Door Hanger Advertisement: Write-In Joe Kopsick for U.S. House of Representatives on November 3rd, 2020 (Versions #2, #3, & #4)

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Created on July 30th and August 26th, 2020

Published on August 26th, 2020

Edited on August 29th, 2020

Advertisement: Write-In Joe Kopsick for U.S. House of Representatives on November 3rd, 2020 (Versions #2, #3, & #4)

Click on images, and/or open in a new tab or window, to enlarge and see in full detail

Images created on July 30th and August 26th, 2020

Published on August 26th, 2020

Edited on August 29th, 2020

Towards a Free, United Populism: Proposal of a Humanitarian Party Platform

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. The Platform

   1. Humanitarianism

   2. Giving

   3. Popular Reforms

   4. Elections

   5. Corruption
   6. Shrink the Federal Government

   7. Budgets, Taxes, and Money

   8. Employment
   9. Health
   10. Ecology

   11. War and Foreign Relations

   12. Policing, Surveillance, etc.

   13. Life

   14. Family

   15. Youth Issues

   16. Sweeping Changes
   17. Amendments Borrowed from Public Suggestions

Content

     

I. Introduction

     The following set of slogans, guiding principles, and policy proposals, was written in order to begin crafting a platform which would appeal to the broadest possible swath of disenfranchised American voters, without regard to their social or economic values and dispositions.
     I compiled this set of proposals while discussing how to create such a platform with three friends; two Green Party members and a conservative. I contributed my own ideas, mostly inspired by a politically libertarian, minarchist, and original intent -oriented interpretation of the Constitution. Each of us pitched the topics we thought Americans could get along on, regardless of economic or social persuasion.
     I have done this in order to avoid as many possible points of disagreement which would risk forestalling progress towards a more equal protection under the law, a more equal opportunity in the economy, and reforming and limiting the power of government (especially to keep alternative political voices out of debates, elections, and polls).
     That is why I feel that the most important topics to start with are things like caring for one another and giving, reforming elections and increasing voter access, ending corruption in government, taking care of our veterans, rebuilding our nation's infrastructure, making common-sense reforms to our economy that everyone can agree on, taking care of the environment, and ending wars and government spying.

     I hope to turn this set of proposals into a survey; I would be interested in knowing what percentage of Americans support each of these reforms. I would recommend that all proposals receiving more than 70% support should be combined by topic, and introduced to Congress as comprehensive reforms of laws concerning each topic.
     I hope that whatever set of proposals survives such a survey, increases the focus on humanitarianism in society and politics. Whatever we may believe about the proper role of government in welfare, the Constitution can be amended constitutionally, and we have the right to alter or abolish our government, so theoretically no reform should be considered off-the-table (at least from the start).
    I hope that the results of a survey based on this also contributes to increases of freedom, equality, but most of all independence; independence of thought, independence of political disposition, and independence of government when and if possible. If a machine can be trusted to be autonomous, then it should be autonomous. If a man can be trusted to be autonomous, then he should be autonomous. If a regional government can be trusted to be autonomous, then it should be wholly autonomous. The subsidiarist principle should continue to guide American politics; we must advance past states' rights and dual federalism, towards more polycentric structures of government.

   Please email me at jwkopsick@gmail.com, or comment below, if you have any comments about which of the proposals below are your favorite, or least favorite. And feel free to make suggestions and edits, and ask questions for clarification.

II. The Platform

1. HUMANITARIANISM:

     A. Prioritize humanity first / Put people first.

     B. Prioritize people over profit.

     C. Establish “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”.

2. GIVING:

     A. (Through whatever methods,) relieve poverty, need, and suffering.

     B. Provide mutual aid to the poor, homeless, traveling workers, perpetually unemployed people, and overlooked veterans.

     C. Encourage people to give alms charitably; both often and of their own free will.

     D. Caution people that to simply pay taxes without giving to the poor, absolves a person of the personal moral responsibility to give to the poor directly, instead of waiting around expecting the government to do it on one's behalf.
     E. Help the poor whether it is illegal or not; regardless of whether the government tries to regulate charitable giving or require permission in order to give to the poor. Advocate for the repeal of any and all local city ordinances prohibiting giving out food, money, and other resources to the poor (as well as the repeal of ordinances prohibiting panhandling, busking, camping, and hitchhiking).

