Complete Liberty Podcast promotes total respect for self-ownership, property rights, and personal choice—amidst the authoritarian/obedience-oriented political and psychological memes in American culture (and elsewhere). Basically, governments and all they entail are the problem, not the solution. Voluntarism (or market anarchism, or anarcho-capitalism) and customary law principles, in accordance with reason and dignity, spell the solution.

The easiest way to podcatch is to load all the past episodes into iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=254220370

Alternatively, you can use the libsy rss feed for all past episodes:
http://completeliberty.libsyn.com/rss

However, the comments on the Libsyn page have been deactivated, so it's best to use the Complete Liberty Podcast category feed here if you want to throw in your two cents :)
feed://completeliberty.com/xml/magazine/category/91697.xml

Also, the first ten episodes of Complete Liberty Podcast are actually the audiobook (shows 11 and higher are the podcast episodes). So, if you'd like to read the book first and/or you're new to the concepts of a voluntary society, here's the page to begin listening: http://completeliberty.com/audiobook.html

(The pdf and html files can be found in the "CL Book" links in the site's menu above.)

Dec 13th

Christians and Libertarianism

By Chad Ressler
As a believer, I was basically "reared" in a very conservative denomination where pretty much everything you did that resulted in any kind of pleasure was sin.  It was an unreflective Church that did not really think through many issues.  I went to seminary and began learning.  I used my critical thinking faculties and developed them as well as taking some undergrad philosophy classes.  All the Christians I know subscribe to the conservative mantra.  They want to restrict gays, drug use, drinking, abortion (sorry, I agree with that one), etc, and they normally listen to the voices of organizations like Focus on the Family.  They would love to see the conservative "daddy state" where everyone's behavior is controlled.  They are often vigourously involved in politics and love using the power of the state to acheive their ends.  I don't think its because they hate freedom, rather I think it is that they have been brainwashed for too long and don't understand what liberty and self-ownership are.
The problem is that Christianity really isn't about forcing your morality onto other people, though many Christians engage in this behavior (e.g. Moral Majority, Focus on the Family, etc.).  I've also heard Christianity mischaracterized and ridiculed by different libertarians which I think is wrong.  Libertarian atheists often treat Christianity and Christian theology way different than they would treat opposing political philosophies.  They tear down the straw man version of Christianity rather than what orthodox theologians teach, contemporary theologians like Berkhof, Grudem, James White, Greg Bahnsen, John Frame, Cornelius Van Til, etc.  As believers, we are not to FORCE anyone to believe, rather we simply share the Gospel.  Sharing the Christian Gospel is no different than advocating for libertarianism if you think about it. I believe Christians using the power of the state to enforce morality are wrong.  The Scriptures do not call us to do that.  What we are called to do is spelled out in Matthew 28:18-20 and it has nothing to do with using state power to enforce a morality.
As a Christian libertarian, I stand for a person's right to be gay and get married or serve openly in the army.  I stand for people being able to consume whatever drug they choose, and for people being able to use their own property how they choose.  Do I have a moral disagreement with certain things...yes...but then I am called to share the Gospel and that person is free to accept or reject it.  I'm not to judge them.  I am not called to utilize aggression or the state to modify behavior.  More Christians need to be educated on what libertarians believe and what the goals of truly free society really are. More libertarian atheists need to rethink some of their criticisms as well, stop attacking ignorant fundamentalists (I disagree with them too!) and using that as a model of Christianity.  I think that a truly free society is something that both Christians and atheists can work towards together because religion has no place in a discussion of politics.
14 Comments
Apr 12th

Episode 139 - Unconditional parenting, part three

By Wes Bertrand

In this episode I cover Chapter Two: Giving And Withholding Love in the book Unconditional Parenting: Moving From Rewards And Punishments To Love And Reason by Alfie Kohn
http://www.unconditionalparenting.com/up/

Time out from positive reinforcement is a widespread form of love withdrawal

Making children suffer in order to get different behavior from them begets more of itself, and it definitely prepares them for the coercive world of statism

The Condition Of Modern Psychology (explicating many of the ills of behaviorism and lack of philosophical understanding)
http://www.logicallearning.net/libconditionofps.html

My Years with Ayn Rand - A powerful myth-shattering memoir about one of the twentieth century's most controversial figures
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_25&products_id=29

Rewards are largely ineffective at improving the quality of people's work and learning, and like punishments, they have many harmful results

Intrinsic motivation, wanting to do something for its own sake, is fundamentally different than extrinsic motivation, doing something in order to get something else (reward) or avoid something else (punishment); both punishments and rewards are extrinsic motivators, which in turn sabotage intrinsic motivation and beget extrinsically motivated people

