I wrote this text in French for a rare French-speaking libertarian book project, "La main invisible", to be published next year. I couldn't resist translating it to English. Thanks to Harry Browne's How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World for a lot of inspiration, and to Stefan Kinsella for a refresher. Now to live up to it.

J'écrivis cet ( Read more... )

A few months ago, my friend and former colleague Marco Baringer made a presentation of a photo reportage he did in a village lost in the middle of nowhere in Malawi.

People were literally dirt poor ( Read more... )

People in the know understand that Economics is a point of view on human behavior, and not the field of the statistical study of monetary transactions. Ever since the Armchair Economist, there has been a trend for books that demonstrate how Economic Thinking applies to the study of random social phenomena. In his book Discover Your Inner Economist ( Read more... )

I had submitted a variant of my Black Magic text to the essay contest conducted by The Better-World Project. The results were just published on Build Freedom, and I only got a consolation prize. That was well deserved: the other texts were much more inspiring. I invite you to read the actual winnersThanks again to Frederick Mann for being such a ( Read more... )

Another important way in which americans are free and french are not: in public messages, whether in ads or in public venue regulations, the main way that people are enticed to do things, in the States, is you can do it, you can help preserve the environment, you can achieve something for yourself, etc. In France, it's you must, whether you like it ( Read more... )

Flow with the Tao, and the Tao will flow with you.

( Read more... )

My Creed

I do not choose to be a common man.
It is my right to be uncommon -- if I can.
I seek opportunity -- not security.
I do not wish to be a kept citizen,
humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.
I want to take the calculated risk;
to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.
I refuse to barter incentive for a dole.
I prefer the ( Read more... )

Dear Robot,

I dreamt of our duel last night. There was this combat venue, and whoever would kill all volunteer opponents got to be king of an acclaiming mob, always cheering the strongest - until a better fighter would step forward, slay him, and be cheered instead. You were the king - a big brute, unvanquished for a long time.
( Read more... )

Dear Robot,

It's happening NOW! Of course it is. Really. Indeed, nothing ever happens at any other time but NOW (for a varying value of NOW, of course).

It's a kind of obvious duh! joke, once you get it, - and that's a generic you because I know you are utterly unable to get it since you can't bind time - yet it seems to me to be a joke that ( Read more... )

No, I am not a devil-worshipper, a proponent of capitalist exploitation, an opponent of the glorious democracy, an enemy of the State, a traitor to the Nation, or any such thing. Indeed, the devil doesn't exist, and neither do capitalist exploitation, the glorious democracy, the State or the Nation - they are delusions. I am not taking a stance ( Read more... )