     F. Advocate for more cross-jurisdictional and cross-border cooperation in order to provide mutual aid to the poor. This could be done through advocated for increased funding of, and participation in, mutual aid societies such as Food Not Bombs, M.A.B.A.S. (the midwest Mutual Aid Box Alarm System), and Doctors Without Borders. Additionally, through advocating that food pantry access (in addition to library access, and park and beach access) not be denied to anyone on the basis of their location or jurisdiction.

3. POPULAR REFORMS:

     A. Pursue any and all apolitical reforms which stand a chance at being passed through bipartisan reconciliation; as long as those reforms are enacted at the level of government which is legally and constitutionally authorized to enact them. Including, but not limited to the following;

     B. Rebuild our crumbling public infrastructure; roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, airports, etc..

     C. Advocate for affordable mass transit and public transportation.

     D. Improve the standard of life of military veterans, not only through direct charity, but through ensuring that these public employees are adequately compensated for their service.

     E. Advocate for the de-politicization of the decision-making process, regarding how the three preceding issues are normally dealt with.

4. ELECTIONS:

     A. Support measures which ensure fairer ballot access for third parties and independents.
     B. End the grandfathering-in of the two major political parties when it comes to the number of signatures which must be collected in order to petition for a candidate's name to appear on the ballot.

     C. Let citizens choose their legislators; not vice-versa. End gerrymandering through politically independent methods; either by establishing a bipartisan redistricting panel, or by allowing congressional districts to be drawn by computer algorithms without regard for local voting patterns.

     D. Sue the “bipartisan” private corporation the Commission on Presidential Debates in order to limit its power, and invite the League of Women Voters or some independent association to host the debates.
     E. Find, and propose, legislative and legal remedies which will allow and assist third parties and independents to debate while bypassing the commission.
     F. In order to fully abolish poll taxes, advocate for prohibiting governments from charging fees for driver's licenses and state identification documents, for as long as such governments shall require those documents in order to vote. Require governments to provide identification documents to all residents, free upon request, in all jurisdictions in which such documents are required in order to vote.

5. CORRUPTION:

     A. Strictly limit the powers of government, and reduce its size and scope.

     B. Pass strict measures aiming to prevent or punish political corruption.

     C. Pass strict accounting regulations, and strict measures aiming to prevent or punish financial corruption and budgetary fraud.

     D. Pass meaningful term limits; at all levels, and in all branches, of government. End Supreme Court justices' lifetime tenures; but limit the terms of not only federal Supreme Court justices, the president, the Senate and House; but also of state governors. Pass additional federal and state judicial term limits.
     E. Amend the Speech or Debate Clause (Article I, Section 6, Clause 1) so as to revoke federal congressmen's privileged protection against being arrested for misdemeanors.
     F. Create a Tenth District federal Circuit Court of Appeals, by splitting the Ninth District into two districts.
     G. Promote the rights of jurors and the accused, by spreading awareness of jury nullification, and awareness of the right to decline to enter a plea and demand a trial in certain cases.
     H. Abolish civil asset forfeiture.
     I. Abolish eminent domain; follow the Fifth Amendment by requiring: 1) public use; 2) just compensation; and 3) consent of the property owner, in order for the government to be allowed to expropriate private property.


6. SHRINK THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:

     A. Consider limiting government severely, by promoting sweeping changes to the size and scope of the federal government; specifically, abolishing entire federal departments which we no longer need. These include, but are not limited to, the following (five proposals):

     B. Abolish the Department of Commerce, in order to move towards ending government support for businesses. Take additional steps to end all public support for business associations and business lobbying organizations which disguise themselves as official government departments of commerce.

     C. Abolish the Department of Energy, in order to eliminate energy subsidies which distort and rig the market for fuels.

     D. Abolish the federal Department of Education, in order to restore local and state control to our education system.

     E. Abolish or shrink the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in order to reduce the risk of the government insuring too many people to live in areas prone to natural disasters (floods, ocean level rise, etc.).

     F. Abolish the Department of the Interior - in order to reduce the amount of land area which is owned, claimed, and/or managed by the federal government - returning that land to the people.

