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The Other Enemy of Free Enterprise

I love Free Enterprise. The Republicans claim to be defending Free Enterprise against the socialists. So why am I not a Republican? Why am I writing for The Free Liberal?

One answer is that freedom is more than Free Enterprise. Freedom is more than freedom from the policeman or the bureaucrat. Poverty is a form of unfreedom – a restriction on personal options regardless of how small or democratic one’s government may be.

The other answer is that the political Right can be just as dangerous an enemy of economic freedom as the Left. I encountered this idea years ago when reading Adam Smith and Murray Rothbard. However, this point did not really hit home until I read a short essay in LP News by science fiction author David Brin.

This essay helped trigger a state change in my thinking which led to Holistic Politics and to the discussion with Kevin Rollins which led to The Free Marketeer becoming The Free Liberal.

Just recently, I have had the honor of publishing a much longer essay by Brin on this subject. It can be found on the Libertarian Reform Caucus web site (www.ReformTheLP.org). This essay was originally written in 1986, but only now has been published in this form. Read it and see one of the important inspirations for the modern free liberal movement.

Free-for-all (frfr-ôl) -- n. A disorderly fight, argument, or competition in which everyone present participates.

from Dictionary.com



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About the Free Liberal
The Free Liberal is an independent journal of transpartisan thought.

The views expressed herein are those of the writers individually and not necessarily those of the Free Liberal, the Center for Liberty and Community, or its board of directors.