitol Hill

By Rob Michael
2.19.2009 at 4:45 PM

If you thought you might catch a break from on the financial talk in Washington, you are sadly mistaken. GM and Chrysler are back on Capitol Hill asking for more money. The auto giants that are commonly considered "too big to fail" were instructed to return by the Bush administration to present their plans for survival in the auto market. Although we might have hoped otherwise, the plans are accompanied by requests for some pretty big checks. Is your patience running thin yet? Maybe it should be.

The debate here is not a simple one, but the answer is rather clear. These "bankrupt" auto companies need to be allowed to actually go bankrupt. It seems that despite our country being founded on ideas of freedom, like democracy and capitalism, we have allowed our democratically elected officials to ignore the role of markets. Socialism is at the door and our doormen are not even questioning its presence.

By dragging the companies through the recession we are doing the closest thing to throwing our money away. They have proven their capability to fail, but the response is to keep them around in hard times because we think that now they have a better chance to succeed. The government has either forgotten how the market works, or is using this opportunity to grab more power. My pessimistic side seems to favor the latter.

It is true that the auto industry is having a difficult time for reasons outside of management. Gone unseen to the majority of the public is the pressure created by unions. By refusing to allow GM to lower its overhead cost, the unions are much of the reason American cars cost so much more to produce. Due to the all of the benefits secured by the United Auto Workers, GM reports its worker costs at $69 per hour. This is a result of health care, pensions, and wages. In contrast, Toyota employees receive the equivalent of $53 per hour. Even before the recession hit, American companies seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage.

Regardless of what problems may be aiding in failure, the call for more billions is still unacceptable. GM is asking for another $13.4 billion and Chrysler for $4 billion. Reasons are rooted in the too big to fail mentality, but a lot of the numbers on the scene are sneaky (as usual). GM estimates that job loss could be between 1.5 million and 3 million workers. The low end of this spectrum is actually only if one company's failure results in the other companies' failures along with the loss of dealerships and other outlets. For some reason, this is given as the low end. On the higher side, the prediction is rooted in the notion that GM failing will cause all auto work in America to disappear. This means that foreign companies with factories in the U.S. are also goners. I think its a little ridiculous to believe that Americans will simply choose to live out their lives without automobiles from now on, but if I was fighting for my life I might make some outrageous claims too.

The truth is that the government is letting the people down here in a big way. When conservatives lack fiscal conservatism and liberals are given leeway to spend even more liberally, it is the people who get the short end of the stick. It might be a good idea to stop and think about where this money comes from. The government does not have an independent revenue system. Any money it spends will somehow fall on us, the people. Letting all of this slip by only means future generations will foot the bill.

Rob Michael is a member of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is an SAS sophomore majoring in Psychology.

Is the Minimum Wage Really Beneficial to Workers?

By Matt Simcha
Spring 2009

At first glance, a proposal to abolish the minimum wage would appear to be an attempt to allow wealthy businesses to take advantage of the poor working class. Upon examining the issue more deeply, however, it becomes apparent that there is sound economic theory supporting the notion that just about everyone, including the lower class, would benefit from the elimination of the minimum wage.

The first thing we must consider is that labor is a commodity, just like any good or service, whose price is determined by its supply and demand. This means that the actual price of labor is the wage at which the amount of qualified people willing to do the job at that wage is equal to the amount of people employers want to hire at that price. For the vast majority of jobs, this so called “equilibrium” price of labor is well above the current national minimum wage of $7.15 per hour. However, let’s examine a situation where the equilibrium price of labor for a certain job, set by nothing other than natural market forces, is say $5 per hour. We already know that by law, workers must earn no less than $7.15 per hour, so let’s say that the employer in this situation pays that wage for this job. The wage being offered for the job in question is now greater than the equilibrium wage set by the supply and demand for the job; what will happen? The answer is that there will be a surplus of labor. That is, the amount of qualified people who are willing to work the job will vastly exceed the amount of people that the employer can hire. This, of course, is known as unemployment, and it means that more people who want to work are jobless and have no legitimate source of income. The vast majority of economists believe that minimum wage laws cost the U.S. economy hundreds of thousands of jobs per year.