7. BUDGETS, TAXES, AND MONEY

     A. Audit the Federal Reserve System thoroughly and annually. Abolish the Federal Reserve System. Return monetary policy to Congress.

     B. Legally mandate balanced budgets in all jurisdictions. Support reforms to budgetary accountability which ensure that every single dollar is accounted for, whatever the tax rate or the size of the government budget happens to be. Examples could include “Cut, Cap, and Balance” type legislation, a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, or other meaningful budgetary reforms.

     B. Repeal the 16th Amendment, abolish the federal tax on income, and urge states to repeal and abolish taxes on ordinary income below $30,000 in all states.
     C. Freeze property tax assessments, or limit property tax increases to either the inflation rate or the Consumer Price Index, in order to prevent taxes from rising with inflation.
     D. Require the approval of referenda by a supermajority of the voting public, before new tax increases can be passed.
     E. Reduce the burden of property taxes on ordinary people, by enacting split-rate taxation, wherein the value of land is taxed at a higher rate than the rate of taxation to be imposed on improvements upon the land (such as residential and commercial buildings).
     F. End the double taxation of income. Enact prohibitions on the taxation of income, sales, and property, etc. by more than one level of government in the same territory. Take steps towards  devoting each level of government to a particular form of taxation, in order to affirm the separation of powers and maintain the system of checks and balances in regard to taxes.
     G. Abolish the tax credit for employer-provided health insurance, in order to get rid of the market incentive which it causes; that is, the incentive to apply for, or keep working at, a job you don't want, because you don't want to lose your insurance. After the employer health insurance tax credit is abolished, employed people will no longer have an unfair advantage over non-employed people when it comes to affording health insurance (which they do with the help of their employers and the government).

     H. Oppose “pork-barrel spending”; that is, oppose the expenditure of public taxpayer funds on wasteful programs, ineffective programs, earmarks, special interests, projects which benefit certain regional interests unfairly (rather than every member of the public equally).

     I. Encourage local independence and experimentation regarding economic issues: Allow, states and local governments, to enact Land Value Taxation, citizens' dividend, universal basic income guarantee, and state public bank -type reforms.

     J. Achieve a sound U.S. Dollar, with a stable and increasing value.

8. EMPLOYMENT

     A. Reform and revamp the Federal Reserve's “dual mandate” of keeping inflation low while Pursue monetary and budgetary policies which would aim to keep inflation low, but without sacrificing the need to ensure that a sufficient percentage of people are employed.

     B. Establish either a “chained-C.P.I. minimum wage” or an “inflation-pegged minimum wage”. Support minimum wage increases, but only on the condition that those increases are tied to either: 1) the Consumer Price Index (C.P.I.), or 2) the inflation rate. Such wage adjustments should be updated every 6 or 12 months.

     C. Support increases in the minimum wage, only on the condition that more workers be covered by said wage laws. We must spread awareness that a “$15 minimum wage” would primarily benefit federal workers, and workers covered under the National Railway Labor Act. For local government workers, people employed in the private sector, and especially the unemployed, a $15 minimum wage functions not so much as a “minimum wage law”, but as more of an optional suggestion.

     D. Spread awareness – to workers, bosses, renters, and landlords alike – that a worker will earn less and less money each year, if his raises do not keep up with inflation and/or increases in prices of ordinary consumer goods.

     E. Amend the Wagner Act; so that either: 1) a lower percentage of workers' votes than 50% can prompt negotiation with management, or 2) all unions, and all sets of two workers or more, may negotiate with management, regardless of the number or percentage of votes they receive in union elections. Amend Section 9 of the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) so as to protect concerted activity, help members-only collective bargaining spread, and make dual unionism and minority unionism fully legal (by protecting the right of either: 1) any two workers, or 2) some predetermined percentage of workers below 50, to file complaints against management in a manner which requires response and negotiation).

     F. Repeal the Taft-Hartley Act, allowing consumers to engage in concerted boycotts across multiple industries without asking the government for permission.

