Monthly Archives: July 2010
Guest Editor on Strike-the-Root
I am now the Friday guest editor on Strike-the-Root.com. Strike-the-Root has published several of my opinion columns in the past, and is, according to their website, “a daily journal of current events and commentary from a libertarian/market anarchist perspective. The mission of STR is to advance the cause of liberty, primarily by de-mystifying and de-legitimizing the State. STR seeks a world where people are free to live their lives as they see fit, as long as they don’t use force or fraud against peaceful people.” Those are principles I can support.
My job as guest editor basically involves posting 15 links on the site every Friday. The links are mostly libertarian in nature, but some can be humorous or simply interesting. If you have any suggestions for interesting articles, let me know!
Nietzsche and the State
A long-overdue return to Strike-the-Root. This is my favorite of the columns I’ve written so far this year, and one that I think my readers will enjoy as well. I’m planning on doing two follow up pieces, “Gasset and the State” and “Nietzsche contra Gasset,” but you’ll have to make do with this one for now.
Nietzsche and the State
By Michael Kleen
Exclusive to STR
“Where the state ends—look there, my brothers! Do you not see it, the rainbow and the bridges of the overman?”
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is one of the most famous of the modern philosophers. A prolific writer on just about every subject, his views on the modern state have been largely overshadowed by his critique of morality, which is a shame because despite the adoption of his philosophy by political movements after his death, Nietzsche held a very clear and consistently critical view of the subject throughout his adult life. In his more sober moments, he saw the modern state as nothing more than a vehicle for mass power and as a squanderer of exceptional talent. In his most feverish moods, the state was “a cold monster” and a base falsehood…
Internet Censorship: A Litmus Test for Freedom
My new column has been posted:
Internet Censorship: A Litmus Test for Freedom
By Michael Kleen
As the sole bastion of total freedom on the planet, a place where the unfettered exchange of information and ideas can take place over thousands of miles virtually instantaneously, it didn’t take long for the Internet to come under attack. A global map of Internet censorship is like an atlas of freedom and totalitarianism. It perfectly illustrates that Internet censorship is a litmus test of to what degree a government fears the free exchange of ideas, with a closed society on one end and an open society on the other.
While the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, Libya, Cuba, and the other usual suspects occupy one end of the spectrum, Western democracies are supposed to occupy the other. It should be alarming, then, that a number of laws meant to restrict and regulate the Internet have been introduced in Western nations, leading to the question: if the unrestricted flow of information occupies one end of the spectrum, and totalitarian control of information occupies the other end, in what direction are our elected officials heading? The answer is clear, and the fear with which these officials demonstrate toward the freedom of information is laid bare through their statements in support of such legislation…
