Let’s face it, novels celebrating the free market and individual rights are pretty hard to come by. Most everything in the fiction section of your local bookstore is some paean to collectivism, or diatribe against the evils of capitalism and the “soul killing” nature of consumerism.

But you don’t believe that stuff.

You know capitalism, mixed with a political system that protects individual rights, has been the single greatest force for good on the planet, lifting billions out of crushing poverty. You don’t want to read all that bilge about how you’re a bad, bad person for supporting it.

So what is a wayward libertarian to do? Especially when so much of your money is stolen by the government each year that you have very little left over to buy books?

Unfortunately my copy of “Hip Knits” has gone missing.

Why, turn to the free stuff on the internet of course!

And as if the free libertarian fiction we’ve already given you wasn’t enough, I’ve taken the time to compile a list of the best free libertarian novels available elsewhere online.

Free as in gratis. Sin dinero. The low, low cost of nothing. Just for you.

I’ve even included links to where you can download them.

I know, right?

The Best Free Libertarian Novels

The below free libertarian novels are presented in alphabetical order by author, and include explicit libertarian themes like the defense of private property, gun rights, individual choice, and free markets.

1. Withur We by Matthew Alexander

Matthew Alexander’s debut novel is a rollicking, thought-provoking, inspiring, terrifying sci-fi romp through the colonized worlds of human space. It follows a young ex-marine from the planet Aldra as he returns home to find his world falling under the sway of the despotic Realist party.

What follows is revolution, setbacks, perseverance, and the type of thoughtful science fiction, especially as regards the nature of government, and even the ambiguous value of idealism, that you won’t find in most mainstream novels. You can learn more in AFL’s Withur We review.

2. #agora: a novel? by Anonymous

Fittingly written anonymously, this novel of cryptoanarchy, bitcoin, temporary autonomous zones, “notels,” and underground markets in silver and gold carries on the fine tradition of J. Neil Schulman’s Alongside Night (also featured on this list) in portraying how the practice of black market counter-economics (“agorism”) can weaken the state and carve out bubbles of freedom for its practitioners. That this well-written tale also includes some of the most fun characters in libertarian fiction (including Caty, the manic pixie ancap dreamgirl you never knew you wanted) just makes it even more imperative that you download and read it now.

3. and 4. Net Assets and Bargaining Position by Carl Bussjaeger

These two awesome libertarian sci-fi novels have been criminally overlooked by the reading community. The first, a 2003 Prometheus Award nominee, details the rise of a private spaceflight company under the helm of a libertarian CEO (and did it well before Elon Musk turned his fortune to the stars) and the lengths the government will go to in order to maintain its monopoly on the final frontier.

The second novel takes place some years later, when the explosion in innovation and cheap space travel enabled by the company described in Net Assets has led to the creation of a fairly libertarian, space-faring human society colonizing and mining our own star system. A small asteroid mining ship, out prospecting near Jupiter, happens upon a strange, extrasolar object that may, in fact, be a spacecraft of non-human origin.

Once you’ve finished both books you can also read the author’s free short story anthology, The Anarchy Belt, set in the same libertarian space society Bargaining Position takes place in. Also, if you like his stuff, feel free to chip in a buck or two at Bussjaeger’s Patreon.

5. and 6. Little Brother and Homeland by Cory Doctorow

While Doctorow may not be a card-carrying economic libertarian, he’s certainly a civil libertarian given his views on privacy, copyright, and the importance of a free-and-open internet. His two most-libertarian novels (like all his books) also happen to be available for free download on his website under a creative commons license.

Little Brother follows 17 year old Marcus, a wily, tech-savvy high school student in San Francisco. When a terrorist attack hits the city, Marcus and his friends, though innocent, are captured by the DHS and held in a secret prison for days. When they finally get out they find the city has been turned into a total surveillance police-state, and it’s up to them to reveal the DHS’s authoritarian abuse of power.

Homeland is the direct sequel to Little Brother, and follows a now working-age Marcus, who is the webmaster for a reform-minded political candidate. But when an old connection hands him a thumbdrive with evidence of government corruption, and is then kidnapped before his eyes, Marcus has to decide how, or if, to leak the information. All while he starts to notice shadowy government figures following him.

7. On the Steppes of Central Asia by “Matt Stone”/Richard D. Fuerle

This anarchist novella masquerades as a travelogue of a young journalist who visits a libertarian society in Mongolia. There he has all his previous conceptions about the importance of government regulations, taxation, and welfare programs challenged by the unique structure and undeniable success of a society built to function without a state.

Originally published in 1992 by Spooner Press, On the Steppes of Central Asia does a great job of highlighting the working mechanisms of an anarchist society, including how a justice system might work without a government to enforce it.

8. The Driver by Garet Garrett

Tell me if you’ve heard of this libertarian story before: a brilliant entrepreneur takes over and reinvigorates a failing railroad. When his jealous competitors conspire with the government to regulate him out of business he gives an impassioned defense of free markets, individualism, and gold-backed money. His last name happens to be “Galt.”

No, this is not a lost Ayn Rand novel, but instead the premise of Garet Garrett’s novel, The Driver, written in 1922 and celebrating capitalist hero Henry Galt, who must overcome all odds to succeed and defend the dignity of the American businessman.

9. and 10. and 11. and 12. Gaiastan and Oathkeeper and Indivisible and Indivisible: Come and Take It by Troy Grice

Troy has written a bunch of libertarian novels and has graciously made several of them free on his website.

Gaiastan continues his tradition of strong writing combined with tightly plotted stories. In the future, America has been taken over and is now ruled by a cadre of far-left environmentalists who subsume all personal freedoms and individual desires to a totalitarian eco-worship. When the last surviving crew from a failed Mars mission returns, it’s not until they find themselves in a remote village far from the state security of the eco-fascists that they can finally come to terms with their doomed mission, and their society.

Oathkeeper tracks the story of a small town sheriff in Colorado who must decide to defend a local hero who stopped a mass shooting, or bow to the will of federal prosecutors who want to try him for murder.

The Indivisible series follows a disparate group of Americans as they try to navigate and survive a total economic collapse and civil war in a dark future.

13. Time Will Run Back by Henry Hazlitt

Another classic in the liberty canon, and written by the same author as the quintessential non-fiction, free market primer, Economics in One Lesson.

Hazlitt artfully dramatizes the rediscovery of capitalism by a near future, tyrannical dictatorship. With a dedication to his mentor Ludwig Von Mises, and recently made free to download by the Mises Institute, this is one that you certainly won’t want to miss.

14. and 15. and 16. A Most Sacred Right and The Place to Stand and The Secret American Revolution by Robert Lukens

This trio of free novels by Robert Lukens all have explicit libertarian messages and heroes. From antagonistic governments trying to destroy the wealthiest man in the world, to scrappy freedom fighters trying to regain their lost freedom from an encroaching surveillance state, Lukens paints a picture of the lengths free men and women must go to if they want to survive.

17. The Last Trumpet Project by Kevin MacArdry

Belonging to the realm of “anarcho-transhumanist” fiction, The Last Trumpet Project follows a team of technologists and dreamers who are trying to use technology to conquer death and usher in an age of total freedom. Replete with virtual reality worlds, AI, mind uploads, fanatical religious luddites, out-of-control government agents, and a secret society of libertarian vigilantes, this book is an exciting peek into a near-singularity future.

18. A Second Opinion by J.P. Medved

Disclaimer: Yours Truly wrote this one (so you just know it’s good…).

A Second Opinion is a free libertarian novella (hosted right here on AFL!) about a doctor in a near-future America where the health care system has fallen entirely under government control. Working in his office late one night he’s approached by a mysterious woman and her young daughter. They don’t appear in any government citizen databases, and they desperately need his help to treat the young girl’s neurological illness. But if he goes outside the official government system to help them he could lose his medical license, or worse, end up in prison.

19. Minerva (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6) by Bob Murphy

Yes, that Bob Murphy. Before he ran his popular podcast, or publicly destroyed Paul Krugman’s crackpot economic theories alongside Tom Woods, Austrian economist Bob Murphy wrote an awesome anarcho-capitalist sci-fi novel called Minerva.

In the story, Murphy details the creation of an anarcho-libertarian society on the island of Minerva, a fictitious place located just off the coast of the equally fictitious country of Lotos. With an economist as a main character, and dealing with all sorts of theoretical obstacles to an ancap society, like how to repel an armed invasion from a nearby state, Minerva is a fun and fast-paced political adventure.

20. Anthem by Ayn Rand

Somewhat ironically, uber propertarian Rand failed to renew the copyright on one of her earliest works of fiction, making it public domain in the United States.

First published in 1938, Anthem is a dystopian story presented as a secret diary. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521, lives in a socialist civilization so totalizing that not only has technology regressed to a medieval level, but even the word “I” has been forbidden. While exploring the ruins outside the collectivist town he lives in, Equality discovers a hidden tunnel that contains scientific wonders from the “Unmentionable Times” and he proceeds to conduct secret scientific experiments. But the socialist Councils that rule his society have no interest in labor-saving technologies, and worse, consider Equality a traitor for discovering them.

21. And Then There Were None by Eric Frank Russel

And Then There Were None is almost more novella than novel, clocking in at only 40-some pages. It tells the story of a military vessel from the very hierarchical Terran Empire as it arrives to the peaceful human colony of the Gands.