9. HEALTH:

     A. Repeal legal barriers to importing legal and unregulated drugs from overseas.
     B. Require the F.D.A. to legalize all pharmaceutical drugs approved in all industrially and medically modern countries within 30 days.
     C. Abolish the F.D.A.
     D. Repeal legal barriers to terminally ill people trying experimental drugs which could save their lives.
     E. In 45 states, legalize the interstate purchase of health insurance policies which are consistent with state law.
     F. Repeal the federal H.I.P.A.A. tax credit for employer-provided health insurance plans, or extend the tax credit to all people regardless of employment status.

10. ECOLOGY:

     A. Prioritize the planet over profit.

     B. Preserve the ecology, protect the environment, and conserve scarce and fixed natural resources.

     C. Ensure that all economic development going forward, is environmentally sustainable.

     D. Ensure that neither humans nor animals are prioritized over the other, when it comes to physically developing our surroundings in order to support habitats capable of sustaining life.
     E. Re-negotiate N.A.F.T.A. (and other trade treaties) in a manner which protects the ecology and indigenous peoples both in America and in the foreign countries involved, while lowering barriers to free trade, and setting a good example by taking unilateral steps towards a zero-tariff environment without regard to which country takes the first steps to get there.

11. WAR AND FOREIGN RELATIONS:

     A. Prioritize peace over profit.

     B. Be more cautious about getting involved in wars, civil wars, and military and economic interventions overseas.

     C. Establish “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none”.

     D. Repeal the 1973 War Powers Act.

     E. Either establish a Department of Peace to replace or balance-out the Department of Defense, or else start using the Department of State for peaceful diplomatic purposes as originally intended.

     F. Abolish or significantly reduce all U.S. aid to foreign countries.
     G. End and abolish registration for the Selective Service.
     H. Establish an all-volunteer military, formally and permanently abolish the military draft through a constitutional amendment.
     I. Prohibit governments from enacting "mandatory civilian national service programs" and other programs which are military drafts in disguise.
     J. Bring home all troops and military contractors from Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Turkey, and others.
     K. Dismantle between 800 and 1000 U.S. military bases overseas, ending our massive military presence abroad.
     L. Limit the distance from U.S. shores our military can travel during peacetime; to between 12 nautical miles and 90 or 100 statute miles.
     M. End all foreign aid: Support all legislative efforts to reduce and abolish the disbursement of U.S. taxpayer money to foreign regimes.

12. POLICING, SURVEILLANCE, etc.

     A. Use the police to protect people, not property. Make the (supposed) police duty "to protect and serve" a real legal obligation. Advocate for the reversal of the 1981 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Warren v. District of Columbia, which held that the police have no responsibility to protect and serve the general public, nor any particular one of its members, unless a private agreement or contract has been made between the police and the person(s) to be protected. Ensure that the police follow the law, and revamp the police so as to replace "beat cops" with "officers of the peace".
     B. Use the military to protect people, not property. Prohibit military intervention for the sake of protecting property and profits; do not commit troops nor private military contractors for the sake of protecting anything except human beings.
     C. Either alter or abolish the 1033 Program established under the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act (N.D.A.A.)., or else amend the 1997 N.D.A.A.'s 1033 Program so as make it in compliance with the Posse Comitatus Act. Allow police departments to have tanks and drones, but prohibit police cooperation with military and National Guard while using such devices, and also prohibit their use by police departments except in the event of foreign invasion, so that tanks and drones cannot be used by police against the citizens they are supposed to protect.

     D. Repeal the 2001 A.U.M.F. (Authorization of the Use of Military Force Against Terrorists).

     E. Abolish all agencies operating under the D.H.S. (Department of Homeland Security) which were created after September 11th, 2001 or have no proper constitutional authority, including the N.S.A. (National Security Agency) and I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

     F. Among the set of 17 intelligence agencies operating under the Department of Homeland Security, enfold any properly constitutionally authorized agencies which remained, into-under either the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, or the Department of State.

     G. End surveillance on American citizens by their government; pass laws ending warrantless wiretaps on Americans, and abolish the National Security Agency (N.S.A.).

     H. End the surveillance of foreign governments (especially our allies) by the United States.

     H. Establish legal and/or economic penalties for companies which survey (spy on) American citizens without their permission and awareness.
     I. When it comes to companies using customers' search information to make money selling ads: Require companies to offer customers the choice as to whether to be paid for their information, or else to opt out of having their information monitored.

