Do you consider the United States to be the pinnacle of human freedom, so far?
Do you accept the narrative that the founders were driven by an inherently ancap impulse, and did their level best to restrain the leviathan?
Obviously, the system isn't perfect, people have been undermining restraints on government since before the ink was dry on the bill of rights.
If the US Constitution is the best attempt so far at curbing tyranny, should we undermine that system before we have an operational, viable alternative that provides more liberty?
If the US government were to collapse right now (more plausible than I thought it would be in my lifetime), do you believe that your neighbors are ready to institute something more moral, or are their authoritarian impulses running hot?
I don't believe Donald Trump can coherently articulate a principled line between moral and immoral use of force (or government). However, he was willing to stand up and call out the unbelievable manipulation and dishonesty of the political and media classes, and in so doing, revealed that our traditional safeguards on what liberty we have are crumbling.
Should an ancap work to shore up what we have here until we have a viable plan to create something better?
I'm familiar with the "let it burn" impulse, but I have children. We are currently living in the greatest period of peace and prosperity in human history. Must of us cannot even fathom what life would be like if we collapse the institutions that allow that. There will be blood. And it won't all come leaking out of people you don't like.
Discuss.
Addressing your final paragraph regarding us living in the greatest period of peace and prosperity in human history: we are not in peacetime. There is a covert war that has been raging for awhile now.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrestricted_Warfare
Here is a Wikipedia article talking about "unrestricted warfare", a new type of warfare developed by China that utilizes unconventional methods instead of the traditional boots on the ground approach. We are slowly starting to see the fruits of their labor.
A man who does a great job at explaining unrestricted warfare and what is likely happening today within that context is a man named Jeffrey Prather. His website is jeffreyprather.com. Check out some of his podcasts some time if you're interested!
Thanks!
My libertarian tendencies blinded me for a long time to the danger of China. You know, economic studies showing that free trade, even with a trade partner "cheating" is the best policy.
That's true, if the trade is solely about economic exchange...
But that's not how China conducts trade. It took me an embarrassingly long time to understand that.