In the thread on
political labels CCTelander had this to say about pragmatarianism...
Anarcho-capitalists hate coercion. But what is coercion? Coercion is the limitation of somebody's freedom. And what is freedom? Freedom is the ability to make choices for oneself.
Pragmatarianism advocates that taxpayers should be allowed to choose how their taxes are allocated. Giving taxpayers a choice how their taxes are allocated would increase their freedom. By increasing their freedom we would reduce the degree of coercion to which they are subjected.
So if anarcho-capitalists hate coercion...and pragmatarianism can reduce coercion...shouldn't anarcho-capitalists appreciate pragmatarianism? Isn't reducing coercion a step in the right direction?
When I was stationed in Afghanistan I had to give capabilities briefings to various commanders. The point of the briefings was to help the commanders understand how my team could help them accomplish their missions. It was fairly easy to pick out the ineffective commanders because they did not demonstrate any interest in considering alternative approaches. Of course, their lack of interest could have reflected my own ineffectiveness at conveying the value of my team's abilities.
In the fight against socialism Ludwig von Mises was an intellectual general. But in 1922, when he launched his first major offensive, he wrote that there were no third solutions; the choices were either socialism or capitalism. He steadfastly maintained this position in his later books. The problem was that his dichotomy was false.
Let's get algebraic...
A = private ownership of the means of production
B = public ownership of the means of production
1 = market economy
2 = command economy
Capitalism: A1
Socialism: B2
Mixed economy: A1B2
Pragmatarianism: A1B1
Our current economy and that of most of the world's is A1B2. Mises said that A1B2 was unfeasible because it would eventually collapse. The current problems in Europe certainly seem to lend credence to his predictions. But is it possible to consider that both A1 and B2 might have their respective flaws?
Mises' tunnel vision prevented him from seeing possible alternatives. He told the world...these are your choices...A1 or B2. His failure to offer A1B1 as a possible choice reflected that he had inadvertently intellectually coerced himself...and the the rest of the world.
What were the
unintentional consequences of Mises' unintentional coercion? What if in 1922 he had offered A1B1 as a possible choice?
Doesn't pragmatarianism allow for the greatest possible
political freedom? How many bloody wars would have been adverted if Mises hadn't coerced himself and others into believing that there were only two possible choices?
When I was in a remote village in Afghanistan a very distraught lady told us that a couple days earlier the Taliban had beat her husband to death for refusing to give them his family's only food. Is it moral for Americans to be thrown into jail for refusing to make small sacrifices towards preventing situations where people in other countries are killed for refusing to make big sacrifices?
Oversimplifying morality is self-coercion. There will always be lesser evils and greater goods. If you were given the choice, wouldn't it be wholly immoral if you allowed your taxes to support greater evils?
What is the value to society when each and every taxpayer is given the freedom to either maximize the benefit or minimize the harm of their taxes? What is the value of forcing taxpayers to consider the
opportunity costs of their tax allocation decisions? What is the value of applying the invisible hand to the public sector? Here are some additional
pragmatarian questions.
When you tell people that their only choices are capitalism or socialism you are engaging in intellectual coercion. You present a false dichotomy and intentionally limit people's choices. I'm not asking that you tell people that pragmatarianism is a good choice...I'm just asking that you offer it to them as a possible choice.
For the a list of passages where Mises directly references a "third solution" scroll down my blog entry on the
third solution.
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