I was having a conversation with my roommate on the subject of anarchy and austrian econ and the conversation drifted over to an anarchist FOAF we have. He claims that he is a street pharmacist because it’s the one career he can pursue that involves (if he’s successful and lucky) little or no interaction with the State. My roomie observed that my “hobby job” of teaching martial arts is also a “libertarian principled vocation”.. since there is no interaction with the government required. Of course it’s not lucrative (which just goes to show the market is smarter than martial arts junkies like me HA!).
On the flip side you have careers like being a professional militarist, government bureacrat, political lobbyist, employees of the state etc. that are obviously downright EVIL by classical liberal standards.
There are professions that are highly regulated (like medicine and law) that would be alot of fun (worth doing almost for free.. like my teaching hobby) but are basically not very attractive because doing them would involve Constant interaction with the statists.
I was wondering if the folks here on mises.org would care to suggest other professions which tend towards the “liberty” end of the professional spectrum.
Entrepreneurs in fields that aren’t highly regulated (like my street pharmacist FOAF), I suppose numistatists, computer programmers seem like they can avoid excessive regulation. Gunsmiths and gun dealers are regulated but I think they get a pass cause they serve freedom directly right?
What other professions are “righteous work” by Austrian/libertarian standards?
I am a computer programmer by profession and I currently work for a company that provides integrated services for property mortgages. If something came up that I could not tolerate, I could quit and work for someone else (or myself).
I have brought up ideas from my Austrian economics about the housing bubble to my co-workers.
Read this. Avoiding regulation is only part of the equation. My field, finance/estate planning/insurance, is highly regulated but beneficial to the “movement” and highly profitable for myself.
I read the Wikipedia on this, but can you shed some light? Do you mean everything from Google as a business model, to blogging, to Amazon.com, etc? Can you provide examples of what exactly you are referring to?
What I mean is (not doing anything illegal here btw) using the digital economy to work in freer economies where there is less regulation, and employing workers where anti-capitalist labor laws do not have jurisdiction. Selling products which might be banned to sell in your economy between two economies where they are not prohibited.
The state is so far (and falling further behind each day) at regulating trade on the internet just as internet trade is really starting to come out of its infancy. There are enormous opportunities to participate in the digital economy, which is for the most part, business and property tax free, and almost entirely unregulated.
We’ve already seen Amazon punish states which try to introduce taxes on internet transactions. The balance of power is starting to shift, and I am reminded of something Gary North wrote. If you see something evil wobble, push it.
People in the dark are spending their time on Facebook and Reddit complaining they don’t have jobs, when the age of unfettered entrepreneurship is reaching full bloom. There is a gold rush going on.
Don’t stop the evangelism for entrepreneurship. Maybe I’m oversimplifying, but it sounds like you’re talking about using the internet to facilitate the exchange of goods in an unhampered market. This is where opportunities lie. Does that summarize it properly?
LS - “There is a gold rush on.”
Yes, but where is the gold? I am not an entrepreneur, I am blind to it all. You see opportunity, I see nothing. I only see the interventionist economy. You see an unhampered market out there. You see opportunity. I only see an endless downward economic and political spiral toward a totalitarian state.
I believe you are right, that opportunity is there right now just as you say. I just can’t see it. Can you recommend links / books on the subject, or describe some examples from your own experience?
What about becoming a private school teacher? You have far more liberty in the classroom with what you teach, and it’s an excellent opportunity to start spreading the word about Anarchy and the Austrian school. Try and take up economics or history as a subject, it’s where you can make the biggest dent.
Also, try to meet with other entrepreneurs in your same field. I’ve discovered that being a business owner (even a small timer) makes that person inmediately more hostile to government in general. Help them shape and give form to their anti-statist mentality.
On the flip side you have careers like being a professional militarist, government bureacrat, political lobbyist, employees of the state etc. that are obviously downright EVIL by classical liberal standards.
these professions are only evil if you consider the state evil and certainly not all classical liberals consider the state evil. even a straight-up anarcho-capitalist might not consider the state evil if their support for anarchy is based on economic efficiency (i don’t know if david friedman would call all state activity evil for example, but i could be wrong)
The dividing line between Friedmanite and Rothbardian ancaps is that Friedmanite ancaps don’t believe ethics are objective and Rothbardians believe they are. Praxeologically speaking, everyone is a utilitarian.
If he did or not isn’t really relevant, since he would probably be the first person to admit that his personal ethics cannot be proved objectively true. It’s very possible he does think the state is evil, but that isn’t a necessary condition (or disqualifier) for being an ancap.