Helpful and comprehensive psychotherapeutic workbook: The Art Of Self-Discovery
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_23&products_id=38

Feel free to contact me for a counseling session at wes@happinesscounseling.com
http://happinesscounseling.com

bumper music "Justify My Love" by trance[]control
http://www.trancecontrol.com/

Direct download: Episode_139_-_Unconditional_parenting_part_three.mp3
10 Comments
Jan 28th

Episode 122 - Challenging the voting meme

By Wes Bertrand
originally published October 5, 2010

In this show, I comment on a clip from http://freetalklive.com, which involved the hosts discussing the nature of non-voting with a caller
http://traffic.libsyn.com/ftl/FTL2010-09-27.mp3 (clip starts at 14:15)

STR Non-Voting Archive
http://www.strike-the-root.com/vote.html

What evidence is there that anyone wants the "services" provided by those in government, since they are coercively imposed?

Even if you're an advocate of http://agorism.info, you still can't escape the statist economic matrix, a society in which most people abide by laws, regulations, taxes, and a fiat currency system, not to mention the "public school" system

Respect for individuals, in principle, can never be achieved via the coercive collectivistic organization of government; government violates individual rights by definition

"Public goods" arguments, being fallacious, are just excuses for statism and tyranny
http://www.vforvoluntary.com/wiki/PublicGoods
A Theory of the Theory of Public Goods by Randall G. Holcombe
http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE10_1_1.pdf
Fallacies of the Public Goods Theory and the Production of Security by Hans-Hermann Hoppe
http://mises.org/journals/jls/9_1/9_1_2.pdf
Pareto Optimality, External Benefits and Public Goods: A Subjectivist Approach by Barry P. Brownstein
http://mises.org/journals/jls/4_1/4_1_6.pdf
Public Goods And Private Solutions In Maritime History by Larry J. Sechrest
http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae7_2_1.pdf
Public Spending and Public Goods by Thomas DiLorenzo
http://mises.org/media/1444 (includes mp3 audio)
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/departments/book-review-private-means-public-ends-voluntarism-vs-coercion-edited-by-j-wilson-mixon-jr/

Competition and Political Entrepreneurship: Austrian Insights into Public-Choice Theory by Thomas J. DiLorenzo
http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE2_1_3.pdf

The political system won't conform to sound principles; you will have to compromise sound principles to conform to the political system
The Ethics Of Voting - Part 1 by George H. Smith
http://voluntaryist.com/articles/001a.php

Statist judges have no understanding of justice and objective law; rather, they violate them on a daily basis; therefore, being a "juror" for a statist judge does not accord with justice and objective law
http://marcstevens.net
Root-striking questions...
http://www.meetup.com/Complete-Liberty/messages/boards/thread/8208221

There is no such thing as a "liberty-minded principled candidate"; Ayn Rand grasped the essence of this, even though she forwarded the ethical and political contradiction of government
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/pragmatism.html
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/moral-practical_dichotomy.html
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/theory-practice_dichotomy.html

THE ANATOMY OF SLAVESPEAK by Frederick Mann
http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/tl07a.shtml

Adam and Pete (of http://libertyontour.com) striking serious Libertarian roots on Declare Your Independence!
http://www.meetup.com/Complete-Liberty/messages/boards/thread/9803960

bumper music "Ballot Box" by Destroy Everything
http://destroyeverything.com/

Direct download: Episode_122_-_Challenging_the_voting_meme.mp3 
3 Comments
Mar 14th

Episode 137 - Unconditional parenting, part one

By Wes Bertrand

In this episode I cover the Introduction in the book Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
http://www.unconditionalparenting.com/up/

The most extreme example of operant conditioning is the domination system of government--individuals are told to obey and are punished if they don't do what they're told

Any political philosophy not based on property rights is bound to deny individual needs for autonomy, justice, choice, and respect

The foundation of a free society is to be found in parents who interact with children in life-enriching ways, who connect with feelings and meet needs for respect and choice

Teaching kids to attribute the cause of their feelings to things outside themselves hinders them (and later, as adults) from taking responsibility for their feelings
http://logicallearning.net/ResponsibilityForFeelings.mp3 (NVC audiobook segment by Marshall Rosenberg)

Please join the revised http://completeliberty.com
Here's an instructive forum thread...
Home> Public Outreach> How do we educate? (an NVC discussion)
http://completeliberty.com/forum/topic/7/page/1

