November 14 (Lester Pearson Collegiate, Malvern) Debate Opening Statement (November 20, 2005)
Note as of January 2015: some of the emphasis I have in these speeches on certain issues may seem kind of offensive to some. I think there are certain underlying principles that I stand by, but there are other issues relating to economics that are debatable, and also I believe it’s possible that “right-wing” or libertarian views can be misused by the establishment in order to justify their policies–which take place in a situation where people are dependent on the government and have a natural right to a say in controlling what happens to public shared resources. Both sides of the dialectic make assumptions about the system they’re living in being “free market” when it’s really not.
Also, the worst assumptions to make are that people are not being stolen from by the establishment even when there is so-called “privatization,” or that people are making “progress” towards a more rational society and they assume “rational” means in the best interests of the public–when that has nothing at all to do with the way our society is run.
And we naively assume a lot of things about having freedom. Go ahead and prove to yourself how much freedom you really have by asking yourself some hard questions about your own life. The propaganda from media and education induces a false view of reality.
When I was giving these speeches, I was trying to picture a more ideal society in which the law protects peoples’ rights and people are truly free, and also a society in which there is real freedom for people to do their own business with minimal laws and regulations and taxes and fake “free trade” agreements that ship jobs and prosperity overseas. That would automatically be a prosperous society, but it’s not a society run by monopolist robber barons.
If the prosperity has left us, it has been stolen from us! We need to deal with that reality, and also with the reality that our freedoms and rights have been taken away from us. We used to have something–not everything we should have had either but more than what we have now! After 9/11 we started losing more and more of our rights and freedoms, and every month and year that goes by. That’s theft too! Never mind the ideology you have. This needs to be stopped. Our freedoms need to be recovered.
In any case, there is something of value to examine principles from different points of view and think about them for ourselves without adopting blindly someone else’s formula. Maybe there are points on both the “left” and the “right” that are correct, or maybe people are misunderstanding the ideology that is fed to them and they don’t realize it is being used to take away rights. It’s like the two raptors in Jurassic Park – except these are different colors – one comes at you from the left and his brother (wearing blue) comes at you from the right. They both say the right things. And one of them–to you–depending on whether your propaganda fix has been “red” or “blue”–seems friendlier to you.
By-Election Statements
November 14 Debate (Lester Pearson Collegiate, Malvern)
Opening Statement (Approximate)
I’d like to thank the sponsors of this event for giving me this opportunity to speak. I’m very honoured that all of you are taking the time this evening to listen to different points of view.
As a Libertarian, I believe, as Lord Acton said, that liberty is the highest political end.
In a society based on liberty, people would be free to make their own choices as long as they respect the rights of their neighbours.
But the way our system works now is that people use the government to control their neighbours.
As a Libertarian, I don’t want to be controlled by the government, and I don’t want to use the government to control my law-abiding neighbours.
In the current system, the government has no clear limits, but in a Libertarian system, the government would be limited to protecting basic individual rights – life and property rights – against real crimes such as violence, theft, and fraud – and against pollution and other trespasses.
In the current system, the government regulates our choices in every area of life. It controls food production with marketing boards, it controls natural resources, it controls what property owners can do with their land, it controls what kind of health care services are available, and it social-engineers our lives with bike helmets, dog laws, booster seats, and anti-smoking legislation. But customers and business owners should be free to make their own choices about smoking.
The Ontario government even has a new Minister of Health Promotion to advise us on our diet and exercise habits.
And the government forces everyone – through property tax – to pay for public education – and won’t allow parents to use this money to educate their children in their own way, in their own values, according to their traditions.
Taxes are taken from Ontarians and used in any way the government pleases – to fund itself – to fund the auto industry, to fund the forest industry, or to fund the Lord of the Rings musical.
But what about people who need that money which is taxed away from them to start a business or to look after their aging parents?
My ideal is a voluntary society in which we are not forced to pay taxes, in which government is funded by other means, and in which we are all much wealthier and have more to give to the needy through private welfare.
I would abolish rent controls that lead to housing shortages and run-down apartments.
I would end the minimum wage, which keeps unskilled young people unemployed.
I would end certification monopolies that prevent immigrants from working in their profession.
And I would end health care restrictions that lead to health care shortages.
If you vote for the other parties, you’re voting to continue things as they are – you’re voting for political Parties that want to control your life.
On the other hand, voting Libertarian – voting for Alan Mercer – sends the message that you want government to have limits, that you don’t want to use government to control your neighbours.
Thank-you very much.