You may be asking yourself, how would elimination of the minimum wage benefit “just about everyone,” as stated earlier? With business not paying wages above market price, they will run more cheaply and more efficiently. This means lower prices and greater production, which gives you, the consumer, more purchasing power.

One major concern people have about elimination of the minimum wage is that hard working citizens who labor for long hours will still be unable to support themselves. This could occur in some instances, but typically, jobs whose equilibrium wage is below the minimum wage are held by teenagers who are not intending to support themselves, but rather looking for some extra cash while their parents support them. Thus, a person who is working hard but unable to support him/herself would be the exception rather than the rule, and in these exceptions some aid should be provided (the government would still have to give out less aid overall, due to the greater overall efficiency of the economy).

If you are still not convinced, try looking at the minimum wage from a different angle; not as a restriction on employers, but as a restriction on workers. It is essentially the government telling people, “If you’re offered a job that only exists at a wage below the minimum we set, you may not accept that job.” This kind of government encroachment into people’s personal choices needs to stop at once.

Though minimum wage laws are well meaning, they are a major contributor to the single greatest problem that exists in the world of economics, unemployment. Unemployment not only leaves people without any source of income, it also causes the entire economy to be inefficient, driving up prices of many goods and services, making life more difficult for everyone. Elimination of minimum wage laws would reduce the economic burden that is unemployment and make society as a whole better off.

Matt Simcha is a member of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a School of Arts and Sciences Sophomore majoring in Economics and Statistics.

Unions: The Downfall of Good Hard Work

By Scott Thompson

Spring 2009

Unions: One of the greatest evils of modern society, one of the greatest threats to capitalism since the creation of communism. Yes, there was a time and place for unions, but that time has long come and past. They are a waste of money and a threat to capitalism while serving no true benefits, except for those who do not deserve them. The union exists to protect the workers, but they already accomplished their goal of making safe working environments, fair hours, and the prevention of cruelty at the workplace. They accomplished this decades ago and have ensured that the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory incident would never happen ever again. Unions now serve to protect people's jobs, but those who work well need not fear being fired, because their quality of work ensures their job security. Unions preserve everyone's job any way they can. When it takes three workers to change a light bulb at a television studio or six workers to change one picture on the wall (one to take it down, one to move a chair out of his way, one to remove the nail from the wall, another to remove the picture from the room, another to put the nail back in the wall, and the sixth to put the new picture up, which is a true story that occurred at the Wang computer company back in the 1980s) because the unions say so, it is time for the unions to go. The workers do not control the unions, the unions control the workers. If you belong to a union, they take your money in exchange for telling you what to do, how to work, where to work, and tell you whether or not you are even permitted to work. The higher ups of unions make shadow deals behind the scenes with different companies, putting some out of business while helping others thrive. One of the leaders of the United Auto Workers Union recently became a board member at Chrysler, another example of shady dealings. How can a board member of Chrysler claim not to have a conflict of interests, between his own profits and the protection of the workers under him? If you're a member of a union, you're not allowed to work at a company not with your union. Unions leaders have ceased to care for and about their workers in exchange for lining their own pockets with money. Unions still have a job to do, but in other countries. The time for unions in this country is long past. It's time to rise up and rid ourselves of the fetters of the union overlords, a foe greater than any single company alone.

Scott Thompson is a member of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is an SAS sophomore planning to major in Information Technology and Informatics.

The Bush torture tradition carried on by Obama

By Zaid Abuhouran

Spring 2009

In a not-so-surprising turn of events, evidence last week shows that the Obama administration may continue the failed Bush policies of illegal detention and torture.

As per this Times article, the Obama administration is using the same “national security” excuse employed by the Bush administration to illegally detain prisoners who they deem a threat. Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian native, sued Boeing for assisting in the Bush administration in its “extraordinary rendition” program, where Mohamed and four other men were expedited and tortured abroad. The case was dismissed by the Bush administration on the notion that it threatened national security and international relations.

Instead of carrying out the “change” that he has been preaching, the Obama administration is following in the notorious footsteps of the Bush administration. In regards to Mohamed’s case, the same “state secret” excuse is being used by government lawyer Douglas N. Letter to keep Guantanamo open.