Feel free to contact me for a counseling session at wes@happinesscounseling.com
http://happinesscounseling.com

2011 Liberty Getaway 5-day cruise to Bermuda (registration deadline has been extended!)
http://www.btwcruises.com/rw/view/475
http://freedomcamp.wikispaces.com/

bumper music "Destination Skyline" by Aura - the source of trance
http://auratrance.com/

Direct download: Episode_137_-_Unconditional_parenting_part_one.mp3

3 Comments
Aug 28th

Episode 149 - Unconditional parenting, part eleven

By Wes Bertrand

In this episode I cover the first half of Chapter Nine: Choices For Children in the book Unconditional Parenting: Moving From Rewards And Punishments To Love And Reason by Alfie Kohn
http://www.unconditionalparenting.com/up/

Even if you're not a parent who is frustrated about how to deal with kids so that your own needs are met, it's key to get in touch with your child-self, so that you can focus on life-enriching, respectful interactions that are essentially win/win with children

Using operant and classical conditioning on children (and adults) basically prevents them from becoming mature human beings, beings that are self-actualized, self-confident, self-respecting, independent and happy; "pop behaviorism" disconnects us from our feelings and needs, treating us as nonconceptual creatures to be punished or bribed instead of reasoned with

Children are volitional, conceptual beings, in contrast to other primates (and all other organisms)
Homo Sapiens: The Rational Animal
http://www.logicallearning.net/libhomosapiens.html
The Crucial Faculty Of Choice
http://www.logicallearning.net/libfreewill.html

Statism is a recapitulation of the coercive family environment, in which kids' need for respect isn't met (among many other needs)

Domination language and domination structures thwart our need for autonomy and foster widespread coercion and hypocrisy

As humans, we all have the same needs: 
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory

The Secret Of Childhood by Maria Montessori
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Childhood-Maria-Montessori/dp/0345305833
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=8977399

bumper music "Chasing The Sun" by Ryan Farish
http://www.ryanfarish.com/

Direct download: Episode_149_-_Unconditional_parenting_part_eleven.mp3
2 Comments
Mar 18th

Episode 180 - The nature of human fallibility, rightness and wrongness

By Wes Bertrand

Damon Horowitz: Philosophy in prison
http://www.ted.com/talks/damon_horowitz_philosophy_in_prison.html

Unfortunately, most of modern philosophy spends time in the realm of the nonobjective

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/axioms.html
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/axiomatic_concepts.html
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/objectivity.html
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/errors_of_knowledge_vs_breaches_of_morality.html

My Years With Ayn Rand by Nathaniel Branden
http://www.amazon.com/Years-Ayn-Rand-Nathaniel-Branden/dp/0787945137

Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong
http://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong.html

In our own image and likeness
http://www.logicallearning.net/libertyourownima.html
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory

Damon Horowitz calls for a "moral operating system"
http://www.ted.com/talks/damon_horowitz.html

bumper music "The Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ride_of_the_Valkyries

Direct download: Episode_180_-_The_nature_of_human_fallibility_rightness_and_wrongness.mp3
3 Comments
Jan 28th

Episode 115 - Do we ever really get out of anarchy

By Wes Bertrand
originally published June 30, 2010

Study Guide Classic: Do We Ever Really Get Out of Anarchy? http://blog.mises.org/4716/study-guide-classic-do-we-ever-really-get-out-of-anarchy/

Do we ever really get out of anarchy? by Alfred G. Cuzan http://mises.org/journals/jls/3_2/3_2_3.pdf

Noticing political contradictions is not a strong suit for believers in Government
Political anarchy and market anarchy are worlds apart in terms of justice
A case of government punishing their own...in order to maintain their PR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Cunningham

NoStateProject - June 19, 2010 - Co-host JT and Guest Wes Bertrand http://www.marcstevens.net/board/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2076

It doesn't matter whether government is structured in a "pluralistic" or "hierarchical" fashion, all governments by definition violate the non-aggression principle
A coercive monopoly on the enforcement of justice (i.e., government) will always foster injustice
Those in government have no property rights jurisdiction to enforce their "laws"
The use of retaliatory force must be no more than what is necessary to deal with the rights-violation
Coercive monopolies will always deliver the lowest quality "service" at the highest price

Revisiting "Do we ever really get out of anarchy?" http://mises.org/journals/jls/22_1/22_1_1.pdf

bumper music "Anarchy" by KMFDM http://www.kmfdm.net/

Direct download: Episode_115_-_Do_we_ever_really_get_out_of_anarchy.mp3 
2 Comments
Feb 28th

