On Property... And Barbarianism

To a libertarian, Property is inviolable - that is, in our private conduct. The First Principle of the practising and believing libertarian is Non-Aggression. Thus, when someone's Property has been brutally violated by our political rulers, it gets me wild. Injustice!

We were at Margao today - and lunched at Lounguinho's, the old and quaint restaurant-cafe in the heart of town. The restaurant is not closed and air-conditioned; rather, it is wide open and breezy. Some years ago, we used to smoke there. But then, a crazy nut called Ramadoss became Health Minister in Nude Elly - and he forced through legislation banning smoking in restaurants. I had to carry my gin outside in order to smoke - and it was there that I met the owner. We discussed Property - that it is only he who has the power to make rules as to what cannot be done inside his establishment. The State cannot do that.

Makes you think of the "character" of people like Ramadoss who would bully their way into other people's Property. "Barbarian" is what I call them.

John Locke said:

Where there is no Property, there is no Justice.

So we now know why there is NO JUSTICE in India. Socialism. The unholy myth of "collective property." Barbarians let loose to trample upon the rights of all Individuals - in the name of the Collective.

The bad news is that we are not alone. There are many states that are doing the same thing. I have just finished reading William Dalrymple's From the Holy Mountain, in which he records his travels through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. If you are a libertarian who practices Non-Aggression, you will surely weep copious tears after each chapter. The book is a horror story. The root causes - nationalism and socialism. Politics, not markets. Guns. War. Not peaceful trade. Monoculturalism.

The story of Israel was particularly horrifying. They claim that Israel is the "only democracy in the Middle East." The story Dalrymple tells is proof of Hans-Hermann Hoppe's contention that democracy is incompatible with Property. The State of Israel is barbaric. Period. I once read a statement by an American Jew that said, "Hitler made us afraid of being Jews; Israel makes us ashamed of being Jews." And what is barbaric about the State of Israel is precisely what we are facing here all over India - the systematic violation of the Property of citizens. The State of Israel has made it its standing practice to take over other people's Property - and then build "settlements" on them for Jews. Frankly, I prefer the philosophy of "diaspora."

Then there is Lebanon - and its once glorious multi-cultural city, Beirut. Now bombed out. Christian militias fighting Muslim militias. Mafia wars everywhere. Communalism.

Are these examples of "religion"?

Throughout the book, Dalrymple follows the travels of a 6th century monk. He visits ancient monasteries everywhere. He talks of innumerable "saints" who inhabited these monasteries - many now gone because of monoculturalism and nationalism. That was the "Holy Land." Today, it is quite someplace else.

I was particularly horrified by the stark poverty of the people who live in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Dalrymple writes that they produce 10,000 tonnes of hashish every year. Whatever happened to Property?

Anyway, do read the book. It deserves to be widely read, for it is a very courageous piece of journalism. We read about these places only in brief news reports. A detailed travelogue through these territories tells us much more.

And think about these words: Non-Aggression, Property and Justice.