     J. Pass laws prohibiting all law enforcement and military officers from using of torture in interrogations, and end all forms of torture excused as "enhanced interrogation".

     K. Pass laws prohibiting the indefinite detention, and especially the detention without trial, of all people suspected of crimes, regardless of the citizenship status or nation of origin of the suspect. Non-citizen suspects can't be charged with violating our laws, if they're not subject to our laws. And if they're subject to our laws, then they're subject to the protections in the Bill of Rights.

     L. Oppose the use of drones, to strike and spy on suspects in foreign countries, unless such actions have been properly authorized, through:

          1) permission from that country, or lacking that,

          2) a formal declaration of war on that country by Congress.

13. LIFE:

     A. Protect life as the key to protecting liberty.

     B. Support the legality of abortion whenever it is necessary to save the life of the mother.

     C. If a person is considering abortion, there are almost always other alternatives (including adoption, surrogacy, and potentially even fetal transplants a few years down the line).

     D. Aim to reduce and decrease the number of abortions.

     E. End the expenditure of taxpayer funds on abortion services, and end the expenditure of taxpayer funds on organizations that provide abortion services.

     F. Advocate for the abortion industry to cease operating on a for-profit basis in America.
     G. Prohibit infanticide, and prosecute partial birth abortion as infanticide, in all jurisdictions.

14. FAMILY:

     A. Make no-fault divorce the norm in divorce courts (unless child abuse is suspected).

     B. Make 50/50 equal custody the default arrangement in child custody hearings (unless child abuse is suspected).

     C. If the above two measures cannot be achieved, then abolish family law courts.

     D. If none of the above measures can be achieved, then move to repeal Social Security Act Title IV-D (child support).

15. YOUTH ISSUES:

     A. End the physical abuse and emotional torture of children; by educators, police officers, and school security guards.

     B. Insist that any measure funding public schools, be passed only on the condition that sufficient resources are spent to combat school bullying.

     C. Insist that any measure funding public schools, be passed only on the condition that sufficient resources are spent to protect children from being molested by teachers and fellow classmates (24 kids are molested in American schools every school day, and that's just what's reported).

     D. End the school-to-prison pipeline.

     E. End the trafficking of children through courts to for-profit prisons.

     F. End the trafficking of children through the courts and C.P.S. (Child Protective Services).

     G. End the trafficking of children by I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

     H. Advocate for a full investigation of Jeffrey Epstein's former employees, as well as Donald Trump, Alexander Acosta, Ghislaine Maxwell, and all persons of interest named in Epstein's black book and/or logs of flights on which Epstein flew (including but not limited to Alan Dershowitz, Michael Mukasey, Ehud Barak, Steven Pinker, Kevin Hart, Kevin Spacey, Naomi Campbell, Prince Andrew, several members of the Trump and Clinton families, and more).
     I. Advocate for a full investigation of James Alefantis, as well as Sasha Lord and Alefantis's other employees, David Brock, John and Tony Podesta, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Anthony Weiner, Laura Silsby-Gayler, Tamera Stanton Luzzatto and David J. Leiter, Jim Steyer, Herb Sandler, and all persons of interest in the Pizzagate case.

     J. Prosecute, to the fullest extent of the law, any and all politicians, troops, and defense contractors, suspected of engaging in sex trafficking rings, whether international or domestic.

     K. In all jurisdictions, fully criminalize the act of marrying a person under the age of 16.

     L. Raise the federal age of sexual consent from 12 to either 15 or 16.

     M. Oppose and reverse all attempts to raise the tobacco and alcohol purchase ages any higher than 18 and 21.

     N. Urge more states to allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections, as long as they'll turn 18 before the relevant general election.

16. SWEEPING CHANGES:

     A. Call for a constitutional convention, as long as one can be held without putting the Bill of Rights at risk.

     B. Support a “New Federalism” -type position regarding entitlements (Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security) wherein the funds for those programs would be block-granted to the states by the federal government, but otherwise left up to the states to administer and enforce.