To further the damage, Solicitor General Nominee Elena Kagan said to a key Republican senator that she believes the government has the legal authority to detain suspected terrorists indefinitely and without trial. It is clear that the Obama administration is trying to appease a wide spectrum of people and to forge political allies instead of keep the promise of “change”.

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy has called for an independent investigation into the Bush crimes, regardless of support from the Obama administration. Knowing that the Obama administration will carry on these crimes leaves for an unpromising overall outcome. In a meeting with the White House, Leahy said:

I would hate to see us take the attitude that that was then and this is now, let’s not worry about any of the mistakes or the abuse of the law and give it a pass … because it is my experience that you continue to make mistakes until somebody calls you on it.

The Obama administration knows that the legacy they are carrying on is illegal. They are becoming increasingly accountable of campaign lies and the same failed policies of the Bush administration. It’s only time until the masses who fell for their savior’s pretty talk will realize that he is just another false hope.

Zaid Abuhouran is a member of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences freshman, majoring in Biology and Political Science.

The New Continental Divide

By Mike Gilch

Spring 2009

Maybe it's because this was the first time I've been eligible to vote in the national election, but I was absolutely appalled at the general reaction among college students in the post-election days.

Before I get into that, let's get a few important things straight:

-I was neither and Obama nor a McCain supporter. In fact, I've completely lost all faith in our government and the way in which it governs. It's forgotten it's a government; instead, it masquerades as one big, greedy corporation.

-A few friends suggested the idea of not voting at all in protest. While I think their arguments hold some water, I think they're a bit misguided by believing in the two-party system. I voted Libertarian because from what I can tell, it's the only political party who hasn't completely lost sight of what government is supposed to be. I like to hold out hope that if a large enough percentage votes Libertarian each election, knowledge and recognition will increase, and, most importantly, maybe people will bother to get informed.

With this said, let me launch down all your throats. Based solely on what I saw and heard after the election, I have only this to ask: Why are the vast majority of people so quick to blindly follow a candidate based on unimportant things? The Obama supporters are acting like this is the second coming of Christ. He wasn't born in a manger; he was born in Honolulu. He's a politician, albeit a charismatic one, just like the rest of them. Let it be known that I am not knocking anyone's ideas, ideals, or ideologies. I just wish people would bother to become more informed about the candidates they so blindly follow. Obama preaches change. Change, change, change. Political change. Economic change. Social change. Spare change. Sex change. Diaper change. Well, that's all well and good, and for those of you who believe him, for your sanity's sake, I hope you're proved at least somewhat right. We could use some serious change around here. Why is the man calling so vehemently for the tearing down of the political machine run crookedly by money money money --- why is that man's memoir being advertised adjacent to the very text box I'm writing this in? He's making money off his recent run of popularity. Once again, I stress that there's nothing wrong with that. A few years ago, he released the book, and it did nowhere as well in the sales charts as it did during the campaign period. Now that he's known, he can make money off the book. I say, good for him! That's the way capitalism should work, no? However, this is just one example of how he's just another politician, driven by money just as much as every other pseudo-sincere talking head in this country.

And the McCain people! (Notice how I didn't say "the rest of you?" There are more than two parties, people. Do your research.) Did you sign up to his campaign's e-mail list? Did he shoot you a quick message on election night, when Pennsylvania fell into Obama's electoral vote column and it became apparent who the President-Elect would be, saying to change all your Facebook statuses to claim you're moving to another country? " So long, America. I'm moving to Canada." My personal favorites were the ones who said they would move to Europe. Especially France. For real, people? France? You claim you're staunch Republicans who are just frothing over with outrage at the audacity of the American people to elect a black supposed Socialist to the presidency, and your anger has driven you to move to France, possibly the most socialist country on the most Socialist continent on the planet?

You non-informed, misguided, gullible, ignorant, zombified fools.

