Freedom enthusiasts usually take pride in their understanding of the ethics of liberty and the evils of statism. It is difficult not to read and be enthralled by the works of distinguished libertarian authors such as Murray Rothbard, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Walter Block, and from earlier generations the likes of H L Mencken, Albert Jay Nock and Frank Chodorov, before we even mention Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich von Hayek.
Nevertheless, it is not likely that regurgitating detailed libertarian theory will prove to be the most helpful way of persuading the passive majority of the population that a free society is both economically prosperous and a just social order. Rather, our initial task will be to overcome the statist-bias that most people hold, a bias induced as a result of their indoctrination by their state education, mainstream media and the presumption that any crisis or problem requires at least some kind of state response. This bias crystallises in a number of myths that serve to…
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