The Terrans want to bring the Gands into their empire, but find themselves frustrated by the free market anarchy on the Gands’ planet, where individual sovereignty is so central that they have coined the term “myob” for “mind your own business.”

22. A Lodging of Wayfaring Men by Paul A. Rosenberg

This hacker-cum-anarchocapitalist novel has been celebrated as an underground bible for how to use the internet to create a freer society.

The second agorist piece on this list, Lodging follows several men as they strive to build a freer society using a computer game. By creating a private market, free from taxation, they hope to allow creators and producers to unchain their creative energies and thrive. When the government gets a whiff of this scheme the race is on between the protagonists and the FBI agents tasked with bringing them in for treason.

23. Alongside Night by J. Neil Schulman

This prophetic 1979 novel tells of a collapsing United States, plagued by hyperinflation and a weak economy, and of the professor whose offbeat ideas of parallel markets may help save it. It’s a classic, with endorsements from Milton Friedman, Ron Paul, and others. It has been single-handedly credited with starting the Agorist movement, and was recently turned into a movie starring Kevin Sorbo (Hercules, Andromeda).

The fact that it was also released by J. Neil Schulman as a free PDF online means you should Internet-run, not Internet-walk to Schulman’s website to join the 300,000 other people who have downloaded it so far.

24. Freehold by Michael Z. Williamson

This 2004 novel is one of the most explicitly libertarian sci-fi books to be published by a traditional publisher (Baen) since Robert Heinlien’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It’s also part of Baen’s “free library” of starter books to download so you should 100% snatch it up ASAP.

The first of a series of eight (and counting) novels centered around the radically libertarian planet of Grainne, Freehold tells the story of disgraced Earth police sergeant Kendra Pacelli. Kendra flees the corrupt and authoritarian Earth for a crime she didn’t commit, and escapes to the Freehold of Grainne, where she must team up with the freedom-loving citizens there to protect their unique society.

25. Freedom Engineering by Bob Woods

This cult classic was originally published online in installments in 2009, but has since disappeared from the internet. Luckily the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine has preserved a completed* version from 2010 for your reading pleasure!

Freedom Engineering is a sci-fi “Anarcho-Capitalist Adventure Series” that details the creation of a libertarian society by a group of “freedom engineers” who hope to eventually bring their anarchistic ways to the stars.

*Note: Thanks to an astute reader we’ve noticed it seems some pages are missing from the Wayback Machine’s archive, and we are endeavoring to obtain a full copy.

26. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

The first book to be banned by Soviet Russia (that should be recommendation enough, really), We is a dystopian science fiction novel written by Russian revolutionary Yevgeny Zamyatin in 1921. It’s set far in the future in a society where individual freedom has completely disappeared and citizens live for the good of the collective. Presented as a diary, it follows the experiences of a state mathematician who is pushed into rebellion when he feels the proscribed emotion of love for a defiant woman he meets. If you liked Ayn Rand’s Anthem, you NEED to give We a try.

Bonus!

There you go, 26 totally free, totally excellent libertarian novels.

What’s that you say? That’s not enough, you say?

Fine.

Here’s a bonus free libertarian short story about circumventing food prohibition laws:

Lippidleggin’

…you greedy cads.

Interested in EVEN MORE libertarian novels (even if they’re not free)?  Check out AFL’s Libertarian Book List for tons of great fiction.

The post The 26 Best Free Libertarian Novels appeared first on Art for Liberty.

Update 12/01/2020: This post has been updated to include an additional couple of the very best new libertarian gifts for you to buy that wonderful free market absolutist in your life. 

It’s every capitalist’s favorite time of year; a time of Black Friday sales,  commerce, and cookies!

2. The Powers of the Earth by Travis J. Corcoran

This gonzo ancap sci-fi novel is the first of a duology, with both books having won the prestigious Prometheus award for best libertarian novel the year they each came out (2018 and 2019).

If you think your libertarian loves moon colonies, uplifted sentient dogs, zero-gravity gun fights, AI-controlled drone armies, and a society of libertarian individualists fighting to be free from an oppressive earth government, then you need to get them this novel!

Buy The Powers of the Earth on Amazon.

3. Veracity album by BackWordz

The hip-hop/metal band BackWordz make no bones about their political beliefs: “Alex [James] and I are hardcore libertarians and we want to spread the message of liberty within our music, as well as speak on the dangers of The State…We want the state to be abolished, and we want you to know why.”

And boy does their debut album Veracity deliver.

With a raw rap/metal sound reminiscent of Skindred at their height, BackWordz hits out at traditional pro-government shibboleths in songs like “Statism,” “Self Ownership,” and the aptly titled, “Democracy Sucks.”

With lyrics like…

They say “who’s going to build the roads?” without taxation/
So you give them a reason to confiscate my payments/
And that’s exactly what the state needs
for you to think you need them. But it’s fake, see?/
Maybe you’d see that they are what they swore to prevent/
A monopolized corporation, it’s called government/

…a gift like this is sure to give your libertarian a smile bigger than a gingerbread man’s.

Get Veracity on Amazon for $9.49.

5. The movie Harry’s War

This family-friendly comedy is the rousing tale of a lone individual battling that quintessential libertarian villain: the IRS!

Harry Johnson is an everyman small town postman, but when his sweet old aunt is wrongly charged $190,000 in back taxes he takes on her fight against the heartless IRS bureaucracy.

Curl up after a long night of caroling with some hot chocolate and this classic libertarian film.

Get Harry’s War on Amazon.

6. Nobody Knows How to Make a Pizza by Julie Borowski

Celebritarian Julie Borowski’s first foray into publishing is this delightful libertarian children’s book about the power of voluntary exchange.

Based on the famous pamphlet I, Pencil by Leonard Read, Nobody Knows How to Make a Pizza tells the story of all the different people who have to coordinate, almost magically, for a pizza to get made; from the cheese producer to the tomato sauce delivery driver.

This book is one of the perfect libertarian Christmas gifts for any pint-sized economists who may have inadvertently (or vertently) sprung from your loins.

Get Nobody Knows How to Make a Pizza on Amazon.

7. The Sparrowhawk Series by Edward Cline

Objectivist author Edward Cline weaves an epic story of the philosophical underpinnings of the American Revolution in this six-part series of novels.

Following two men, Jack Frake and Hugh Kenrick, the series describes both the mental and ethical revolutions required for America to be free, and the events of the American War of Independence itself in colorful, exciting detail.

Fans of Ayn Rand will love the strongly portrayed characters and the very real philosophical dilemmas they struggle with. Fans of well-written and researched historical fiction, stirring action, romance, and intrigue, with the perfect dash of individual and property rights, will also lose themselves in Cline’s masterful story.

Get Sparrowhawk: Book One, Jack Frake on Amazon.

Need more libertarian Christmas gift ideas?

If the above list wasn’t enough for you and, like Scrooge awakening on Christmas morning full of holiday cheer, you feel compelled to buy even more great gifts for your favorite libertarian, head on over to our list of top libertarian holiday gifts, or our complete lists of libertarian fiction and libertarian music, plus some great libertarian movies and fill those stockings!

The post The 12 Top Libertarian Christmas Gifts of 2020 appeared first on Art for Liberty.

“For some reason, many science fiction writers appear to believe that Libertarianism is not merely a political ideology but a floor wax, a dessert topping, and a way of organizing one’s life that will survive the Singularity intact. This is an arguable proposition but I’m going to go with the Libertarians for now because they’ve got the coolest guns.”

Science fiction, since the golden age of the short story magazines like Astounding and Analog has always had a libertarian streak.

For a genre all about individuals using technology and reason to survive and thrive in an often hostile universe it’s hard not to come across as fundamentally libertarian (as much as the pinko writers over at TOR try…).

But with so much sci-fi out there that could be libertarian, what’s actually worth reading and what should you avoid as if it were an unshaven leftist on the sidewalk who’s trying to collect signatures for her petition to raise the minimum wage?

Don’t worry, I’ve put together this list of the absolute best libertarian science fiction stories for your reading pleasure.

Of course, any list of “the best” libertarian sci-fi is going to be inherently subjective, so I’m sure your list will differ slightly (or even not-so-slightly) from mine.

If so there’s just one important thing for us all to remember: your list is wrong, and mine is the only possible correct list of top libertarian science fiction stories.

The Best Libertarian Science Fiction Stories

I’ve ordered the libertarian science fiction stories below based on author last name, not by personal preference or by any subjective measurement of “bestness.”

1. Withur We by Matthew Alexander (Read AFL’s “Withur We” review)

This anarcho-capitalist science fiction novel has got it all: intriguing science, a libertarian revolution against an overbearing state, and an actually realistic “desert island” scenario where a libertarian society is tested in an isolated environment.

Alistair Ashley 3NN is an Aldran marine who returns from a war of interstellar conquest disillusioned by the statism of his home planet. When he joins a rebellion seeking greater freedom he’s thrust into a fight that will take him from the halls of power in the capital city, to a deadly prison planet, and back again. Withur We, though long, is a fast read and will keep you up to see what comes next.

2. Net Assets by Carl Bussjaeger (Read “Net Assets” for free)

Anticipating the rise of SpaceX and Blue Origin, Net Assets is a rip-roaring exploration of the possibilities of private space flight.

