I decided to move some discussion from this post up to the top level here. Specifically, Watoosh wrote: "Well, if violence is defined as initiation of force (which, of course, presupposes certain property rights), then I think Rockwell is correct..." Well, if we define cats as elephants, then many people keep elephants in their house. More seriously, firstly, violence is not usually defined that way. It's defined as, you know, violence, so that, say, someone may respond violently or non-violently to someone who aggresses against them. Otherwise, it would make no sense to say, for instance, "He punched me, but I did not stoop to violence in response." And, secondly, the libertarian usage of "initiation of force" is very offbeat. If I wander onto someone's meadow, most people would not say I had "initiated force" -- I mean, sure, I used "force" against the earth to push off walking, but that's not force directed against...
I think my introduction to the an-cap web was the off-topic Jeffrey Tucker piece, "How To Dress Like a Man".
ReplyDeleteI even gave it a try for a few months, and the difference in my perception of self and treatment from others was pretty surprising. Unfortunately was also a huge anomaly in the west coast software industry.
The changing (deteriorating?) standards of dress is an interesting topic. I wonder if people back in the day truly took their image more seriously, or if they were just conforming to the mores of their time.