Stefan Molyneux's Columns
MUST READ "When we think of a truly free market...we understand that we do not have to work for years and years, and give up thousands of hours and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, to satisfy our wishes. If I want to shop for vegetarian food, say, I do not have to spend years lobbying the local supermarket, or joining some sort of somewhat ineffective advisory board, and pounding lawn signs, and writing letters, and cajoling everyone in the neighborhood – all I have to do is go and buy some vegetarian food...." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
"I could not help but think...that should my paternal uncle leap across the table and strangle my maternal uncle, this would be viewed as an immoral horror by everyone involved, and he would doubtless go to jail, probably for the rest of his life. On the other hand, should they be placed in costume, and arrayed across a battlefield according to the whims of other men in costume, such a murder would be hailed as a noble sacrifice, and medals may be passed out, and pensions provided, and tickertape parades possibly ensue." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
MUST READ "The statist looks at a problem and always sees a gun as the only solution – the force of the state, the brutality of law, violence and punishment. The anarchist – the endless entrepreneur of social organization – always looks at a problem and sees an opportunity for peaceful, innovative, charitable or profitable problem-solving." Column by Stefan Molyneux. Spread this one far and wide.
"...when the government trains the children, how do we expect the government to portray itself? Would we expect government-paid teachers to talk openly about the root of state power, which is the initiation of the use of force against legally-disarmed citizens? Would we expect them to openly and honestly talk about the source of their income, which is the property taxes that are forcibly extracted from their students’ parents?" Column by Stefan Molyneux.
"We love the anarchy we live. We fear the anarchy we imagine – the anarchy we are taught to fear." Column by Stefan Molyneux
The Narrative of the 'Free Republic'
"The anarchist view of history can only regard the transfer of political power as directly analogous to the transfer of criminal power, as in the example of organized crime. Since in the anarchist approach all state power is considered criminal, any transfer of that power can be far more accurately understood by looking at criminal gangs, rather than repeating the quasi-ethical ramblings of self-interested state propagandists." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
Recommended "Being offered a choice between two violent alternatives is not the same as being free to choose....People can only freely choose governments, if they have the choice not to choose governments." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
Stefan Molyneux comes clean.
A Stato-Libertarian Analysis of Immigration
Recommended "Thus the argument for immigration controls calls libertarian theory itself into question! On this one issue, libertarianism does not work. On this one issue, apparently, a libertarian (laissez faire) immigration policy is ultimately bad for liberty!" Column by Wilt Alston and Stefan Molyneux.
Libertarians and Taxation: To Pay or Not To Pay?
"Knowing in advance that I would be stolen from for the rest of my life, was it wrong of me to take some portion of that money for myself in advance? It hardly seems so. In a statist society, taxed money exists in a state of nature, like fish in the sea. It can never be returned to its rightful owners, since those can never be reasonably determined – and of course the national debt blurs it beyond any capacity for unraveling. Morally, what happens to money after it is stolen is far less important than the fact that it should never be stolen in the first place." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
"This is very strange, when you think about it. People who don’t use violence to get what they want say that not using violence to get what you want is impossible. People who would never pick up a gun and force their neighbours to pay for their children’s education enthusiastically support the public school system. People who would never shoot a foreigner just because some gray-haired guy told them to are rabid supporters of military imperialism." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
Statism and Moral Responsibility
"It is very hard for the average citizen to realize that, in his relationship with his government, he is little more than a cash cow for taxation, a breeding animal for future taxpayers, and cannon fodder for war." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
MUST READ "But what you’re doing, what you’ve been doing for 20 years, is telling people that the Klan can be good if only the right person is in charge. You’re giving people false hope, because the Klan can never be good." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
Recommended "Thus it must be that many children are delivered into the public school system with their independence already undermined, and filled with unease in the face of arbitrary authority. This lesson can only have come from their parents." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
Strong Atheism: The Case for Evacuating the Middle Ground
"In the world of philosophy, those who make the active claim that God does not exist are often viewed as extremists. Taking a positive stand about the nonexistence of God is considered akin to claiming that all forms of matter, energy and consciousness have already been discovered, and that there is nothing new to be learned from the universe." Column by Stefan Molyneux.
Recommended Column by Stefan Molyneux.
MUST READ "Immigrants weren’t in charge when we lost our freedoms. White guys were. Millions of 'illegal immigrants' threaten you somehow? Compared to your neighbor who votes Democrat or Republican and demands his Social Security? Puh-lease!" Column by Stefan Molyneux and (new Root Striker) Wilton Alston.
Murdering the Group, Saving Individuals
MUST READ "It’s the same with immigration, the national debt, welfare, the war on terror and all the other state-driven and media-obscured questions of the day. Obsessed by details, blind to the obvious, we are like swimmers in shark-infested waters worrying about cramps." Column by new Root Striker Stefan Molyneux.