The majority of modern “free trade” agreements have one major goal in mind, regulatory harmonisation. Rather than opening up barriers by removing tariffs and costly regulations, which is what free trade actually entails if we follow the ideas of John Bright and Richard Cobden, regulations are harmonised through international product regulation and the creation of one set of regulatory protocols. Increasingly, this is becoming US-centric via FTAs like TTIP and TPP, as well as NAFTA. Continue reading →

In the short-term I’d like to see smaller, more decentralised nation-states that begin to codify the right of secession. Once that is codified, as it has been in more ancient legal codes such as Saxon law, the monopoly of violence which I think defines the state and from which many other monopolies (such as those defined by Benjamin Tucker) flow from can be more easily broken. I think this is best accomplished today simply because state’s cannot crush movements (localist, decentralist, secessionary, etc.) in an age of mass media and 24 hour news without some form of backlash. Already this can be seen in the increasing importance and significance of nationalist and regionalist movements throughout Europe. There is no possibility that the EU could seriously mount more than a political offensive against such movements who are increasing in power. Continue reading →

In seeing the pointless brutality of police shooting Black people who have committed petty crimes (which should not be crimes) and those who have committed no crime, we see the reality of a state constructed for a particular elite, that cannot tolerate autonomy or independence that removes individuals and groups from its grasp. With Black Americans (as well as Black British) that role is of a permanent, entrenched underclass that can serve as a pool of cheap labour and as a source of externalisation for the overconsumption present in capitalism. Cheap jobs and cheap junk finds its way into impoverished neighbourhoods. Further, it serves as a racial barrier, or, in a way, a warning for the poor white people who may dare question the stupidities and excesses that define state capitalism. Those who benefit from state capitalism can smirk and point them towards Black neighbourhoods and show them how life would be for them if they don’t except slightly better conditions. Continue reading →

The Labour Party has proven itself completely ineffectual. They’ve got a leader who can barely develop policy due both to his incompetence and a continually growing cadre of backbench MPs who stand for literally nothing but a centrist, simplistic Labour Party. In a country where the political landscapes are radically changing, with the concept of a centre-ground voting bloc taking a kicking, the Labour Party seems to serve no purpose other than an increasingly small clique of middle class left wingers in London. Continue reading →

I’ve previously written off the idea of regarding the entrepreneur as akin to the Nietzschean Ubermensch, the superman who will lead man forward to new heights of heroism and creation. In order for the Ubermensch to develop, he must have a will to power that ignores worldly moralities and compassions and instead focuses on the individual’s inner contradictions and capabilities. Out of such comprehensive self-direction develops a radical aristocracy of leaders and innovators who move the world forward, above the herd mentality of the masses. I fundamentally believe in such a concept as a way of developing a society of meritocratic hierarchies and radical traditionalism, shaped by paganistic, European and gnostic values and morals, constructed with private and natural law. Continue reading →

An excellent question that is raised by Jonathan Meades on his program about the architecture of Mussolini’s Italy. It seems, as Meades points out, to be a pointless neologism that applies to whatever the forces of anti-fascism believe at any particular time. In many ways, it’s akin to the state’s use of the word extremist, effectively denoting unpopular opinions as beyond the pale. This ironically develops into Orwellian conceptions of a fascist society, where words and thoughts are controlled by the centralised structures of popular culture and statism. Thoughts become unthinkable not by the direct oppression of the state, but through the movements and dynamics of popular political opinion and culture. Continue reading →

Modern markets are fundamentally unfree. Most libertarians and anarchists realise this, and see that centuries of systemic state intervention have created infrastructures that are wasteful, coercive and destructive. The majority of capitalist markets, rather than developing through spontaneous order, are in fact borne out these infrastructures, growing as deformed appendages that have some elements of competition and ground-up innovation, but mostly being suited toward government-created and subsidised corporations who are so capital intensive that they rely on and use these infrastructures to keep their profitability, and with it their monopoly status. Continue reading →

The conceptions of Jeffersonian governance pride equality before the law, the democratic will of the people tempered by intelligent argumentation and natural societal hierarchies, and a belief in limited, decentralised government. Within this tradition, governance should never truly invade the sensibilities and direction of succeeding generations, and should never supersede the choice of governance that one believes in. From such ideas came the Articles of Confederation, a decentralist set of ideas that gave significant autonomy and rights to the individual states of the Union. Further, Jefferson’s concept of sunset clauses naturally implanted within legislation and law-making[1] the decentralist idea of individual sovereignty and the right of the generation of the living to not be burdened by the collective irresponsibility’s of their ancestors. Continue reading →

The national minimum wage introduced in 1999 by the Blair government was seen as one of the best policies to tackle exploitative work and the conditions of low pay. What better than to create a floor under which no one can fall. Well it seems that floor was not so stable, as young people have borne the brunt of this misguided policy. Effects as serious as rising youth unemployment, significant underemployment and a range of masking effects have led to a situation of under-saturated labour markets and the continual need for young adults to seek other activities such as university education and government-based training schemes, or simply drop out of the labour market altogether. It has also had the effect of deskilling young people and making them reliant on the welfare state and low-skill, low-pay employment through Jobcentres and Jobseekers Allowance schemes.