Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

Welcome to issue 1215 of L. Neil Smith's The Libertarian Enterprise. King John of England signed Magna Carta at sword point on June 15th, 1215. Nobody knew it at the time, but it was a major inflection point in the history of the rights of men. It was key to turning England and Britain away from the divine right of kings toward a more inclusive society.

Magna Carta created a committee of 25 barons who were to monitor John's performance — an early incarnation of Parliament. Later, commoners joined the barons in a unicameral legislature, and eventually that was split into the Commons and Lords we know today. The English civil war established the sovereignty of Parliament, not the crown, and the notion was solidified in the English Bill of Rights (1 Will & Mar Sess 2 c 2) in 1689.

All of which set the stage for the American experiment, in which The Libertarian Enterprise engages with pride and chutzpah.

In other news, the government of Australia introduced a bill to ban trading in and the public display of Nazi and Islamic State symbols. Appreciate the irony.

In This Issue

Calvin and Hobbes have nothing to do with Magna Carta. But I agree with Calvin's complaint. Indeed, for more than a century the dead hands of bureaucracy and corruption have denied us those things, and we desperately need them. Not so much for themselves, but because of the spirit of adventure and joy of life that would accompany them.

L. Neil deploys his considerable skill in snark on why Michael Medved needs glasses, and why the Republicans are worse than the Democrats. Which would be a pretty good trick these days. (Neil did not anticipate Donald Trump or Joe Biden in this essay.)

Rudyard Kipling, that most English of poets, on the Reeds of Runnymede. Or, perhaps the Redes of Runnymede? Rede is an ancient English word meaning advice or wisdom. Some redes for kings, and crowds and priests and suchlike things? Does the current crop have the wisdom to heed them?

Some of the history and personalities surrounding Magna Carta, from Albert Perez. I can tell you that The Lion in Winter is an excellent film, and as near as I can tell portrays the historical characters accurately. John was an excellent exhibit for one of the problems with hereditary monarchy.

Jim Davidson takes on the worship of parchments and offers his idea of Whom one should worship.

Events

On August 16 – 19, 2023 Liberty International will host the 37th edition of the annual Liberty International World Conference in Madrid, Spain. This year’s main theme is “Prosperity and Longevity Through Liberty” and will encompass discussions on the past, present, and future challenges faced by the freedom movement and its evolution over time.

This year’s conference will reunite 200+ attendees and 10+ pro-liberty organizations from all around the world in the heart of Madrid at Ateneo de Madrid. The conference´s agenda will include keynote sessions, panel discussions, debates, film screenings and other entertaining activities. In addition, we will have two days of cultural tours around Madrid!

The World Science Fiction Society will meet at its annual shindig, Worldcon, October 18-22, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. We expect the Libertarian Futurist Society will present its annual Prometheus Award at Worldcon, as usual. The LFS has release a list of the finalists for Best Novel.

Your event here? Let your editor know!

Links! Have we got Links!

Here’s How We Know The Flunking Education Establishment Is Scared

"Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than wickedness. Evil can be protested against, exposed, and, if necessary, it can be prevented by force. Evil always harbors the germ of self-destruction by inducing at least some uneasiness in people. We are defenseless against stupidity. Nothing can be done to oppose it, neither with protests nor with violence. Reasons cannot prevail." — Dietrich Bonhoeffer "On Stupidity" This explains a lot. We've had more than 50 years of federalized education. Remember what Mark Twain said about school boards.

"Two-thirds of North America could face power shortages this summer during periods of extreme electricity demand and spiking temperatures, the nation’s grid reliability monitor warned Wednesday." Grid monitor warns of blackout risks across U.S.

3 Things Most People Don’t Know About Gold, Bitcoin, and Money From Doug Casey's International Man.

The Well Armed Woman is a shop in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a web site with what looks to be some good advice. And it's not just for women.

Man serving 17-year sentence for murdering his ex-girlfriend released from penal colony to fight in Ukraine. Witnesses dread retribution.

There were 13 campus hate crime hoaxes this school year At least; maybe more.

Speaking of hate crimes, Moms for Liberty supporters were doxxed and physically threatened Oh, wait. It isn't a hate crime if the left does it. Sorry.

Supreme Court to decide whether Second Amendment protects gun owners subject to domestic violence restraining orders