In the last 24 hours the Sun chain has published two staunchly anti-libertarian editorials, which is a little surprising given the events of the past few weeks. I will link to them under the fold. My purpose for doing so is not at all to bash the Sun or libertarians – rather it’s used as a segue and an excuse to post some of my favourite economics links.
First:
Kids need a kick in the lazy butt an editorial that is written every generation about the generation that follows it. Starts off as your typical “get off my lawn” rant, but ends with:
And let’s talk about a year of compulsory military or community service at age 18.
We can talk about bringing back the draft, but it’ll be a short conversation – “No”. But I will use this as an excuse to post one of my favourite articles: The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft (PDF) by David Henderson (yes, the Econlog guy). Abstract:
Economists laid much of the intellectual foundation for ending military conscription in the United States. Walter Oi and others laid out a solid analytic case against the draft, pointing out that the cost of a drafted military exceeded the cost of an all-volunteer force but that this cost fell heavily on the shoulders of draftees and draft-induced volunteers. Economists, including Milton Friedman, James C. Miller III, and W. Allen Wallis, made this case to the public. Economists were heavily involved in writing the staff reports for the President’s Commission on the All-Volunteer Force. When the draft rears its ugly head, economists are freedom’s first line of defense.
The second editorial – Smoking marijuana far from harmless which argues, in part, that marijuana should be kept illegal because of an impaired driving death 11 years ago (though for some reason it doesn’t make the argument that alcohol should be made illegal, despite impaired driving deaths.
A few years ago a group of over 500 economists signed a petition calling for the end of marijuana prohibition, including Nobel laureates Milton Friedman, George Akerlof and Vernon Smith – I discuss the petition and associated research here. A discussion of legalization in Canada can be found at the Fraser Institute. Legalizing and taxing marijuana could bring in several billion dollars in Canada. I’m a little surprised no North American jurisdiction has gone that route. Maybe everyone is waiting for someone else to be first.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
There’s also a good piece on economists & the draft written from a libertarian perspective:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north235.html
In both articles the work of Walter Oi is discussed. He’s one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
I think we all know that Sun Media’s politics are dictated by what appeals to old cranks rather than any particular ideological streak. Gad sir! If the draft was good enough for the Greatest Generation then it might just kick these lazy young whippersnappers into shape, what with their X-Boxes and their Walkmen and what-have-you.
Armchair historians will note that if legalization of illicit drugs is done with the purpose of increasing tax revenue, that would mirror the banning of slavery in the Roman Empire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracalla
“The Constitutio Antoniniana, granting Roman citizenship to freemen throughout the Roman Empire, according to historian Cassius Dio in order to increase taxation.”
If I remember correctly, slaves (as property) couldn’t pay taxes. Curiously, this still wasn’t enough to earn Caracalla “good emperor” status. Must’ve been all the assassinations…
“…mirror the banning of slavery….”
What a foolish, ill-mannered analogy. You can do better,sir.
In the discussion of Portugal’s decriminalization of drug use, some people noted that legalization (and thus taxation) was off the table from the beginning because of various agreements that (most?) developed countries have with the United States. I know nothing about these agreements, so this may be way off.
Interesting post!
“When the draft rears its ugly head, economists are freedom’s first line of defense.”
I know that the author is not necessarily implying that he agrees with the wording used by David Henderson here – but the assumption made here, that “Freedom” necessarily is opposed the draft surely needs to be challenged. In Germany (where the abolition of the draft is currently being considered) there is considerable discussion of the danger involved in creating a seperate military caste – instead of the army being forced to incorporate everyman. So the Germany case here is that a professional army is potentially a threat to freedom (understood as meaning constitutional democracy).
It is very easy for your language to blind you to how complicated life really is.
In Germany (where the abolition of the draft is currently being considered) there is considerable discussion of the danger involved in creating a seperate military caste – instead of the army being forced to incorporate everyman. So the Germany case here is that a professional army is potentially a threat to freedom (understood as meaning constitutional democracy).
KThomas, I see how you might be put off by the analogy. To be clear, I’m not arguing the moral equivalence of slavery and the legalization of drugs.
What I’m noting is that, while we think of slavery as a moral issue (“slavery is evil”) the government of the Roman Empire banned it, for purely financial considerations. If marijuana or other illicit drugs were legalized by contemporary governments with an interest to raising tax revenue, that would be another case where the government stance on what most people consider a moral issue (“drugs are bad”)… is settled for purely financial considerations.
honestly, Mathew…I can’t for the life of me think of why it matters whether the optimal policy is introduced for financial reasons or for moral reasons… The result is the same either way.