When engineer Hank Hanners and businessman Bill Neville start a company to build an orbital launcher and provide cheap space access to the public, they face obstacles from a government run amok. From trigger-happy IRS agents, to pork-laden NASA contracts, and a power-tripping President, they’ve got to navigate every statist challenge right through to the gripping, explosive climax.

There’s also a sequel to “Net Assets” called Bargaining Position which posits a settled, mostly libertarian solar system, and what happens when a prospecting ship chances into a possible first contact situation.

3. The Powers of the Earth (Aristillus Book 1) by Travis J. I. Corcoran

The first book in the Aristillus series, The Powers of the Earth reads like a modern-day take on Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, if that book had included uplifted dogs, self-learning drone armies, and “really, really big guns.”

Entrepreneur Mike Martin just wants to be left alone in the lunar city he founded, along with a growing band of misfits, refugees, and libertarian revolutionaries. But the moribund and tyrannical governments of Earth can’t let that happen. The conflict that follows is as exciting as it is well-written.

Both books of the Aristillus series won the Prometheus Award for best libertarian novel the years they each were published (2018 and 2019).

4. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

No list of the best libertarian sci-fi would be complete without this Hugo Award-winning classic. Often described as “the American Revolution in space,” The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was one of two fiction books (the other being Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged) listed by a plurality of libertarians in a Liberty Magazine survey as having converted them to the philosophy.

When the citizens of the moon, formerly nothing more than a penal colony, decide they deserve to be free and self-sufficient, they touch off a revolution against the tyrannical, Earth-based Authority. Helped by a secret, self-aware computer, a brilliant anarchist professor, and a beautiful revolutionary, mechanic Manny O’Kelly finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a shooting war between Luna and Earth.

Any book where one of the good guys says, “The most basic human right, the right to bargain in a free marketplace…” is one that every good libertarian science fiction fan has to read.

5. Darkship Thieves: Darkship 1 by Sarah A. Hoyt

Sarah Hoyt’s been blogging about libertarianism almost as long as she’s been publishing science fiction infused with it. 

In the first novel of Hoyt’s Darkship series, the young Athena Hera Sinistra, daughter of a powerful government leader on Earth, finds herself fleeing one of her father’s bodyguards. As she makes her way across the solar system, she is rescued by a Darkship thief, and eventually ends up in a libertarian anarchist society on an asteroid, called Eden.

6. Escape from Terra Volume 1 by Sandy Sandfort, Scott Bieser and Lee Oaks

Not a novel, but still technically a libertarian science fiction story, this graphic novel from Big Head Press is a lighthearted examination of an anarcho-capitalist society out in the asteroid belt.

Though Earth bureaucrat Guy Caillard is being sent by the Terran government to bring the rebellious “belters” into line and collect taxes from them, instead he’s in for a rude surprise. The belters have no central government to collect taxes from, and they’re in no hurry to impose one on their perfectly functional society, thank you very much.

Big Head Press is also currently working on another libertarian graphic novel funded through Subscribestar, and their other graphic novels routinely make it on our lists of the top gifts for libertarians.

7. The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith

This classic from libertarian author L. Neil Smith is a gripping sci-fi/alternate history tale that won the Prometheus award the year it was published. 

Denver detective Win Bear, while investigating the murder of a local university physicist, finds not only the killers, but also the eponymous “probability broach,” a portal into a parallel universe. There, the libertarian society of the North American Confederacy has almost no government, everyone carries guns, and “public” services are provided by private business.

Big Head Press also did a great graphic novel adaptation of the story.

8. The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson

Stephenson, whose 1995 short story “The Great Simolean Caper” predicted Bitcoin 14 years before its creation, and whose seminal novel Cryptonomicon details the creation of a gold-backed private currency (and in which characters share plans for easily-assembled automatic weapons so people can defend themselves against genocide in countries with gun control), is definitely an author libertarians should be aware of (he also won the Prometheus Award in 2005 and 2016).

His nanotech-infused sci-fi novel The Diamond Age is a fascinating, cyberpunk-esque adventure through a future Shanghai where society, no longer ruled by central governments (they cannot collect taxes when all money is anonymous, encrypted cryptocurrency), is ordered into voluntary enclaves, or “claves,” and where a voluntary law system called the Common Economic Protocol allows peaceful trade and co-existence between different claves. 

Nell is a poor child living in the slums without a clave, who chances upon a nanotech “book” designed to educate a daughter of the leader of an upper class clave. As she learns and grows, a revolution is also brewing to replace the centralized “feed” that provides raw material for nanotech assembly, with decentralized “seeds” that give individuals much more power.

9. Marooned in Realtime (Peace War) by Vernor Vinge

Anarcho-capitalist science fiction author Vernor Vinge, whose post-singularity novels A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky brought him worldwide acclaim (and a Prometheus Award) has a lot of awesome libertarian sci-fi stories to choose from.

Marooned in Realtime—technically a sequel to The Peace War, though it reads as a standalone novel—follows a group of 300 humans, the only surviving ones in the world, who have been flung millions of years into the future after being encased in high-energy stasis fields called “bobbles.” When one of them is murdered, it’s up to Wil Brierson, the only living cop from a 21st century libertarian anarchist society (and also the main character of Vinge’s excellent, Prometheus Award-winning ancap short story “The Ungoverned“) to find out who the killer is.

10. The Empire of Isher: The Weapon Makers / The Weapon Shops of Isher by A.E. Van Vogt

Another absolute classic, The Weapon Shops of Isher was originally published in 1951 as an amalgamation of some of Vogt’s 1940s sci-fi stories. 

Largely written during WW2 and the conquests of the Nazis, The Empire of Isher tells the story of the eponymous oppressive empire and the mysterious Weapon Shops. Despite the tyrannical nature of the Isher government, the Weapon Shops sell weapons to the citizens to use in self defense, and also provide a parallel legal system when the official one is beset by corruption. 

Their famous motto, reflecting the belief that even tyrannical governments can’t oppress armed citizens is, “The right to buy weapons is the right to be free.”

11. The Complete Lanague (The Lanague Federation Series) by F. Paul Wilson

Ok, I’m cheating a bit here with this recommendation since it’s a collection, and not a single novel, but every story in Wilson’s LaNague Federation future history series is a classic of libertarian science fiction (including the fun little short story “Lipidleggin” which can be read free online and has also been made into a short film).

Four-time Prometheus Award-winner Wilson has constructed a rich future with a galaxy-spanning libertarian Federation that, from its rebellious birth overthrowing the tyranny of the Outworld Imperium, to its rocky time defeating anti-freedom conspiracies and invasions, still somehow manages to pull through and provide a raft of fast-paced adventures.

12. The Golden Age Trilogy by John C. Wright

Recommended by other well-known libertarians like Stephen Kinsella, The Golden Age tells the story of a post-singularity human/transhuman society where people are immortal, poverty is non-existent, and humanity co-exists with god-like machine intelligences. The society Wright envisions is also highly libertarian, with a functioning free market and where the non-aggression principle is explicitly the main law of the land. Plus, any novel where Ricardo’s principle of comparative advantage is brought up (in a positive light) and where the author talks in the appendix about why you shouldn’t let a central bank interfere with the credit market is what we in the biz call “totally wicked!”

Phaethon, a wealthy son of one of the governing council, learns that his memory has been tampered with, ostensibly as punishment for a crime he had been planning to commit. He sets off on a quest across the solar system to find out why.

Honorable Mentions

As I compiled this list there were a handful of libertarian sci-fi stories that were popular, or mentioned often by others, that didn’t quite make it into my top 12, so have a gander at the also-rans:

• The Syndic by C. M. Kornbluth
• Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
• The Corporation Wars Trilogy by Ken MacLeod
• Freehold (The Freehold Series) by Michael Z. Wiliamson (Read “Freehold” for free)

Ok, What’d I Miss?

I’m sure you in the peanut gallery have plenty of awesome libertarian science fiction books that you insist must be part of this list.

So go on, share them in the comments.

If you must.

The post The 12 Best Libertarian Science Fiction Stories appeared first on Art for Liberty.

To wit:

They want to take our guns whenever kids get shot

Instead of helping the sick, they say you in their thoughts

Exercise your rights, end up on prison blocks

That’s why I’m telling you, how to print a glock

Grab the Creality Ender Three

Get an eSun PLA Plus piece

Find the Freemendontask, Glock 17

Using GitHub, search fosscad, then please

Slice the STL, infill at a hundred percent

Make sure to use supports, then print

While you wait, order rails off SpookyRails

Glock 17 parts kit, through the mail

Remove supports when it’s done, see the README

Give a shout out on Keybase, it’s too easy

Assemble when the parts arrive, it’s all a blur

And don’t forget the spring and a follower

The song, which you really need to listen to in its entirety, is a great example of using libertarian music to spread an important message about freedom and the right to self defense.

Since “The Signal” Gh0st Boi has released several more great pro-freedom songs. Most of them relate to guns and gun control, but at least one, “Stronger,” gets into broader crypto-anarchist themes like decentralization and using encryption to route around government or corporate crackdowns:

Routing protocols, we can dodge the law

We got data in ciphers that just can’t be broken

Using VPN, that’s deeper than the Atlantic Ocean

Modern superheroes, they want names, not a man has spoken

Call this movement radical equality, that’s the slogan

His name is a not-so-subtle allusion to the unserialized “ghost guns” that so terrify the statist establishment and all the left-wing attorneys general.

