Modulator

Under the Skin of A Ferengi

Max, in commenting on the award of the Nobel Prize in Economics, praises Ned Phelps thusly:

People sometimes call me old school; Phelps is the old school of the old school. Unlike Prescott and Kydland, an ordinary mortal can engage Phelps' work. Unlike some Ferengi-like libertarians, there is a rich current of humanism in it. There are all sorts of provocative things to argue about.

Which made me wonder who would be a Ferengi-like libertarian. Unfortunately Max does not give any examples so let's briefly explore the idea.

Here's a few of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition:

1. Once you have their money, never give it back

14. Anything stolen is pure profit

29. When someone says "It's not the money," they're lying

34. War is good for business

51. Never admit a mistake if there's someone else to blame

61. Never buy what can be stolen

164. Never spend your own money when you can spend someone else's

172. If you can sell it, don't hesitate to steal it

Leading to the conclusion that Ferengi-like folks would be embezzlers, thieves, war profiteers, rent seekers and so on.

Here is libertarianism in short:

Libertarianism is a political philosophy advocating that individuals should be free to do whatever they wish with their person or property, as long as they do not infringe on the same liberty of others. Libertarians hold as a fundamental maxim that all human interaction should be voluntary and consensual. They maintain that the initiation (or threat) of physical force against another person or his property, or the commission of fraud, is a violation of that principle.

Ferengi-like libertarians is a contradiction in terms.

Peel the skin off any so-called Ferengi-like libertarian and you will not find a libertarian but some variant of a statist trying to get something for nothing; some congress critter or policy wonk who thinks they know better what to do with what you have earned and how you should live your life than you do.

On the other hand the terms Ferengi-like liberals, conservatives, democrats, republicans are not at all self contradictory. I'm not saying that everyone in these groups is Ferengi-like rather that being Ferengi-like would not disqualify someone from membership in one of these groups whereas being Ferengi-like does disqualify someone from being a libertarian or, for that matter, being a member of most schools of anarchism.

A quick look at the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition leads to the conclusion that Ferengi-like folks would be thieves, embezzlers, rent seekers and so on. Comparing this to the characteristics of libertarians it is easy to determine that the phrase Ferengi-like libertarians is a contradiction in terms.

Peel the skin off any so-called Ferengi-like libertarian and you will find not a libertarian but some variant of a statist trying to get something for nothing; some congress critter or policy wonk who thinks they know better what to do with what you have earned than you do.

The terms Ferengi-like liberals, conservatives, democrats, republicans are not at all self contradictory. This is not to say that everyone in these groups is Ferengi-like but rather that being Ferengi-like would not disqualify someone from membership in one of these groups whereas being Ferengi-like does disqualify someone from being a libertarian or, for that matter, being a member of most schools of anarchism.