Episode 136 - Nonviolent communication reexamined

By Wes Bertrand

Guest Oliver Heuler from Germany http://heuler.de/ and http://voluntarist.de/ (Google Chrome browser can translate into English on the fly:)

Re: FDR 1007: A third way http://board.freedomainradio.com/forums/p/14090/119868.aspx

Oliver's handiwork...
Obama will resign as president http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxjkatKuwRM

http://www.freedomainradio.com/Traffic_Jams/FDR_1837_nonviolent_communication_Roundtable.mp3
http://www.freedomainradio.com/Traffic_Jams/FDR_1836_NVC_Intro.mp3
 
Nonviolent communication simply means connecting with feelings and needs
Needs for safety, security, and comfort need not come at the expense of needs for justice, autonomy, independence, choice, and respect

Two invaluable parenting books:
Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids: 7 Keys to Turn Family Conflict into Cooperation by Sura Hart and Victoria Kindle Hodson
http://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=48
and
Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
http://www.unconditionalparenting.com/up/

No Contest: The Case Against Competition by Alfie Kohn
http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/nc.htm
When Competition Leads To Conflict (audio interview w/ Kohn)
http://www.goodradioshows.org/peaceTalksL49.htm

Spirituality, rationally understood, pertains to a heightened awareness of one's internal and external worlds
Primitive cultures fostered conformity to the tribe - http://www.logicallearning.net/libearlyhumancon.html

Your interpretations and assessments of past experiences tend to be more important than those past experiences themselves
Change your thoughts and change your feelings
http://www.feelinggood.com/

Value judgments can be distinguished from moral judgments, and there's nothing more foundational than connecting the former with feelings and needs
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory
Max-Neef on Human Needs and Human-scale Development - http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/background/maxneef.htm
transcendence, integration, autonomy, and connection may by our four basic drives

http://porctherapy.com/2011/02/09/porc-therapy-117-nvc-feedback-ii/

http://freekeene.com/2011/02/21/wmur-reports-on-free-keene/
Battleground: Keene
http://www.wmur.com/video/26935273/detail.html

bumper music "Carry You" by VNV Nation
http://www.vnvnation.com/

Direct download: Episode_136_-_Nonviolent_communication_reexamined.mp3

2 Comments
Nov 12th

Episode 153 - Reflections on Libertopia 2011

By Wes Bertrand

http://libertopia.org

http://libertyontour.com

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/stolen_concept,_fallacy_of.html

promoting intrinsic motivation: trust children, and they will learn...
http://summum-bonum.org/

no matter who you vote for, politics (government) always wins

http://www.meetup.com/LeewaySudburySchool/

http://completeliberty.com/viii__objective_law.html

Taking on the California DMV
http://www.youtube.com/hotforliberty#p/u/32/41ZY5LSDEZA

Parenting with Naomi Aldort - S.A.L.V.E. Formula
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFlPe14SuAY

Five Principles of Libertopia
1. All actions should be peaceful and voluntary
2. Honor the self
3. Rule yourself
4. Live and let live

5. Community of Spontaneous Order

by Larry Ludlow...
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Magazine/098621-2011-10-29-libertopia-2011-four-days-in-the-freest-place-on-earth.htm

bumper music "California" by Semisonic
http://www.semisonic.com/

Direct download: Episode_153_-_Reflections_on_Libertopia_2011.mp3

2 Comments
Jan 22nd

Episode 156 - Liberty getaway cruise 2011, voting debate

By Wes Bertrand

Stefan Molyneux's site:
http://freedomainradio.com

Mark Edge's site:
http://freetalklive.com

An article by Jim Davies about Ron Paul's agenda (http://ronpaul2012.com)
http://strike-the-root.com/ron-reviewed
about Ron Paul's Presidential Campaign by Jim Davies
http://www.theanarchistalternative.info/zgb/rondex.htm
Raise the Drawbridge! by Jim Davies
http://www.theanarchistalternative.info/zgb/11A141.htm
Ron's War on Drugs by Jim Davies
http://www.theanarchistalternative.info/zgb/11A135.htm

New Hampshire activism options (both inside and outside the coercive system)
http://freestateproject.org
http://freekeene.com

Further reading on the USC...
No Treason No. VI. The Constitution of No Authority
http://praxeology.net/LS-NT-6.htm

bumper music "Suffrage" by Matthias Adler
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Matthias-Adler/297658406940392?sk=info

to comment, please go to http://completeliberty.com/magazine/category/91697

Direct download: Episode_156_-_Liberty_getaway_cruise_2011_voting_debate.mp3
2 Comments