     C. Commute death sentences to life in all jurisdictions wherein the death penalty still exist (or could exist). Abolish the federal death penalty.
     D. Repeal mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines in all "victimless crime" and "vice law" cases in which there is no actual victim (aside from the accused person and/or the public), including in any drug law cases in which no acts of fraud nor violence were committed.
     E. Remove cannabis from Schedule I, and release non-violent marijuana offenders from prison. 

     F. Pass legislation prohibiting the taxation of marijuana, and also prohibiting its regulation for any purposes (other than to prosecute acts of violence undertaken during marijuana exchanges, and to prevent marijuana from falling into the hands of minors who do not have medical justification for using it). Support all laws which would decriminalize, normalize, and fully legalize marijuana, hemp, cannabis, and other cannabis-based products, while opposing proposals to tax marijuana sales and opposing proposals to regulate the trade and use of marijuana by anyone except minors lacking medical need.

17. AMENDMENTS BORROWED FROM PUBLIC SUGGESTIONS

     [Author's Note: The following ten proposals are taken verbatim, without permission, from a set of proposed amendments which has gained popularity circulating on the internet among libertarians, conservatives, and Constitution lovers.]

     Proposed Amendment XXVII:
     Amendment XVI of the Constitution for the United States is repealed. Congress shall not tax the people directly. Congress shall not tax imports. Congress shall not enact excise taxes. Congress shall pass a budget two years in advance and shall only tax the states apportioned by population to meet the budget requirements for the following year.

     Proposed Amendment XXVIII:
     Amendment XVII is hereby repealed; each State shall appoint its Senators as befits the State.

     Proposed Amendment XXX:
     The Federal Reserve Bank is abolished; Congress shall be prohibited from establishing legal tender or otherwise interfering with the free market in money.

     Proposed Amendment XXXI:
     Congress and the Treasury shall be prohibited from selling bonds or otherwise becoming indebted.

     Proposed Amendment XXXII:
     The proportion of the House of Representatives shall be so regulated by Congress that there shall be not less than one representatives for every fifty thousand persons.

     Proposed Amendment XXXIII:
     Congress shall not vote on any bill or piece of legislation that regards more than one item.

     Proposed Amendment XXXIV:
     Any bill that increases taxes, regulations, or spending shall be approved by a 2/3 majority in each house, and then shall be presented to the public in referendum at the next biennial election and shall pass with a 2/3 majority of the electoral college (359 currently) and with a 2/3 majority of states (34) and the president shall have a line-item veto. Any bill that decreases taxes, regulations, or spending shall be passed with a simple majority in both houses, or by referendum with 50% of electoral college voted (269 currently), or by referendum by 50% of the states (25) and the President shall not have a veto,

     Proposed Amendment XXXV:
     The U.S. military shall not be used without a 3/4 majority in each house first declaring war, except in the case of immediate defense of the territory of the States.

     Proposed Amendment XXXVI:
     Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this constitution expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.

     Proposed Amendment XXXVII:
     Gerrymandering shall be prohibited to the States. All congressional districts shall be designed by computer algorithm with emphasis on following municipal boundaries, contiguity, equal population, and compactness.


     Proposed Amendment XXIX: The Sunset Clause Amendment
     Each law shall contain a sunset clause. All military expenditures must be strictly limited to two years, as provided in the Constitution (including foreign aid bills).

     Proposed Amendment XXX: The Equal Rights Amendment
     Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

     Proposed Amendment XXXI: Titles of Nobility Amendment
     If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain, any title of nobility or honor, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, price or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.

Written on July 25th and 26th, 2019

Published on July 26th, 2019
Edited and Expanded on July 27th and August 19th and 24th, 2019

Written in consultation with conservative and Green friends,

whom the author would like to thank for their helpful suggestions

Critical Letter to Dr. Walter E. Block on "Voluntary Slave Contracts" and Other Topics

Dear Dr. Block,

     I appreciate your thoughtfulness and candor in all that you do. But I would also really appreciate some explanation and clarification about some of the more controversial ideas for which you've become known and infamous.

     First of all (on utilitarianism):

     Are you really going to defend the idea that it's not wrong to "use people as mere means"?

     Doesn't perceiving a person as a tool, an object, or a means to an end, predispose a person to treating people as if they were such, and doesn't that entail ignoring their real biological needs? And doesn't it predispose a person towards objectifying people, and even treating them as slaves? Furthermore, isn't that utilitarianism; that is, using people based on what you deem to be their best use?