We were able to catch up with Gh0st Boi through his encrypted ProtonMail account and he agreed to answer some questions about his libertarian band and about the 3D gun-printing cause.

1. Why did you start producing pro-gun/3D-printing music and how did you realize there was a market need?

We found ourselves being censored on platforms such as Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter. This was an experiment to see if they would try to ban music too.

2. Describe your act a little and the logistics of it. Are you a one-man show or do you have other people helping to put together tracks?

We collaborate with others when needed. We take input from the community as a whole and we put out the message we all agree on.

3. I assume you consider yourself a libertarian or crypto-anarchist politically, what inspired you to become one?

Cody Wilson inspired me to become a crypto-anarchist. 

4. As a songwriter, how do you get your ideas? Are there any other artists or musicians who have influenced/inspired you?

I was never a songwriter until this idea came up. Some artists that have influenced me are YTCracker, Biggie, and Tupac.

5. Many in the liberty movement seek to promote their philosophy through activism and academia, why do you think art and music should be included in that mix?

Music in particular can be catchy and difficult to get out of your head. A good song sticks with you, and also makes others interested.

6. Do you have any favorite piece of art, music, film etc. that promotes libertarian ideals?

Our favorites aren’t released yet, stay tuned!

7. What would be your advice for aspiring artists who share your love of liberty?

Don’t let those who would attempt to crush our freedoms get you down. There are always ways to fight back.

8. Could you describe your creative process? How do you go from nothing to one of your badass songs, for instance?

We believe in open source software, however some secrets we will keep for ourselves

10. Did you have any formal training as a musician or singer?

No formal training in this area, no.

11. How can those interested in promoting liberty cultivate and inspire artists and other creatives within the movement?

Those with creative talent are encouraged to learn Fusion360 and show us your weapons designs.

12. Where can people find you online and support you?

Podcasts

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K33KRFvZACc
• https://vonupodcast.com/tvp-54-deterrence-dispensed-ivanthetroll/
• https://vonupodcast.com/tvp-55-gun-printing-101-with-ivanthetroll/
• https://anchor.fm/anarchist-garage/episodes/3—Press-F-or-Home-Gunsmithing-w-Ivan-the-Troll-e4jngp

Videos

• https://gunstreamer.com/@ivanthetroll
• https://www.bitchute.com/channel/ivanthetroll12/

Files

• https://spee.ch/@Deterrence-Dispensed:2
• https://ivanthetroll.keybase.pub/index.html
• https://github.com/maduce/fosscad-repo
• http://thepiratebay.org/user/DeterrenceDispensed
• http://pewpewc5umocy3xd.onion/
• http://fosscad7djzkil6c.onion/

Other

• https://voat.co/v/DeterrenceDispensed

And make sure to check out Gh0st Boi’s other crypto-anarchist songs on Soundcloud, and follow him on Twitter @BlueGooGuns

The post Interview With Crypto-Anarchist Rapper Gh0st Boi appeared first on Art for Liberty.

Obviously everyone’s already heard of Rush (who famously dedicated their album, 2112, to Ayn Rand), and we all know of bands like Muse, and NOFX, who have released a couple libertarian songs over the years.

But beyond those few table crumbs and scraps, where can a libertarian audiophile go to get really good songs about freedom?

How can you, an intellectual, fill your headholes with hard rock songs about praxeology?

In short, are there any actual, explicitly libertarian bands out there?

Well, to answer that question yer ‘umble author here has done some digging (ok, a lot of digging) and it turns out that, yes.

Yes there are.

Top Libertarian Bands

The libertarian bands I’ve listed here have a couple things in common. 

First, the artists themselves are all explicitly libertarian. That means no country bands that may have a gun rights song but are actually pro-war Republicans, and no punk bands that may have an anti-government song but are actually socialists (looking at you, Anti-Flag).

And second, their songs actually promote or defend some element of political libertarianism (individual rights, free markets, self defense etc.) so that their music, and not just their personal political beliefs, is also explicitly libertarian.

All that being said, I’ve ordered the list of libertarian bands below alphabetically by band name or artist last name.

1. BackWordz

These guys are the real deal. Frontman Eric July describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist, and has written for places like The Libertarian Republic. Just about every song of this rap/metal band is as explicitly libertarian as you can get.

The song list on their debut album, Veracity (incidentally a top recommendation in our article of the best gifts for libertarians), reads like a greatest hits tour through libertarian philosophy:

• Self Ownership
• Statism
• Utopias Don’t Exist
• Individualism
• Democracy Sucks!

Oh, and that hard rock song about praxeology?

Yeah, they’ve got that too.

2. Freenauts

This libertarian rap band is a collaboration between some well-known libertarian hip hop artists—including Alex Vidal, Silver Stax, Keybeaux, and CTRAFFIK—and their first album, Beats, Rhymes & Liberty, does not disappoint. The track list is as varied as the artists creating it, but all the songs are united with a libertarian (and often anarcho-capitalist) theme. 

From the Eminem-sounding “Crazy Sexy Rebel,” to “Great Idea” which samples an Adam Kokesh speech, and “1nce Again 1nce Again” which is dedicated to (and clearly inspired by) A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg, Freenaut’s songs run the gamut of hip hop styles.

But their lyrics are all liberty.

Take “1nce Again 1nce Again” for instance:

Don’t play me close, 2nd amendment teaches quick lessons

My shit’s encrypted simply meaning that I got the keys

Anonymous ID’s, blockchain baller steez

Sometimes I might catch apologists for legal plunder

But at the end of the day, tax is theft brotha

Some other great songs from them:

• Crazy Sexy Rebel
• Fuck The State
• 1nce Again 1nce Again
• What if Nobody Showed Up to Vote?

3. Galt Aureus

Technically more Objectivist than libertarian, Galt Aureus nevertheless is an incredible pro-freedom band. With the haunting vocals of Saher Galt and a melodic rock sound, Galt Aureus serves up some incredibly catchy tunes you’ll find stuck in your head days later.

And their lyrics are all liberty, baby. Take the uber-Randian tune “STRIKE” from their album “Treason,” for instance:

No indenture bears my name,

yet the state arrogates my labor

all the same.

Let a little blood upon the wheel,

shed a little more upon the gears,

lay your hands upon the levers and now,

shut the machine down.

I recognize no right of state

to dictate what of my life is mine

and what they’ll take.

And they’ve got lots more where that came from:

• STRIKE
• Revive the Light
• Soliloquy of Slaves
• Burn Down the Stage

4. The Gitmos

With a decidedly tongue-in-cheek political punk sound, it can be hard to tell when The Gitmos are being serious, and when the band is instead trading on satire. But despite the conspiracy-laced tinge of some of their lyrics (Alex Jones-type libertarians will feel right at home) The Gitmos hit all the right notes that a libertarian band should.

Their energetic, cheerful sound goes perfectly with lyrics like:

Privatize the profit

“I think that’s a great idea!”

Socialize the debt

“Well that means you pay!”

From their upbeat song “Bailout.”

And the rest of their oeuvre is no less libertarian:

• Your Government Is Lying
• Buy A Gun
• I Wanna Grow Weed
• The Future Cops of America

5. The Interrupters

This libertarian band is fronted by Aimee Allen, who wrote Ron Paul’s official song for his 2008 campaign. The Interrupters are a punk/ska band with a lot of great libertarian songs, including hits like “Liberty,” whose lyrics and catchy rhythm will warm the cold, dark heart of even the most curmudgeonly freedom-lover:

Drones in the sky

Government lies

Keeping an eye out

Tell me why they violate rights

Blue and red lights

Billyclub fights on my street at night

Where did my liberty go?

Other awesome songs of theirs include:

• Take Back The Power
• Can’t Be Trusted
• Divide Us
• Babylon

6. Tatiana Moroz

Moroz is a singer-songwriter active in the libertarian community. She runs a podcast covering all sorts of libertarian topics where she hosts libertarian guests like Julie Borowski (who wrote a libertarian children’s book), Bob Murphy (whose free libertarian novel, Minerva, we’ve covered here at AFL), and libertarian actor Robert Anthony Peters.

She’s also a passionate cryptocurrency enthusiast, and created her own “TatianaCoin” to successfully fund a new album. As a talented musician her warm vocals lend heart to the pro-liberty messages in her songs.

• The Bitcoin Song
• Evolution to Revolution
• The Silk Road – A Tribute Song to Ross Ulbricht
• Make A YouTube Video

7. Remy Munasifi

While most of rapper/comedian Remy’s recent songs are parody covers, he’s also written and performed a large number of original libertarian tunes. Initially having gone viral with his “Arlington Rap” song, “GoRemy” has since opened for Ron Paul, performed at Students for Liberty conferences, and worked with the Tax Foundation to record anti-taxation songs.

He’s got scores of songs to pick from, but some of his best original libertarian ones include:

• Tax Freedom Day
• People Will Die!
• Nanny Tax Rap
• If You Like Your Plan You Can Keep It

8. Jordan Page

Another singer-songwriter, Page’s velvety voice and libertarian bonafides (he’s opened for Ron Paul dozens of times) have appeared on AFL before, and for good reason. Not only is he a passionate libertarian activist who uses his music to bring attention to important causes (see “The Persecution of Schaeffer Cox“), but he’s an extremely gifted artist with a talent for memorable lyrics and haunting vocals.

