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Per Bylund
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Joined: 2009-08-30
Columns on STR: 63
Skype: 
per_bylund

GENERAL INFORMATION

Name: 
Per Bylund
Sex: 
Male

Short bio:

Has a passion for justice.

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RECENT COMMENTS BY Per Bylund

Columns by Per Bylund

Friend or Foe?
0
Per Bylund 2004-05-25 16:00
I frequently receive a lot of e-mails to my web site Anarchism.net. Most of them are sent by anarchists with socialist preferences basically claiming I am the most evil man alive, and that I have 'no idea' what anarchism really is. I always respond with a standardized 'why libertarianism is anarchism' e-mail, and usually I never hear from them again. It is obvious these people see me as their...
The Liberation of the Middle East
0
Per Bylund 2004-05-23 16:00
The United States ' occupation of Iraq is generally referred to as the 'liberation' in the news since the state's guns aim to make the new Iraq a democracy. Recently on CNN ( 5/21/04 ), this 'liberation project' was analyzed by experts, who agreed that the success of the project could lead to an eventual democratization of all countries in the Middle East . In the current debate, the (new)...
Here, Please Read My Pamphlet!, Part II
0
Per Bylund 2004-05-09 16:00
I have received a number of responses from people reading my column Here, Please Read my Pamphlet!. It seems many agree with my saying that libertarians really should lead libertarian lives, but that most libertarians find it very hard and risky to find freedom 'within' the state. I agree that it can be difficult. But I did not propose that you should completely hide from the life you are living...
Here, Please Read My Pamphlet!
0
Per Bylund 2004-04-20 16:00
All around the world, people in the libertarian movement are working day and night to get people to notice the libertarian alternative to the war of politics. Columns are written, pamphlets and magazines distributed, campaigns organized, and parties are even formed to take part in elections. The energy and efforts of thousands are directed towards spreading the ideas of liberty, making people...
The "Endarkening"
0
Per Bylund 2004-04-18 16:00
Even though collectivists recently have had a few drawbacks and have been defeated in some areas, they have gained control of philosophy in society. Our world is falling prey to the terrors following collectivism and mysticism. This is what people in the future will call the Endarkening: the destructive era following the productive centuries of Enlightenment and Industrialization. Thanks to...
The Media and Power
0
Per Bylund 2004-04-14 16:00
You could say I hate the news. I watch it all the time to keep updated, but I never believe what is reported as most people do. I simply see the media and its 'news' reporting as a somewhat commercialized state function. Many consider the media a 'third power.' It supposedly has the means and possibility to control whatever the government and state are up to. In a democracy, the media, closely...
To Resist Capitalism
0
Per Bylund 2004-03-09 17:00
The totalitarian left is doing what it can to resist the powers of capitalism, and to restrain the possibilities in the marketplace. Their goal with the big government policy is partly to choke to death the free enterprise and spontaneous wealth-creating activities we know as the Market. Their quest must, however, fail; it must fail because it is fundamentally flawed. Rule number one in long-...
Competition in Private Justice
0
Per Bylund 2004-03-04 17:00
Justice and the enforcement of individuals' rights is probably the most essential and important part of libertarian philosophy. As a matter of fact, many libertarians world-wide cling to the idea of the state as an evil 'need-to-be' monopoly source of justice and order in society. The state thus works as a 'guarantee' for these essential human values, fundamental to civilized society. Even such...
Power Corrupts
3
Per Bylund 2004-03-03 17:00
The history of man is a history of rule or ambition to rule. It is not, as Marx claimed, a history of constant class struggle between bourgeoisie and proletariat, even though class struggle may be derived from the fundamental division of society into 'rulers' and 'ruled.' An important part of this history is the continuous 'race to the top' among self-centered power seekers, trying to gather as...
The Spontaneous Redistribution of Wealth, Part II
0
Per Bylund 2004-01-20 17:00
In The Spontaneous Redistribution of Wealth Part I: Division of Production Cost, I illustrated the production side of the market in the terms of the Left. I claimed libertarian laissez-faire capitalism is a system more fair, just and equal in any terms, than any system engineered by the left. Liberty naturally evolves into a situation of equality that benefits all, while a socialist system...
The Spontaneous Redistribution of Wealth, Part I
0
Per Bylund 2004-01-19 17:00
What moves the world may very well be the driving force of individuals acting in their rational self-interest. But what moves the Left is the redistribution of such strong individuals' created wealth. Redistribution of wealth is widely known to be a means to achieve the great value of equality among men ' equality in political as well as economic, cultural, and social terms. Socialists claim...
Contemporary Western Religion: Democracy
0
Per Bylund 2003-11-03 17:00
Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel Prize laureate in economics, argues for democracy as a universal value in The Journal of Democracy (vol. 10, no. 3, 1999). But the only strong case he succeeds in delivering is how indoctrinated he is of democratism, and how ignorant he is of obvious alternatives, and democracy's limits and shortcomings.
Legitimacy of the State
0
Per Bylund 2003-08-31 16:00
Whether the state can be legitimized is a core concern in political philosophy and ideology. If it cannot, what is the alternative?
A Personal Thanks to Strike The Root
10
Per Bylund 2006-08-23 16:00
Exclusive to STRA August 24, 2006 Yes, I should have done this a long time ago. And when the editor encouraged everybody to write about Strike The Root for its fifth anniversary, I thought this is the time. There is so much I want to say, but I just seem to never get around to saying it. So I missed the chance again. But better late than never, I guess. Here it goes. I've been a market anarchist...