If you're going to believe in the system, then by all means, go ahead. But wield your vote wisely! Do your homework on the candidates before you pull the lever. Learn what they stand for if possible, not just what the media says they do. Learn what they stand against, that is, if they have actual stances on anything. You couldn't really tell from the debates. Don't be conservative because your parents are. Don't be liberal just because your geography tells you to be. I was raised in Jersey City, just outside of New York, as the son of a family who long lived in the same European immigrant section Downtown all their lives; all statistics say I should be one of the crazy people chanting Obama's name in the streets. But I'm not. I refuse to be a statistic created by the media, talking heads, and pollsters. I'm not kicking dirt in your face and shouting my correctness and others' failure. I'm saying that at least I researched the candidates and made my own, personal, thought-out decisions, whereas so many people I knew simply pulled the lever their surroundings told them to.

Getting back to my starting point, I'm blown away by the post-election fallout. Facebook implied that Obama supporters could now only type in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS AND USE EXCESSIVE PUNCTUATION!!1!! and McCain supporters were all moving to foreign countries, some of which didn't make sense at all for all they were being made into conservative havens. McCain made, what I thought to be, a humble, peaceful concession speech to then President-Elect Obama, but apparently his supporters were so mad at the nation that they decided to leave it altogether.

And we wonder why there's such a divide in our nation?

I see a new divide. The important divide no longer lies between the urban coasts and "Pennsyltucky," no longer does it run down the Rocky Mountains; the important divide now lies between the informed and the ignorant.

As aforementioned, maybe I just haven't noticed it before. Maybe it's because this was the first time I was eligible to vote. But it seems to me, that whether the working people, especially the students, of America voted for a candidate that went on to the Oval Office or one that dropped back into Congress, governorship, or Dukakis-ville, there was always a common thread afterwards: they rejoiced or they shrugged their shoulders, but they all kept on working. The lived life. They wrote music. They kept the arts alive. They kept going.

I don't buy into the corporate morass that America's become. They can't fool me, because I choose to pay attention and be informed. However, I do buy into the country that has always been here: the workers who kept going no matter who they voted for. They knew even if they agreed with what the candidate said he was going to do, the guy with the winning smile probably wasn't going to make those changes, anyway. Government was accepted as too big, and out of hand, and spending money the wrong way. And we all knew it, but we kept going. These people are the America I believe in. They are the reason this country hasn't crumbled under all the hypocrisy its bloated government has put it through.

So people, please. I truly beg of you. Let's close this most important of Continental Divides. Let's be informed. I walked out of my dorm after Obama officially became the President-elect, and someone ran up to me and screamed, "Obama or McCain?" Tehcnically, she didn't ask me anything, but I replied calmly, "Bob Barr" (the Libertarian candidate). She didn't ask who he was (I'm positive she didn't know), but instead replied like a third grader who just threw some other kid's lollipop in the sandbox, "Ha-ha! You lost!"

Really? This isn't some Yankees-Red Sox game at the end of August that has possible playoff implications; it's the election of our leader for the next four years! If you want to be so wildly behind a cause, then support knowing more about the people you vote into office, instead of blindly following the parade out on campus.

I'm not trying to be a party pooper, here. For the people who buy into Obama's proposed policies, I'm glad your candidate got elected, and for your sanity's sake, I hope he does at least some of what he promises to do. But do you even know what those promises are? Or do you just chant his name and his slogan, "Change," blindly? For the McCain-ers, you have a right to be upset over your candidate's loss, but leaving the country? To a Socialist state? Any so-called conservative making those claims doesn't even know what his party stands for. For a party that's so violently against embracing Hispanics and Spanish as an official language, a lot of you sure talk Stupid pretty fluently.

There are more than two parties. There are always more than two candidates, two choices. Wake up, people.

Mike Gilch is a member of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a Rutgers University freshman, majoring in Journalism.

Carthago Delenda Est

By Daniel Leven
Spring 2008

“It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.”
~ George Washington

President Washington penned these words as part of his Presidential Farewell Address – one of the many Presidential traditions he started. Through all his public experience, he learned much about the American people. Washington gave this recommendation knowing that Americans are a fickle lot. Like Washington, I say this not to chastise, but to recommend prudence on the part of our leaders. This idea of of prudence in governmental action is central to a libertarian foreign policy.