As an example from his popular song, “Liberty“:

When is the right time to stand up for freedom?

Could it be when you start to fear creating children

Who’ll inherit the pain and the debt of this nation

And be slaves to the banks that cause hyper-inflation

Who are masters of commerce, lies, and bad legislation?

And all of his songs are this good:

• Message of Freedom
• The Light of the Revolution
• Arm Yourselves
• War Machine

9. Poker Face

Similar to The Gitmos above, the guys of Poker Face—a self-described “truth/freedom band”—are a hard rock band firmly on the Alex Jones spectrum of libertarian bands (as illustrated by songs like “Illuminati”). But that doesn’t mean their pro-freedom, anti-authoritarian tracks don’t rock. Because with rich guitar riffs and great vocal harmonies, they definitely do.

From defending gun rights, to decrying the welfare state, and even a tribute to marijuana, Poker Face has got a ton of songs that will resonate with libertarians of every stripe.

• I’d Rather Die Than Be Your Slave
• Calling For A Revolution
• Grassoline
• Kontrol

10. Post Freedom

This anarcho-capitalist punk band is, unfortunately, currently on hiatus. The good news is they’ve released their debut album, The Decentralization of Thought, online for free download. 

With a sound similar to Dropkick Murphys (owing largely to Matt Bergman’s throaty vocals) and lyrics like “Statism’s footprint is the blood that is shed/drenching the flags of the tax farms in red,” anyone who likes passion-filled punk will love this ancap band.

• Smash the State!
• You Own Your Own Damn Body!
• Statist Thugs
• The War Machine

11. Rothbard

Another libertarian band that is sadly on hiatus, Rothbard was led by David White of Burnt Records. With a name like “Rothbard” it’s no surprise that this rock band is composed of individualist anarchists and that their songs are incredibly libertarian.

With the band’s roots in the 2008 financial crisis, songs like “Too Big to Fail” and “Helicopter Ben” skewer government interventions, while “Ron Paul” and “Freedom” offer a more hopeful view of the future of personal liberty.

• Helicopter Ben
• Freedom
• Too Big to Fail
• Ron Paul

12. Sons of Liberty

The personal side-project of Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer, Sons of Liberty is an unapologetically pro-freedom band. With a similar heavy metal sound to Iced Earth, Sons of Liberty’s track list focuses largely on the radical ideas of America’s Founding Fathers (and their website links to Cato and the Mises Institute).

Sons of Liberty’s lyrics practically drip defiance and rebellion. For instance:

We look to the Founders

Who inspire the cause when hope is but lost

To be free

We’ll bring down the tyrants

Forcing their hand, bringing them down to their knees

If you’re feeling a little revolution, you could do worse this band’s songs:

• Don’t Tread on Me
• We The People
• Our Dying Republic
• The Tree of Liberty

Honorable mentions

Some other awesome libertarian and libertarian-adjacent bands include:

• Rebel, Inc. (like a libertarian Rage Against the Machine)
• Steve Lee (folksy pro-gun songs with a charming Australian accent, what’s not to like?)
• Sleep Labs
• Sleep Rebellion

Any other great libertarian bands?

Despite our deep digging, it’s entirely possible AFL missed some awesome libertarian musicians out there.

Any others you know of that are both explicitly libertarian in their personal beliefs and their lyrics?

Add ’em in the comments!

(And don’t say Rush. Everyone already knows about Rush, guys.)

The post 12 Top Libertarian Bands You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on Art for Liberty.

Most libertarian songs are not so much pro-freedom as they are anti-authoritarian. 

They tend to be more against tyranny than for liberty, and that means sometimes they can sound, well, more angsty than hopeful. More negative than positive.

But libertarianism as a political philosophy is all about the positive.

When your ideology explicitly defends free markets because they are win/win for participants, and sees individuals as capable and deserving of making their own life choices, and strives towards a prosperous world without the initiation of violence, you can’t help but believe in the positive aspects of human nature.

So to showcase these positive elements of libertarian thought, I’ve collected the top 17 libertarian songs about freedom.

The songs I’ve picked present freedom, and the actions of free people, in a positive light and promote the idea that freedom is something core to what it means to be human, and should be cherished and defended.

The Best Libertarian Songs About Freedom

The songs I’ve collected are a bit eclectic: we’ve got a mix of rock, punk, rap, folk, country, heavy metal, and even a crooner in there, but hopefully—whatever your musical taste—you’ll find at least one pro-freedom song here to your liking.

Note: Not all the bands or singers listed here are, themselves, libertarians, but the lyrics and messages of these specific songs are nonetheless about freedom.

The list below is ordered alphabetically by band name or artist last name.

1. “Individualism” by BackWordz 

A great song focused on the importance of liberty for individuals, this rap/metal piece from libertarian band BackWordz mixes fast-paced rapping from frontman Eric July with a lyrical metal chorus that sounds a hopeful note about the power of free people.

Check it out and see why we put their debut album Veracity on our list of the top Christmas gifts for libertarians.

But you’re not in distress, you’re just stressed, but you partially causing it./

Yes. Individuality. The only way to succeed is secede./

Pushing forward, realizing that we are the marked ones fighting for the freedom of the/

Individual. Rise up, own yourself and take back what you’ve made./

2. “Cold Dead Hands” by Dustin Collins

Of course, it wouldn’t be a list of libertarian songs about freedom without at least one song celebrating the freedom that defends all the others. This one’s for the libertarian country fans out there, who also may own an AR (or five).

There’s an Amendment to a paper/

Up in Washington, D.C./

Ratified and voted on/

By folks like you and me/

Well it’s made it through the ages/

Guarantees this country free/

You can bet your bottom dollar/

It ain’t ending here with me/

3. “Freedom” by Alice Cooper 

Rock legend Alice Cooper’s contribution to the pantheon of songs about freedom is a heavy metal sendoff of authoritarians and busybodies and a rebellious celebration of free speech and free art.

Oh nobody better tell you how to live your life/

Oh you gotta do it on your own/

Freedom, we’re gonna ring the bell/

Freedom to rock, freedom to talk/

4. “Freedom” by Debazine

This French-Canadian singer-songwriter takes a classic rock sound with catchy riffs and pairs it with upbeat, confident vocals and simple, memorable lyrics that will easily get stuck in your head if you’re not careful.

Sick of this motherfucking state/

I’ve fallen in love with you again/

Cause Freedom, yeah, is the lady I’m in love with!/

Freedom, yeah, is the lady I’m in love with!/

5. “Freedom and Liberty” by Funeral Dress

This hopeful, defiant song by Belgian punk band Funeral Dress combines punchy vocals with a catchy sound that serves to emphasize the strength of the pro-freedom message in the lyrics.

One chance, one road/

You better look for your own,/

The gift of life is a wasted present/

If you don’t succeed!/

Think, act, choose wisely,/

Don’t hurt anybody;/

That’s the only groundrule people,/

One law for the FREE!/

And don’t you compromise,/

The big little white lie!/

Freedom, Freedom,/

Freedom and Liberty/

Freedom, Freedom,/

Freedom and Liberty/

6. “Stronger” by Gh0st Boi

Anonymous crypto-anarchist rapper Gh0st Boi exploded onto the libertarian music scene with “The Signal,” a song which literally describes how to 3D-print your own Glock. But his newer song, “Stronger,” is an even more powerful, pro-freedom tune. Gh0st Boi’s sound, reminiscent of Eminem and Breathless, adds a welcome bite to his forceful lyrics about using technology to secure freedom.

The more you hurt us, more the signal gets stronger/

One day, this going to grow into a monster/

Forget your donors, dark money, and your sponsors/

For our freedom, ain’t nothing you could offer/

We only get stronger/

7. “Declaration Day” by Iced Earth

Heavy metal band Iced Earth (founded by Jon Schaffer, who also leads the libertarian rock band Sons of Liberty) wrote this paean to America’s founding for their 2004 album, The Glorious Burden. The vocals of former Judas Priest lead singer Tim Owens combine perfectly with Shaffer’s uplifting and hopeful lyrics about the philosophy of freedom embedded in the American Declaration of Independence.

The odds are stacked against us/

But with our resolve relentless/

An arrogance their weakness/

Our cause is just, we won’t be beaten/

Upon this declaration/

Will come a grand new nation/

Where men are seen as equal/

Governed by and for the people/

8. “Freedom of Speech” by Ice-T

Rapper Ice-T, beloved of libertarians for declaring gun ownership as “the last form of defense against tyranny,” is no stranger to pro-freedom songs. He released this uncompromising defense of the First Amendment and the power and importance of free speech in 1989.

We should be able to say anything, our lungs were meant to shout/

Say what we feel, yell out what’s real/

Even though it may not bring mass appeal/

Your opinion is yours, my opinion is mine/

If you don’t like what I’m sayin’? Fine/

But don’t close it, always keep an open mind/

A man who fails to listen is blind/

We only got one right left in the world today/

Let me have it or throw The Constitution away/

9. “Be Free” by Kemo the Blaxican

With a sound reminiscent of 90s-era Will Smith, Kemo’s song “Be Free” is a forceful message to kids about the value of freedom and the importance of the non-aggression principle.

