On a similar topic (and quoted in Woods’ talk), below is a short excerpt from Murray N. Rothbard’s greatest work, Man, Economy, and State. Rothbard is no longer living, but he’s an excellent proponent of human freedom.

 The free market, in fact, is precisely the diametric opposite of the “jungle” society. The jungle is characterized by the war of all against all. One man gains only at the expense of another, by seizure of the latter’s property. With all on a subsistence level, there is a true struggle for survival, with the stronger force crushing the weaker. In the free market, on the other hand, one man gains only through serving another, though he may also retire into self-sufficient production at a primitive level if he so desires. It is precisely through the peaceful co-operation of the market that all men gain through the development of the division of labor and capital investment. To apply the principle of the “survival of the fittest” to both the jungle and the market is to ignore the basic question:Fitness for what? The “fit” in the jungle are those most adept at the exercise of brute force. The “fit” on the market are those most adept in the service of society. The jungle is a brutish place where some seize from others and all live at the starvation level; the market is a peaceful and productive place where all serve themselves and others at the same time and live at infinitely higher levels of consumption. On the market, the charitable can provide aid, a luxury that cannot exist in the jungle.

     The free market, therefore, transmutes the jungle’s destructive competition for meagre subsistence into a peaceful co-operative competition in the service of one’s self and others. In the jungle, some gain only at the expense of others. On the market, everyone gains. It is the market—the contractual society—that wrests order out of chaos, that subdues nature and eradicates the jungle, that permits the “weak” to live productively, or out of gifts from production, in a regal style compared to the life of the “strong” in the jungle. Furthermore, the market, by raising living standards, permits man the leisure to cultivate the very qualities of civilization that distinguish him from the brutes.

     It is precisely statism that is bringing back the rule of the jungle—bringing back conflict, disharmony, caste struggle, conquest and the war of all against all, and general poverty. In place of the peaceful “struggle” of competition in mutual service, statism substitutes calculational chaos and the death-struggle of Social Darwinist competition for political privilege and for limited subsistence.

• Chair: Josh Hanson
• Vice Chair: Jim Waldron
• Treasurer: Todd Zimmerman
• Secretary: Brian Lambrecht

Time: 7:00 PM (Arrive by 6:30 if you would like to eat before the meeting)

Location: IHOP – 167 Danada Square East, Wheaton, IL. Click here for a map.

Details: 2012 is a BIG year for the DuPage Libertarians! Access to the ballot this year will be much easier than in the past, and we’re gearing up to make a big impact! Join the DuPage Libertarians as we elect our new leadership for the coming year.

If anyone is interested in running for one of the four open positions, please e-mail DuPageLibertarians@gmail.com or call 630-200-9527.

Open Positions:

• Chair

• Vice Chair

• Treasurer

• Secretary

Please note that only those who have paid their membership dues ($24/year) are eligible to vote.  If you have not yet paid your dues, you may do so by clicking the “donate” button at the top right corner of our site, or just bring your dues to the meeting.

For more specifics on the loss of our liberties, see the following articles posted today on some other libertarian websites of note:

“Today is Bill of Rights Day” (Cato Institute)

“Bill of Rights. FTW!” (Tenth Amendment Center)

“The Bill of Rights vs the FDA and the NDAA” (Tenth Amendment Center)

“Happy Bill of Rights Day” (Mercatus Center)

• Chair
• Vice Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary

Time: Arrive between 6:30 and 7:00 PM

Location: John & Tony’s – 27W371 North Ave, West Chicago, IL 60185  Click here for a map.

Another year has come and gone, and we felt that it was time to get together and close out the year with some good times with good friends. If you’re one of the many good libertarians in DuPage County that we haven’t seen in a while, I hope you’ll come out and spend a fun-filled evening with us.

Join the DuPage Libertarians for our holiday dinner at John & Tony’s and get to know what we’ve been up to this year, and what we have in mind for the next. The state of Illinois has given us a bit of a Christmas gift in that our signature requirements to get on the ballot are MUCH lower this year, and as a result, we are very excited about the campaign opportunities we will have in 2012!

Time: 7:00 PM (Arrive by 6:30 if you would like to eat before the meeting)

Location: IHOP – 167 Danada Square East, Wheaton, IL. Click here for a map.

Details: The DuPage Libertarians have been given a gift of sorts by the State of Illinois. Signature requirements for Congressional candidates are MUCH lower this time around (some are roughly one-third the previous requirements) and therefore we have a far easier route to getting our candidates on the ballot. Come out and learn how to get involved!

On the agenda:

• Legislator Vote Card: Identifying good legislators?
• The Political Vise: A Strategy for Legislative Success
• Understanding the Legislature and How a Bill Becomes Law
• How to Successfully Interact with Legislators and Their Staff
• Top Ten Tips to A Successful Capitol/Legislator Visit
• Persuading the Public through Letter to the Editor
• Stepping Up: Preparing for the Next Generation of Leaders in Illinois

I hope to meet plenty of new libertarian friends at this event!  Click here to register!