Couldn’t have said it better.

“Not only was the primary cause of the Civil War slavery, the problem only came to war in the 1860s because the most Libertarian men among the Founding Fathers (e.g. Jefferson) did not have the political strength to denounce slavery in the Declaration or prohibit it in the Constitution. If they had somehow managed that in the late 1700s, we might not have thrown the baby of small, local government out with the bathwater.”

Couldn’t agree more.

“The post office is a great example. Clearly, you cannot argue that in the beginning of the American Republic that there was any other entity that could provide this service. Large multi national companies did not exists. Large pools of capital did not exist. The national government was one of the few entities to have sufficient means to provide a national postal service.”

Are you still licking the glue on USPS stamps? You present a false dilemma. Lysander Spooner started the American Letter Mail Company in 1844 with hard work, sweat, and ingenuity, not large pools of capital. There’s no reason to think it couldn’t have been done sooner the same way. Even if I SPOT YOU that point, that still wasn’t a reason to make it a monopoly then or keep it as one now.

“If Ron Paul had a better understanding of History and the use of military force he would know that slavery was not ended in the rest of the world without force. The British, once convince that slavery had to end, used its Navy might to blockading the African coast effectively stopping the slave trade. The British people was convinced to end slavery without a war, the Americans was not.”

Hey block head! Blockade not equal to war–civil or otherwise. And the slave trade continued after the British blockade though in diminished capacity. Nearly a million slaves were exported from Nigeria in the nineteenth century in spite of the British blockade.

As far as the “Civil War” goes, the reality is that the Southerners blew a critical pivot in the history of liberty by denying freedom to others at the same time they were trying to win it for themselves.

Well, then the “post office” cracks really don’t hunt, do they? (ANd the statement says exactly what you wrote “EVEN libertarians must …..).

The problem with government is that it is not efficient. It cannot be because the “maximization” process that a government does is a political maximization, not profit or welfare maximization. Even government, operating in its defined sphere will not operate “efficiently”; there will be waste and corruption.

But, unfortunately the government fills real roles that the private sector alone cannot. Free markets and capitalism cannot exist without government a government that protects private property rights, even if it inefficiently does so.

In fact, the libertarian argument is very weak in connection to a democratic government that is based upon the soveirgnty of the People.

The who what now?

Even libertarians must recognize that the government provides some necessary functions…

Since no libertarian would argue that the government doesn’t, this statement appears to be the result of some confusion.

In fact, the libertarian argument is very weak in connection to a democratic government that is based upon the soveirgnty of the People. We created the government, of all levels, by transfering to it certain recognized powers.

THe problem with government is not that it is inefficient. IT almost necessarily is. THe problem with government is that it is not good at giving up power once they have acquired it. The vested interests and beauacrats are good at preventing change.

The post office is a great example. Clearly, you cannot argue that in the beginning of the American Republic that there was any other entity that could provide this service. Large multi national companies did not exists. Large pools of capital did not exist. The national government was one of the few entities to have sufficient means to provide a national postal service.

But, time and technology changes. Clearly the modern day post office is not efficient compared to other entities that could provide the same or similar service. But the entrenched interests, mainly Democratic union protectionism, keeps the post office afloat and protected from its competition.