The world is yours kid, do your thing/

Don’t let it break you, shine like a diamond ring/

Kids, be free/ 

Do whatever it is that you wanna do/

Just as long as you don’t hurt anybody/

Dont, dont hurt anybody/

10. “Born Free” by Matt Monro

Sinatra-like crooner Matt Monro’s “Born Free,” title song of the movie of the same name, is a light, airy tribute to the drive within each of us to live in freedom.

You’re free as the roaring tide/

So there’s no need to hide/

Born free and life is worth living/

But only worth living/

‘Cause you’re born free/

11. “I Own Me” by Neema V

Anarcho-capitalist rapper Neema V hits at the most fundamental right that freedom protects, ownership of your own body and self. His tight lyrics emphasize that with freedom, also comes the responsibility to look after your own life.

I make my own rules/

take my own tools/

you ain’t in my shoes/

no you ain’t get to choose/

I ain’t pay you dues./

I pay ’em for my self/

don’t expect shit from me/

and I ain’t need your help/

12. “The Plan” by NOFX

American punk band NOFX’s “The Plan” is a surprisingly upbeat song that’s basically about the simplicity of the non-aggression principle and how such a view of other people’s freedom (“I don’t fuck with you, don’t fuck with me”) will inevitably lead to the creation of a better world.

It’s nothing like the bible, there’s no lesson to be learned/

It ain’t the 10 commandments, cause nothing’s written in stone/

It has to do with freedom and personal liberty/

I don’t fuck with you don’t fuck with me/

The blueprints of a better world/

Were written on a postage stamp/

13. “Message of Freedom” by Jordan Page

Page’s velvet voice would be enough by itself to gain him a top listing in any libertarian’s playlist, but the fact that his lyrics and songwriting are so compelling elevates his art even higher. This song, presented as a letter to Page’s young children, shares with them his hope that by rejecting force and violence, they can build a world premised on freedom.

Freedom’s the answer, what is the question?/

Resist the advances of force and aggression/

And leave to your children the promise of something more/

As God is my witness I’ll be a slave no more/

14. “My Own Country” by Pennywise

A guilty pleasure of mine, punk band Pennywise’s insolent anarchist anthem “My Own Country” takes the idea of individual freedom to its logical endpoint. If the United States can secede from Great Britain, why can’t an individual secede from the United States?

I’m gonna make it on my own/

Dictator on a throne/

Make my own philosophy, U.S. of me/

A citizen who’s really pissed, United Anarchists/

Give me death or liberty, I am my own country/

15. “Freedom” by Rothbard

This sadly short-lived anarcho-capitalist rock band has a bunch of great songs including “Helicopter Ben” and “Ron Paul,” but this one is the most positive and explicitly about freedom.

The only guarantee/

of interest to me/

is a right to be free/

to be free to keep what I earn/

to decide what my kids learn/

and what I consume shouldn’t be the lawman’s concern/

To be free to speak my mind/

to believe as I’m inclined/

without big brother dropping by to keep me in line/

16. “Something for Nothing” by Rush 

Rush, who dedicated their album 2112 to Ayn Rand, have a lot of libertarian-friendly and anti-authoritarian songs but this one is their most explicitly pro-freedom one. With a similar message to Neema V’s “I Own Me,” “Something for Nothing” highlights the connection between freedom and personal responsibility, especially with regard to taking charge of your own life.

No you don’t get something for nothing/

You can’t have freedom for free/

You won’t get wise/

With the sleep still in your eyes/

No matter what your dream might be/

What you own is your own kingdom/

What you do is your own glory/

What you love is your own power/

What you live is your own story/

17. “Live Free or Die” by White Wizzard

Similar to Alice Cooper’s “Freedom” this heavy metal tune also extols the power of freedom to allow anyone to seek and attain their dreams. With a sound reminiscent of power metal like Dragon Force, and old school hair metal, “Live Free or Die” is a rousing pro-liberty song and a good one to end our list on.

Patriots of freedom’s fight/

We the people shining the light/

Illuminate our dreams in neon nights/

Free to be who you want to be/

From sea to shining sea/

United force of truth and destiny/

Which Songs About Freedom Did We Miss?

I’m sure everyone has their favorite libertarian songs. Any good pro-freedom ones (with a positive message) we missed in this list? 

Add them in the comments!

The post The 17 Best Libertarian Songs About Freedom appeared first on Art for Liberty.

A common answer is Ayn Rand’s libertarian novel, Atlas Shrugged, the great philosopher’s 1200-page magnum opus that originated the catchphrase, “Who is John Galt?” 

It’s an outstanding book, albeit a bit wordy in places, but it’s not the best introductory novel. Rand’s prose, while certainly well-crafted, can be overwhelming at times.

What we’re seeking instead are libertarian books that are more accessible to beginners. 

Though we at Art for Liberty are more focused on libertarian fiction, I decided to include some non-fiction as well. Non-fiction brings a lot of people into the libertarian fold. I myself read about as many non-fiction books as fiction. So I have selected five from each category.

To be clear, the below libertarian books for beginners aren’t necessarily my ten favorites overall. I’ve selected them for accessibility and the different aspects of the libertarian ideal that each represents.

I’ll begin with the non-fiction.

The 5 Best Non-Fiction Libertarian Books for Beginners

If I were to assemble the physical editions of these picks on one shelf, one thing would be immediately noticeable: they are all rather thin volumes. 

That’s because an introduction to libertarianism for beginners, especially in the case of non-fiction, should be short enough to digest without trying the reader’s patience. 

Ironically, they all have rather long titles.

1. The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul (2008)

Ron Paul surveys the many problems facing America today and the government’s role in creating them. Rather than advocating more laws and restrictions, he shows how freedom is the best answer in each case. It’s a radical solution that stems from a common-sense philosophy. Doctor Paul portrays libertarianism as a logical extension of American tradition and paints a hopeful picture of the future of this nation.

2. No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority by Lysander Spooner (1870)

No Treason is a historical American anti-government tract by a 19^th Century activist who viewed America’s venerated Constitution as destructive of liberty. Spooner campaigned against slavery and yet supported the right of the Confederacy to secede from the Union. This brilliant essay demolishes the “social contract” theory of government in favor of natural and inalienable rights.

Ebook versions available for free from the Mises Institute which offers a free audiobook version as well.

3. The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude by Etienne LaBoetie (1576)

Here is a philosophical treatise by a 16^th Century French intellectual that asks the question, why do people obey authority, even when it is against their interests to do so? LaBoetie addresses the psychological and economic reasons why people follow their leaders and what it might take to get them to revolt.

Ebook versions available for free from the Mises Institute.

4. A Short History of Man: Progress and Decline by Hans-Hermann Hoppe (2017) 

This is a short though exhaustive survey of the history of human civilization, government, and markets. In the process, Doctor Hoppe barbecues sacred cows such as “progress” and “democracy.” A student of Ludwig von Mises and a colleague of Murray Rothbard, Hoppe’s writings are more straightforward and accessible than either.

5. TANSTAAFL – A Libertarian Perspective on Environmental Policy by Edwin G. Dolan (1971)

The name comes from the popular acronym of the phrase, “There Ain’t No Such Thing As a Free Lunch.” It’s a unique look at environmentalism from a libertarian perspective. Dolan introduces the concept of economic “externalities” and shows how, more often than not, government policy has harmed the environment rather than protecting it.

The 5 Best Fiction Libertarian Books for Beginners

Of all the genres, science fiction is the most amenable to speculation and the exploration of great ideas. Therefore it’s no accident that all of my top five picks are science fiction of one sort or another. I’ve encountered works from other genres that are generally pro-freedom but not explicit enough to call them libertarian.

1. Anthem by Ayn Rand (1938)

Rand didn’t only write doorstoppers; one of her shortest books, Anthem, is a timeless allegory about a far-future dystopian society which has abolished the concept of individuality. A rebellious young man named Equality runs afoul of the authorities by pursuing scientific inquiry in defiance of his assignment as a manual laborer. He and his girlfriend escape to the wilderness where they discover the secret history of freedom. This classic book has become very topical in light of the globalist establishment’s current war on individualism, logic, and accurate language.

Anthem is also available for free online.

2. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein (1966)

This classic tale tells the story of the desperate struggle for independence by the citizens of a lunar penal colony in the late 21st Century. In this book, Heinlein introduces the phrase TANSTAAFL (see above) and considers the strange cultural shifts in a society without formal government and a 70% male population. One of its primary characters is Mike, an artificially intelligent computer that predates Hal of 2001 fame.

3. The Stone Canal by Ken MacLeod (1996)

Part of his Fall Revolution Series, MacLeod’s novel begins sometime in the 21^st Century as technology alters the nature of humanity. The consequences include widespread cloning, radical life extension, the transfer of human consciousness to machines, and a transhuman colony on Jupiter that menaces the entire species. MacLeod explores potential forms of government including an anarcho-capitalist outpost on a world called Mars II, home of the titular Stone Canal.

Several of MacLeod’s other works, including The Corporation Wars Trilogy and The Star Fraction appear on our comprehensive list of libertarian fiction.