     And isn't utilitarianism intrinsically and diametrically opposed to libertarianism? It's not that utility and liberty can't be optimized; they can. But according to all of the individualist and free-market principles I've ever heard of, a free and liberty-loving person is supposed to choose to perform the set of activities which he believes will provide the most utility (regardless of whether he prioritizes others' needs, or his own, in making that assessment; the point is it's up to him).

     Don't you think that, by saying it's not wrong to use people as mere means, you're saying it's fine to treat a person's wrist as if it were just another inanimate object – indistinguishable from any other inanimate object, say for example a link in a metal chain of a handcuff – and then, to attach it to another inanimate object (say, for simplicity's sake, another metal chain of a handcuff), and put them to whatever you (and/or society) determine to be his best use?

     This is to say, don't you literally support involuntary slavery, in addition to claiming that “voluntary slavery” is possible?

     Secondly, on that matter (“voluntary slavery)”:

     How can you defend "voluntary slavery contracts" as if they were ordinary economic activity?
     Has it occurred to you that the vast disparity between the amount of benefit received by the slave and the master, make it preposterous to claim that some voluntary exchange has occurred; and, at that, a voluntary exchange which confers mutual benefit?

     The complete and total surrender of the freedom from direct physical violence, aggression, and harm - which is involved in the act of “willingly submitting to a voluntary slave contract” - ought to indicate to you, that not only are the slave and master not benefiting equally, but also that the slave is not benefiting at all.

     Nobody submits to slavery willingly. I really hope that you consider intimidation and manipulation as forms of coercion, because if you don't, then I don't see why you would find it unacceptable to intimidate, manipulate, and perhaps even threaten or extort, people into “agreeing” to become a slave. Do you know the difference between consenting and assenting?

     If you doubt whether mutual benefit is necessary, then surely the fact that no exchange is occurring, should suggest to you that there can be no voluntary exchange without exchange itself. Is the slave really “getting something” out of letting the master beat him in exchange for food? That is, in exchange for the bare minimum which he needs to survive – i.e., just barely enough to get up, and work, and get beaten the shit out of - another day?

     Additionally, how can the slave/master relationship be considered remotely mutually beneficial, unless it is considered a standard and necessary part of the relationship that medical damages from enduring torture be 100% compensated (if not more)? Would you be entirely without objection, to what “voluntary slave masters” do, if they see themselves as having no obligation to refrain from beating their slaves, except within an inch of their life? What if a slave is being tortured to death, and knows he's dying, and knows a few more whips or kicks will kill him, and the master doesn't know how much damage he's doing? What if the slave fights back, solely to save his life, and the master decides he's justified in killing his slave?

     Where is the volunteerism in “voluntary slave contracts”? Where is the economic exchange? Where is the mutuality? Where is the benefit, even, when beating people demoralizes us, and conditions us to reject the Non-Aggression Principle? Knowing about the epidemic of sex trafficking, human trafficking, child prostitution (etc.), why would you spend more time defending “voluntary slave contracts” than suggesting viable careers to people which do not involve accepting direct physical corporal torture?

     Third (on homesteading):

     Your rejection of the Lockean proviso seems to imply an endorsement of a first-come-first-serve property rights system, wherein the poor and young can be relegated to barren land.

     Don't you realize that a first-come-first-serve system condemns children to perpetual servitude of those older than them, whom by the mere fact of their age have been exposed to more opportunity to acquire education, skills, money, and resources? Doesn't it coerce and deprive the young into dependence, to continue to register, recognize, protect, and defend property claims, based on who claimed it first?

     Frankly, your position on this smacks of the Divine Right of Kings and religious dominionism.

     Fourth (on “murder parks”):

     To be honest, I kind of liked this idea when I first heard of it. It could relieve stress! If you're a psycho with no respect for the Non-Aggression Principle, that is. But I suppose you think that it is possible to “voluntarily murder” someone without aggressing against them, or something.