More on Minarchism as Evil
10
Per Bylund 2011-03-03 04:00
Column by Per Bylund. Exclusive to STR My previous two articles on minarchism versus anarchism [1, 2], and why minarchism is “evil,” have stirred up quite a debate online.[1] This was expected, since minarchists desperately want to see themselves as radical (whereas compared to anarchists they clearly are not) and anarchists almost as desperately seek alliances and ideological kindred...
STR: A Glorious Decade of Radicalism
10
Per Bylund 2011-08-11 00:00
Column by Per Bylund.  Exclusive to STR  For the five-year anniversary, I wrote a column about the value of a site like Strike The Root. I argued that the main problem to making anarchism an attractive social theory is its lack of guarantees. Rather than basing our worldview on the illusion of a stable and never-changing core to which we can fix and around which we can organize our...
Your Sticker Makes a Lot of Sense Recommended
9
Per Bylund 2010-11-03 03:00
Column by Per Bylund.   Exclusive to STR   Election Day means there are a lot of people walking around proudly carrying a sticker on their collar or lapel: “I Voted.” It bothered me at first that they would take pride in such ugly, immoral, and destructive behavior and that they so urgently wanted me to see that they had cast a ballot. I do not particularly like that these...
Hope in the Age of Darkness
8.5
Per Bylund 2010-06-29 03:00
By Per Bylund   Exclusive to STR   These are troublesome times: the police state is literally only months away (if not here already), Big Brother already has full control of what everybody’s up to, and governments wage numerous wars while taxing their poor populations to ridiculous degrees. Yet in the midst of all this darkness, after a century of endarkening, there are signs of...
Only Cowards Vote
8.125
Per Bylund 2010-01-08 04:00
 Exclusive to STR   The official truth is that voting is a glorious thing, that it may even be a democratic duty. After all, most free countries have a history of bloodshed and war, which was the only way of finally getting rid of terror and oppression to establish Democracy: where we, the people, rule ourselves and there are no kings, lords, or absolute rulers. In such a world, are we...
On the 'Rule of Law'
8
Per Bylund 2010-07-07 03:00
By Per Bylund.   Exclusive to STR     Conservatives and libertarians often claim an inherent value in the Rule of Law, a concept that to anarchists may seem a bit strange and, frankly, quite evil. Of course, most of us would accept the notion that predictable, principle-kind laws are much better than arbitrary rulings by a power elite (be it one man or many). Some would even claim...
Who Are the Real Terrorists?
8
Per Bylund 2010-07-21 03:00
By Per Bylund.   Exclusive to STR   What is fascinating in this day and age is how the definition of previously well-known concepts mysteriously have changed. I’m not thinking of e.g. the word “defense,” which nowadays seems to have a much broader meaning and includes waging wars, occupying foreign nations, and having permanent military bases in almost 200 foreign...
Reform Sucks. Or Where Do We Go From Here?
8
Per Bylund 2011-06-30 00:00
Column by Per Bylund. Exclusive to STR I recently participated in an online discussion on gay marriage, an issue that was stated to be “such a sure thing” that my views could be dismissed at the outset. And, I suspect, laughed at. Why? Because, it was argued, government’s opening up the state-enforced institution of marriage to gay couples “decreases” discrimination...
Rejoinder on Evil Minarchism Recommended
7.66667
Per Bylund 2011-02-18 04:00
Column by Per Bylund.   Exclusive to STR   John deLaubenfels responds to my previous column on minarchists being “the enemy.” His response is a case in point. Even though it is surely not his intent, his “quick response” directly supports the thesis of my original column. This is also true with most of the e-mails and comments I have seen by those disagreeing...
Why Minarchists Are the Enemy
6.88889
Per Bylund 2011-02-16 04:00
Column by Per Bylund.   Exclusive to STR   Libertarians want to roll back government to a much less oppressive size. In this goal, libertarian minarchists and anarchists often stand together and aim for the same goals, at least short term. In a limited sense, this may not be such a stupid idea. After all, pushing back the powers of government is a good thing, is it not?   But what...
North Korea Is Not a Problem – The U.S. Is
4
Per Bylund 2010-11-23 04:00
Column by Per Bylund. Exclusive to STR News agencies report on another potential nuclear threat from North Korea, which has developed an advanced program for enriching uranium. Granted, nuclear weapons are extremely dangerous – and they are especially dangerous in the hands of nutcases such as Kim Jong-il. However, the media misses the point as they urgently run in the direction pointed out...
Power Corrupts
3
Per Bylund 2004-03-03 17:00
The history of man is a history of rule or ambition to rule. It is not, as Marx claimed, a history of constant class struggle between bourgeoisie and proletariat, even though class struggle may be derived from the fundamental division of society into 'rulers' and 'ruled.' An important part of this history is the continuous 'race to the top' among self-centered power seekers, trying to gather as...
Rejoinder on Evil Minarchism Recommended
7.66667
Per Bylund 2011-02-18 04:00
Column by Per Bylund.   Exclusive to STR   John deLaubenfels responds to my previous column on minarchists being “the enemy.” His response is a case in point. Even though it is surely not his intent, his “quick response” directly supports the thesis of my original column. This is also true with most of the e-mails and comments I have seen by those disagreeing...
Your Sticker Makes a Lot of Sense Recommended
9
Per Bylund 2010-11-03 03:00
Column by Per Bylund.   Exclusive to STR   Election Day means there are a lot of people walking around proudly carrying a sticker on their collar or lapel: “I Voted.” It bothered me at first that they would take pride in such ugly, immoral, and destructive behavior and that they so urgently wanted me to see that they had cast a ballot. I do not particularly like that these...

 

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