4. The Peace War by Vernor Vinge (1984)

Mathematician Vernor Vinge has written several novels with pro-liberty themes, but this is probably the most on-point. The story takes place decades after The Peace Authority has ended war by encasing all military facilities in impenetrable spherical force fields called “bobbles.” Yet in stopping the violence, they have become the world’s absolute rulers. Paul Hoehler, the device’s inventor, works with a teenage genius to find a weakness in the technology and liberate the world. The book raises interesting questions about coercion and freedom.

AFL is big fans of Vinge’s generally, as you can see from our review of his free anarcho-capitalist short story The Ungoverned.

5. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2008)

In this near-future young adult novel, Marcus, a teenage computer nerd, fights the system after a terrorist attack turns his hometown of San Francisco into a police state. It’s a plausible, nearly mainstream story in which clever teens use technology to fight back against oppression. This fast-paced and exciting story was difficult to put down. Little Brother is an excellent introduction to the practical implications of tyranny and freedom for the younger set.

Little Brother and its sequel, Homeland, are both available online for free from Cory Doctorow’s website.

What other books do you recommend for libertarian beginners?

Any of these books would make an excellent libertarian gift for readers who may be receptive to the ideas of freedom and individualism. They’re also essential components for the bookshelf of the dedicated libertarian.

Do you have any favorite books you recommend for new readers curious about libertarianism? Add them in the comments!

And if you need some other libertarian books that won’t break the bank, check out our list of the top free libertarian novels.

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Chapter Nine: Lysandra Fremont

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” –Albert Camus

She didn’t hate them. Not anymore. She had once, but that was years ago, before she’d really understood. Most people were not conscious actors making their own choices, they were running on autopilot, reacting to whatever system they happened to be born into. Society says, ‘pay your taxes,’ so they pay. The professor says, ‘work for the government,’ so they apply as a public servant. The police captain says, ‘kick down that door,’ so they do, guns drawn. It made as much sense to hate them for what they did as to hate a mindless forest fire for the destruction and death it wrought.

Though it had taken her a while, she’d finally come to see that truth: most people weren’t moral agents, they were environmental hazards. They were a natural and inevitable side effect of a system they neither understood nor cared to. Not worth hating. Only worth defeating for the sake of the few who still retained some spark of rebellion and independence.

Which she still had every intention of doing.

Lysandra Fremont grunted as she lifted the suitcase. Almost time to go.

*****

Thomas King had never been on a stakeout before. His heart thundered and he wiped his palms on his pant legs, again. The bulletproof Kevlar vest was uncomfortable in a sitting position, it dug into his hips and he had to keep shifting his weight on the passenger seat of the car to prevent it from pinching the flab on his stomach.

Enoch Boyle seemed to be undergoing no such discomfort. He was speaking into the radio in an even, moderated tone, and the rest of him was perfectly still, betraying no nervous energy or untoward excitement.

Thomas tried to calm himself down, but his thoughts got the better of him. Terrorists! Once they bagged these antisocials he’d have enough to put John Morales behind bars for years. All the doctor’s accumulated sleights, his furtive rebellions and, above all, his self-assured superiority, would be repaid in spades.

Sure, the surgeon treated him with due deference, when he had to, but there was always that air of coldness; an indifference to Thomas King’s station and power that had been infuriating. Thomas controlled him, Thomas owned him, but the man never seemed cognizant of that fact. All King wanted was some recognition of his authority.

But now, with the evidence they’d be able to collect from capturing this extremist and her offspring, the doctor, rotting in his holding cell, would have to acknowledge King’s power over him. A plea bargain would break the man. When he saw just how much he stood to lose unless he cooperated with prosecutors, John Morales would finally know who was superior to whom.

King smiled.

*****

“Alyyy! Time to goOoo!” Lysandra shouldered a duffel bag as she called her daughter.

“Coming mom!” The 10 year old rounded the corner with her blue backpack and rolling suitcase.

“Do you have your Whisper?”

The child held out a palm-sized cell phone.

“And you’ve packed the mesh card and encryption box?”

Alyssa Fremont nodded.

“How about the power cord?”

“MooOom!” The girl was impatient.

Lysandra smiled, “Ok sweetie, let’s go get loaded up.”

The girl’s eyes suddenly widened, “Wait!” she turned and ran back around the corner. She was breathing slightly when she returned, holding a small device triumphantly aloft in her hand. “Almost forgot the mounted OS!”

*****

Outside Thomas King watched as the SWAT team moved into position. Ten men in black uniforms, face masks obscuring their features, assault rifles held at the ready, arrayed themselves swiftly to either side of the apartment door.

Enoch Boyle spoke one word into his radio and sat back. Thomas almost thought he could see a ghost of a smile on Boyle’s pinched face, but it was gone before he could tell if he was imagining it or not.

The SWAT captain raised his hand.

*****

Lysandra grabbed the door handle. “Ok Aly, I need you to–“

*****

The door exploded inwards, showering splinters in time with the falling of the SWAT captain’s hand. In quick succession all ten heavily armed, armored government agents were through the shattered doorframe and into the small apartment.

Enoch Boyle was listening intently to the radio in his hand. His eyes narrowed. He frowned. Something was wrong. He threw open the driver-side door, “Come on!”

Thomas did as he was told and got out of the squad car to follow the DCS officer as he ran up the stairs, around the building’s wraparound balcony, and through the open door. King fingered a clasp on his bulletproof vest nervously.

Usually a no-knock raid like this left an apartment’s interior in total disarray; tables upended, lamps thrown hastily to the ground, dogs shot as a safety precaution. But the scene that greeted Thomas as he followed Boyle through the door was surprisingly serene. No clutter and debris on the floor, no crying or terrified shouting, no deliberately destroyed furniture. It looked clean, perhaps, because there was so little furniture to begin with; a couch, a coffee table and, in the corner, a large, empty bookshelf.

Something else was missing, Thomas saw, something important: the suspects.

*****

” –carry this to car.” Lysandra Fremont finished. The motel room was almost put back together, and she’d gone through one last time to remove any prints and vacuum up any stray hairs that had survived the first and second run-throughs.

Alyssa grabbed the bag from her hands and skipped out to the parking lot.

*****

He was being moved again. Two broad shouldered police officers with military-style crew cuts had unlocked the barred door of his cell, handcuffed and hooded him once more, and shoved him along into what felt like another SUV.

After a short ride he was yanked out, marched into an elevator, and told to stand still as it rose skyward. The door opened and he was pushed forward and marched a short distance before being ordered to stop.

He stood awkwardly still, unsure what to do next and straining to hear something that would give him a clue to his location. After some shuffling behind him his hood was roughly pulled off. He blinked several times against the sudden light and it was several moments before he could take in his immediate surroundings. What he saw surprised him. He was in a plushly furnished hotel room. A small couch and two bright chairs with deep cushions framed a wide bed near the floor-to-ceiling windows. The view was of downtown Denver. The windows had no handles, and there was no telephone anywhere in the room. There was a television.

One of his captors walked around to his rear and John Morales felt the handcuffs loosen, and then fall off his wrists. He brought his hands up to his eyes. The cuffs hadn’t been put on too tight, his hands were not damaged. They must have known he was a surgeon.

“Please, have a seat.” The familiar voice of Thomas King sounded strained, as if the bureaucrat hadn’t been getting much sleep.

Morales picked the nearer of the two chairs, turning as he lowered himself to see Thomas and the two crew cuts standing at the door behind him. The soft bureaucrat was, for once, not smiling. He joined Morales in the center of the room and chose the couch opposite John’s chair.

There was a moment of silence as the two men eyed each other. King blinked and looked down, then back up, and there was a peevish tone in his voice as he spoke, “We have your friends in custody.” John’s heart sank, but he managed to keep his face expressionless.

When Morales didn’t react Thomas went on, savagely, “Lysandra and Alyssa Fremont are being held by the Department of Citizen Security on terrorism related charges. We have everything we need to lock up those two for a long time.” He smiled and leaned forward as John’s eyes widened slightly. “You could make it easier, you know, for both of us.”

“What do you mean?” Morales had to clear his throat; he hadn’t talked to anyone in two days.

“What I mean is, if you cooperate in court and act as a witness to help us wrap this all up a little faster, I won’t press for jail time for you. I may even let you keep your medical license and continue practicing in Colorado, after community service and a fine, of course, and a lower salary cap for the rest of your career.” King sat back, running his hand through his slight, gelled hair and turning up the corner of his mouth in a predatory sneer. He was the one in control now, and they both knew it.

“I don’t think I understand what’s happening here. How can a 10 year old girl be a terrorist?”

“What’s happening here is you cooperate or you lose your license to practice medicine and get locked up in a federal prison. Not even daddy can protect you against domestic terrorism charges.” Thomas was leaning forward again, his hands gripping his knees.

There was a cough from the direction of the hotel room’s door. King abruptly closed his mouth and sat back.

“Will you leave us alone for a moment please, Thomas?”

The bureaucrat stood, “I didn’t realize you’d been briefed yet on the situation.”

“I haven’t, but I don’t need a DCS briefing about my own son.”

Thomas nodded, shot one last look at John, and stalked out the open door, waving for the two crew cuts to follow him.