     Also, from a purely medical and scientific perspective, the human lifespan has no defined upper limit in terms of age. We die when we are too badly injured, or too many of our organs fail, or we are eaten by animals, etc.. It is said that every person who has ever lived, has died, but that is only true if you leave out the people who are still alive. They have lived, yet they have not died. How odd! And preventable death – the cause of most deaths - is called preventable for a reason. So why can't we prevent most deaths?

     Increased research and development on lifespan-lengthening technologies (in the fields of gerontology and senescence studies), such as research regarding the lengthening of the tips of our chromosomes (called telomeres), could even lead to rapid increases in the human lifespan.

     Many people are afraid of living much much longer. Not to worry, however; medical scientists have recently developed the 3-D printing of organs, automated robot surgeons, virtual-reality surgery, spinach leaves grafted onto the heart, a lamb in a bag... We have no reason not to expect that access to, and development of, medical technologies, will make our golden years healthy and comfortable as well as long-lasting.

     Especially if we abolish the enforcement of intellectual property rights to medical device patents and pharmaceutical patents. And also, if we – as you have suggested – develop technology that will allow fetuses to be transplanted into surrogate mothers' wombs after the embryo fertilizes and begins to grow.
     Suppose that people wanted to relax, recreate, and get their tension out. But suppose that all ways to do that were illegal. Would you suggest exercise, or would you suggest that some of them go and kill each other for fun? If you would suggest both, which would you suggest first and why? I hope that it is obvious to you which choice is superior.

     I just have a hard time understanding why you suggest murder, death, suicide, euthanasia, slavery, selling your baby, and letting strangers fuck you as your go-tos, instead of, I don't know... explaining why the government shouldn't interfere with people's freedoms to pursue careers that they already enthusiastically want to do (whatever those careers are)?

     You guys who consider "voluntary slave contracts", torture contracts, and "baby markets" as if they were ordinary economic activities, is making other libertarians like me look bad.

     I mean seriously, what the living fuck does any of this have to do with morality, economics, sociology, or anything worth studying? You say an interesting thing or two every once in a while, but for the most part, listening to you is humiliating, and reading you makes me want to pluck my eyes out and almost makes me wish I had never learned how to read. I went to college for fuck's sake. I've been in the libertarian movement for 12 years. I've given money to the Libertarian Party. Your support of literal slavery, “voluntary” or involuntary, is driving me into the hands of the socialists. And they have earned it.

     How are we ever going to have either significant numbers of Libertarian partisans in office, or a stateless society, if the most viable third party in the country can't explain why its members will be more effective in the fight against child trafficking and child prostitution, than the top two candidates for the nation's highest office (one an admitted pussy-grabber and accused rapist, and the other a man who gropes children live on C-SPAN)?

     Do you understand what you're doing when you are insufficiently clear in your language, while defending the idea that nothing calling itself a government should ever limit our “freedom” to sell our children for government-manufactured currency, nor our “freedom” to put our children to work for us, nor the freedom to engage in prostitution? Are you hoping that the pro-child-labor libertarians and the pro-normalizing-prostitution libertarians aren't going to find each other and join forces?

     Have you given one second of thought to the fact that there are teenagers all over the world, whose parents expect them to work, and whom are surrounded by a culture that believes prostitution is acceptable on the grounds that “it's one thing that even unskilled people can do, so everybody should work”? The result of this is that children are pressured to sell their bodies to people who want to rape and torture them.

     I suppose that your opposition to the public funding of education would be the only thing stopping you from endorsing the idea that school guidance counselors ought to be free to suggest prostitution as a viable long-term career choice to teenagers.

     As academically as possible, go fuck yourself. I lied about wanting clarification; please don't answer any of these questions, my only intent in writing this letter was to get you to renounce nearly everything you've become famous for proposing.

     I will be sharing this letter with all of my libertarian friends, and urging them to stop paying attention to you. Please retire before you are only able to do so in shame.

     I mean seriously, aren't you essentially saying that if teenagers want to earn some money, they should get out there, show some initiative, and let adults beat the shit out of them for money, rape them for money, impregnate them for money, sell their baby for money, and let adults bribe them into silence about it?

     Money is not the most important thing in the world, fuckface. Where the Hell did you come from? Who the fuck do you think you are?

     Please issue some retractions, and quit humiliating the both of us, as soon as possible.

     Love, Joe Kopsick.