The best way to implement a prudent foreign policy is through non-intervention. Note that this is not the same as the isolationism of the 1920's. A non-interventionist does not want to shut himself or herself off from the world. A non-interventionists believe that, rather than police the world, the United States should cooperate and trade peacefully with most other countries. With more humility in external affairs, by not assuming that American culture is superior, the United States would probably find itself with more friends and less enemies.

That is not to say that such a policy would defeat all American antagonists. There will always be enemies of the freedoms American citizens enjoy. The current American policy resembles the ancient Roman saying “Carthago Delenda Est:” Carthage must be destroyed. Does this not resemble the foreign policy of America over the last half century? Following in the tradition of Imperialism, whenever America defeats an enemy, the United States military then proceeds to build a military base in the country. Of what use is this? So the American government can strike back easily at any action that hurts America? To construct a lasting symbol of the country's defeat? Or, are the bases simply over there to protect American assets abroad? Whatever the reason for the bases' existence, one must acknowledge that all three presented reasons are accomplished, and that all three smack of Imperialism. They present either a feeling of subjugation, or imply that American assets are too important to be trusted with the natives.

So, given all the negatives of our current foreign policy: what is to be done? The American government could start by not wasting manpower, tax dollars, and materials abroad in the forms of such bases. There are still American bases in Germany! But, the government should not just close the bases in the “good countries.” To paraphrase Congressman Ron Paul – who is still running for President if anyone cares – imagine how you would feel if there were a Chinese base anywhere on American soil. This presence of military might that is not your own creates a fear and loathing for the oppressing military. The really powerful example of such a fear and loathing is America's presence in Saudi Arabia, especially near the holy cites of Mecca and Medina. This was among the main reasons Osama Bin Laden declared war on the United States. I do not think we should shut these bases down to appease him, nor any other foreigners. These bases should be closed to clear the American conscience. To live up to the founder's dream of an America which does not look for trouble. An America that is a beacon of freedom and education to the rest of the world, not a bastion of power and fear.

Daniel Leven is the Vice-President of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a School of Arts and Sciences Junior, majoring in Mathematics.

Education and the Election

By Liam Jaeger
Spring 2008

Any person who doubts that education reform should be at the forefront of the upcoming U.S. presidential race needs only to look at the most recent Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) from 2006. While politicians pander on hot button issues such as abortion and gay marriage, and commentators perpetually inquire into why Barack Obama doesn’t wear an American flag lapel pin, our country’s educational system is falling desperately behind in national rankings. Out of 30 countries, U.S. fifteen year-olds trail behind 16 others in science and 23 in mathematics. Those countries outranking the U.S. included Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, Belgium, and Finland who placed first in science and second in math.

Expectedly these results were a wakeup call for the U.S., as President Bush has made efforts towards increased funding to improve the quality of our country’s math and science education programs. However, is a lack of funds really the problem? According to the 2007 Education at a Glance report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), who is responsible for coordinating the PISA, the U.S. is the second highest spending country on education. Findings also showed that the U.S. spends more money per student and a greater percentage of its GDP on education than, you guessed it, Finland.

In fact, schools in countries such as Belgium that fail to deliver a quality education are shut down rather than given more funding. In these countries money is not given directly to the school, but instead to each individual student in the form of vouchers. Each student then gets to make the choice of which school they wish to attend instead of being assigned to one, thus putting pressure on the schools to educate well in order to attract more students. It is worthwhile to note that this system is one that was espoused by one of Rutgers’s greatest alumni, Nobel Prize-winning economist and intellectual, Milton Friedman.

Is this pressure such a bad thing? When a person wants a pizza for dinner, they will choose to give their money to the restaurant that provides the best one for the price. It is this sense of competition that creates an incentive to provide better services, whether that service is food, a cell phone plan, or an automobile, and it is what our public school system lacks. Consider teacher unions. These groups have made it so difficult to fire incompetent teachers that even those who have been accused of sexual harassment are still allowed in the classroom, let alone those who simply do not teach efficiently. It is so tedious to get rid of a tenured teacher that most principles won’t even bother jumping through all the hoops to do so. Can you think of any other profession in which your performance has little to no effect on whether or not you will keep your job? What kind of incentive to perform well does this provide?

By moving towards a less government-regulated and unionized education system, our country’s schools could gain an autonomy allowing for positive growth and change. It should not be surprising that we need only to look to Finland to find evidence that this can happen. Finnish schools have no uniforms, no honors societies, no valedictorians, no classes for gifted students, no internet regulation in their libraries and no national standardized testing. Teachers are also given a great deal more academic freedom than those in the U.S. As long as Finland and other countries continue to outperform our students to the extent which they have been, it would be incredibly ignorant to leave the topic of education on the back burner during the months leading up to November.

Liam Jaeger is the Public Relations Director of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a Rutgers College Senior, majoring in Mathematics.

The Pope

By James Murphy
Spring 2008

The Vicar of Catholics, the Holy See, and the President of Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI came for a week-long visit to the United States last week. Before I get into the details of his trip, I want to praise the man for his sensibility. His proposed solution to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa is not condom use or the promotion of any other kind of birth control, but abstinence and chastity. Under that outrageous, pointy hat lies a powerful brain, churning away constantly, and spitting out the solutions. Rather than accommodate for a natural, carnal human tendency that’s written deeply into our DNA, why not try to stifle and stalemate it, albeit in a continent that’s clearly having lots of sex? Home run, supreme pontiff.

Onto his visit. Throughout his visit to the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, Ground Zero, Yankees stadium, and Washington, his holiness pushed all the right buttons with feel-good rhetoric and measured tones, leaving everyone warm and fuzzy, without making any likely lasting impact. This is a good thing. We don’t want to rekindle the fires of religious faith and obedience.

In adhering to the tradition of mass at Yankees’ stadium, the pope gets major brownie points. It’s a nice touch. After all, what generates more revenue, organized religion or organized sports? Why not combine the two? I’m certain the multi-network simulcast gave every media executive a huge chubby. All it did for me was make me miss the Lakers’ playoff game. Religion wins more than Kobe does. After pontificating to the sell-out crowd, the ambassador of faith, and the man with a special relationship with god made his departure in the ultimate embodiment of faith, his bullet-proof golf cart, the Popemobile, enshrouded by more body guards than the President. I guess God’s protection isn’t enough nowadays. I hope everyone that made it to the mass managed to get his autograph and/or blessing; preferably the former.

Ultimately, this mini-rant only really strikes a chord with the Libertarian party’s philosophy in its anti-establishment overtones, and atheistic leanings. In a very basic sense, this is meant to be a criticism of the mass-media sensationalism that permeates everyday journalism, and my, however futile, effort to ‘put my foot down.’

James Murphy a member of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a Rutgers College Junior, majoring in Biology.

What is a Libertarian?

By Daniel Leven
Spring 2008

As I am writing this article, I ask myself: Do I really know what a libertarian is? Does anyone really? The only people I know who are willing to clearly state what makes someone a libertarian, are people who only would want to do so to distance themselves from the movement. The libertarians I know, including myself, tend to get squeamish if someone asks them what makes them a libertarian. The one thing they will say: a firm belief in freedom.

Henry Ward Beecher once opined: “Liberty is the soul’s right to breathe, and when it cannot take a long breath, laws are girdled too tight.” The libertarian believes firmly that freedom is at the heart of human rights. Liberty is the seminal prerogative of man; without it no other rights can exist. Out of respect for liberty—man’s most basic birthright—the libertarian places freedom at the root of his or her name, at the base of his or her ideas.

From this basic love of freedom, stems a firm belief in the virtues of individualism. Typically, a libertarian has a deep respect for an individual’s rights and beliefs. The general sentiment is, to borrow from Voltaire, “I do not agree with a word you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.” The libertarian sees a deep value in anything an individual rationally decides to do with his/her time. From this respect for individualism, also comes an inherent distrust in collectivism.

Within this anti-collectivism lies the problem; not just for defining the rest of a libertarian system of thought, but also with having a libertarian club or party. The act of joining, of submitting an individual’s name and goals to an organization, is inherently suspect to the libertarian. Thus, to comment further on what a libertarian is would require me to claim some authority, however small, on what other libertarians believe. So, I cannot, in good conscience, go on to definitively state what the rest of my club believes. But, I will try to generalize (that is, please read the following as if “generally” was tacked on at the beginning of every sentence).

In terms of government, “limited” is the new stand-by word. While the movement might have had its start in anarchism, the general feeling of the American libertarianism is that a strict constitutional government is the best kind of government. As a brief reminder, the government called for in the Constitution is one where the federal government lacks the power to tax income, let alone the power to censor what everyone watches (I am talking to you, Federal Communications Commission).

Economically, the libertarian is generally a capitalist. Due to the love of freedom, most libertarians believe in a free market, where both businesses and consumers have the liberty to buy or sell whatever they would like.

The social beliefs of a libertarian literally run the gamut. The most liberal stance is one where the only laws on the book are laws which prevent physical hurt. The most conservative stance would be indistinguishable from the rightest of the Christian Right.

However, I would like to emphasize once and for all that the typical views of a libertarian are moderate, just like the typical American. To summarize our politics, using basic American labels: the average liberal believes in social freedom and economic control, whereas the average conservative believes in economic freedom and social control. The average libertarian believes in both social freedom and economic freedom. I hope this clarifies why the articles within are so diverse. As an editor, I should demand for you to read the articles contained in this paper, but I wouldn’t want to take that freedom away from you.

Daniel Leven is the Vice-President of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a School of Arts and Sciences Junior, majoring in Mathematics.

Ron Paul, Pizza, and Tent State

-A letter from the President
By Josh Hagewood
Spring 2008

We thought that talking about Ron Paul would be a good way to get people to meetings, but it turns out, pizza has more power than Paul. In trying to get people to our meetings this year, we’ve…well…we haven’t done much. And really, you could just chalk that up to our political ideology. We won’t do that though. We’d like to think that there’s more to it than that.

We took a poll asking Rutgers students if they knew what a libertarian was. Ten percent of the students said that they did, but said it awkwardly—the way that says, “Hey, I’m totally full of it,” or “dude, I really don’t feel like being bothered right now.”

Ok, so we lied. We didn’t take that poll, but we did take another one. At Tent State (the university of FREE), we asked a number of our peers to ban “dihydrogen monoxide”—a material that is of serious consequence to the environment. It’s in our oceans, we bathe in it, and yes—your children will someday drink it. The response was sensational. Students with a heart signed the petition without much encouragement. Others signed sheepishly, but did so without any questions asked. One student asked what it was. So we told him.

Dihydrogen monoxide contains two H’s and one O. Which is H2O. Which, for all you scholars out there, is water.

We won’t tell you how many signed, but the number was substantial. The only reason why we stopped is because we started feeling guilty. And it’s because they have real feelings too. Even though they didn’t think enough to ask what it was, or didn’t remember back to high school chemistry, we’re convinced that if we told them what they signed for, it would still hurt their feelings. Ok, so maybe it was a sad joke, but what we really dislike, is that most of the people there were joiners. They join because it’s cool. And well, when you don’t understand something (like libertarianism)—it’s not so cool.

While the articles within this publication will frame the libertarian ideology, I figured I’d give you my rendition of libertarianism (with no correlation to the water petition above)—government is like water; we need it, but if there’s too much of it, we’ll drown. In principle, libertarians believe in freedom politics, limited government, free markets, civil liberties, constitutionality, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. Now for some shameless self-promotion—we are the Rutgers Libertarians, and welcome to our publication, The Invisible Hand.

Josh Hagewood is the President of the Rutgers Libertarians. He is a Livingston College Senior, majoring in History and Geography.

Welcome

Welcome to The Invisible Hand. Over the past few semesters, our organization--The Rutgers Libertarians--has made numerous efforts to get our writing into print. Unfortunately (for reasons that we won't explore), there have been some roadblocks to this end. To ensure that the work of the numerous individuals who have contributed to the cause of liberty is rewarded, we have created this blog; it will be a repository of writings from the group. We will begin by posting articles that were written in the spring semester of 2008. I am forever grateful for those individuals who have helped this organization develop into the political beast (of sorts) that it has become. I am moved that our words of freedom have been heard. Here's to a continuation of that cause.

In Liberty,

Josh Hagewood
President, Rutgers Libertarians