When the door closed behind them Aguinaldo Morales sighed. John’s father, the Mayor of Denver, was not a tall man, and he seemed to deflate now that he and his son were alone in the room. The grey at his temples, which had helped to project a dignified wisdom for his reelection campaign, was starting to encroach on the rest of his face. John noticed wrinkles in the man’s forehead that had not been there the last time the two met for lunch, almost three months ago. He came over and sat down heavily in the chair next to John.

“Is it true, mijo? Have you been helping terrorists?” The elder Morales was slowly rubbing the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

“No, of course not. I have been helping a little girl and her mother who couldn’t get healthcare any other way.”

“But you broke the Patient Care Laws.”

John shrugged.

“Son, this is a serious situation. The head of the DCS wants to put you behind bars, he wants to make an example of you to show that not even the Mayor’s son is above the law. And those people, that little girl, do you know what they’ve done?”

John raised a questioning eyebrow.

“They broke into the hospital’s computer network and hacked the whole security system. We think they’re members of a dangerous domestic terrorist cell that the DCS has been tracking for some time.”

“I just don’t see how that’s possible father; I know enough about these people to know they’re not terrorists. In fact-” John caught himself. If he revealed the Fremont’s purpose here, if he let his father in on the secret of their hidden society, their “Shangri-La,” the DCS and the rest of the government would upend heaven and earth to find it. His own abduction and indefinite detention was proof of just how seriously they took this threat.

His father seemed not to notice the surgeon’s abrupt self-censorship. “Son, I need you to listen very carefully to me.” He was looking at John with a solemn sincerity, his hands folded in front of him. This was the posture the younger Morales had learned to associate with pre-punishment lectures; the type of stern talking-to that his father had considered good parenting even as he prepared to leave John and his mother for another month on the campaign trail. “You need to cooperate fully with the DCS and the Health Board investigators. It’s the only way I can help you. I’ve been talking to a few people. If you accept their plea bargain I’ve been told they’ll let you off with a slap on the wrist. The real catch for them are these two terrorists, and putting them behind bars, with minimum fuss in the court and the media, would be a real coup for the DCS and for the state. It could mean more federal money for local security programs, which could really help shut up those nuts down south in Colorado Springs.” The Mayor had always been good at relating his family’s personal issues to his own wider political ambitions.

“But, dad, these two people are innocent of what they’re being accused of. It would be wrong to-“

Aguinaldo’s cell phone began ringing in his pocket and he cut off John as he pulled it out, “It doesn’t matter, son” he looked at the screen, “I need to go now, simply do as they say and you’ll be fine.” The Mayor stood abruptly, already putting the phone to his ear as he gave John what he must have thought was a fatherly pat of reassurance and walked out the door.

*****

The next four hours were a series of visits from faceless cogs of the state internal security apparatus, each one more polished than the last, each one with questions, and the final two with instructions. Morales was told what to say in court, was told how to act, when to speak, and how to appear appropriately contrite before the jury. The bureaucrats had the whole process mapped out, they knew the script for everyone, including the judge and the handpicked jury. Nothing would be left to chance.

Finally, Morales was visited by one last person. The man was slight, a little taller than John, but he stooped. His hair was a dark grey, combed to look distinguished and to match his expensive suit. He did not sit down. When he spoke, his voice was dry, like rubbing sandstone with pumice. “Hello doctor.”

The man looked familiar to John, but in his fatigue he couldn’t place him. “My name is Enoch Boyle, and I’ve come with a request for you.” John’s brow furrowed. During the course of the day he had been threatened, cajoled, ordered, and demanded; he had not been requested.

The man spoke, and as he did so he walked slowly across the thick carpeting to one of the long windows, both hands in his pockets. Denver was dark and subdued in the winter night below. “We need some additional information about your ah, compatriots.”

Morales had already been thoroughly questioned on the Fremonts, on their visits to the hospital, dates, times, modes of transport, on their apartment, the types of computers they used, their accents. He had shared everything except what he deemed the most important; their purpose and their origin. He had maintained, instead, that they had simply been seeking medical care from him because of a glitch in the Health Department records, and nothing more. He didn’t know what other information this man could possibly want.

Enoch Boyle turned back from the window, and his hand now held a cell phone, John’s cell phone, he saw, “Specifically, we need you to tell us where they are.”

Morales felt a jolt in his stomach, “But Thomas said-“

“Thomas says what I tell him to. We thought this would be finished by now but…” his voice trailed off as he held the phone expectantly out to the doctor.

Morales tried to hide his excitement as he took it, thrilled to learn mother and daughter had escaped the Department’s clutches. There were two text messages on the phone, both from an unknown number. The first read, “You are in danger, text back when you get this.” Someone had responded for him, “Where are you?” and the second text from the unknown number said, “Prove you’re who I think you are; what’s the name of the city with streets of gold that we’ve talked about?”

“Answer it.” said the dry voice. It was not a request.

Shangri-La John thought. Into the phone he typed “El Dorado.”

The texted response was immediate, “OK, sit tight. We’ll let you know what to do next.”

Morales handed the phone back to Boyle, who allowed a twitch of his mouth where a smile might have been. “Very good, doctor. I’ll be back should we need your further assistance. ‘Sit tight’ for now.” With that, the man was gone, and Morales was alone in the hotel jail cell for the first time that day.

*****

Alyssa Fremont was not an adult. Her mother had to remind herself of that, sometimes. The precocious 10 year old talked like someone twice her age, but if it hadn’t been for her prodigious skill with computers Lysandra would never have allowed the girl to come on this dangerous trip with her into the crumbling American republic. As it was, she worried almost constantly about her safety. When Alyssa told her mother, still distraught from Doctor Morales’ abrupt departure, that someone had tripped an alert by trying to tamper with the bot she’d installed in the Sky Ridge medical network, and that the apartment had been lased by a micro-millimeter eavesdropping device, Lysandra wasted no time.

They had an evacuation plan ready, and the pair had practiced it numerous times, despite Alyssa’s complaints. The girl reported no other attempted intrusions, so Lysandra decided to opt for their more thorough plan. Inside of an hour the car was packed, floors and surfaces were given a once-over for prints and hair, and the apartment was emptied.

They’d gone to a prearranged motel, one of a shrinking number that took payment in forms other than trackable government credit, and set up shop. The rest of the night had been spent going over their equipment with a fine-toothed comb. Somehow they’d been compromised, and it was entirely possible someone had bugged their hardware or software, or somehow infiltrated the encrypted mesh net.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when Lysandra was satisfied they had not been betrayed by their electronics, that she felt secure in sending a warning to John. When he didn’t respond immediately she feared the worst. Her fears were confirmed by Aly later that day.

“Mom, come look!”

Lysandra was reassembling a mean looking little black pistol, its parts and springs spread out on the motel room’s floor for cleaning. The child’s voice came from the small desk by the window, where she was surrounded by electronic paraphernalia.

Her mother set down the tiny barrel and the solvent-soaked cleaning pad and joined Alyssa. None of the information on the laptop’s screen made any sense to Lysandra at first, and she had to concentrate to parse out the meaning in the jumbled lines of code. When she did, a pit of fear opened up in her stomach. In between two <encrypt=”govmail”> tags were the words, “Criminal Morales apprehended. Awaiting questioning, HC 15.” She suspected HC stood for ‘holding cell’ but there was no way to tell just which of the myriad state detention centers this email snippet was referring to.

It was then that her cell phone beeped cheerily.

“Where are you?” the text message from not-John-Morales read.

She was tempted to merely ignore the ham-handed attempt to entrap her, she wasn’t going to waste time playing games with meathead security agents, but then Lysandra had an idea, “Aly, can you find out where doctor Morales’ cell phone is located?”

“Obviously, mom. The cell companies’ GPS records all have backdoor passwords for the government to use, and those were leaked on the mesh like, months ago.”

Her mother smiled, and even her grey eyes were twinkling. “Ok, then we have some work to do.”

*****

The ceiling of the hotel room jail cell had an intricate network of cracks, bumps and ridges created by the artfully applied spackle. If one squinted, shapes could be made out, like finding images in clouds. So far John Morales had identified two different dogs (one sitting, one running), a dinosaur, an airplane, and a smiling man with a very large chin. He had been staring at the ceiling for an hour. Despite feeling bone-tired, he could not sleep.

He lay in the room’s bed, fully clothed, his eyes wide open. Every time he tried to will them shut his mind would begin racing and they would snap open again of their own accord. Had the Fremonts escaped? Where were they now? Had they been telling the truth about a secret society living under the radar of the federal government?

He was beginning to regret not having seen Lysandra one last time. There was still a lingering anger when he thought of her, and more than a little hurt, but he found it hard to reconcile those feelings with the picture of her in his mind’s eye. Somehow, he always imagined her smiling.

Morales shifted his legs and laced his fingers behind his head. He wondered if there really was a “Shangri-La.” There was a slight click and he glanced over, thinking it was someone unlocking his door for more questioning. But the door remained stubbornly shut. He propped himself up on his elbows to see the room.

Everything else seemed normal; the windows were closed, the heater nearby softly humming. He almost missed it, but as his eyes completed another pass his subconscious noticed that something was different, and when he looked again he saw the TV was on. It wasn’t showing anything, but its screen was a lighter black than before. It was the kind of black that signified the individual pixels were charged with energy and ready to be press-ganged into service displaying an image.

He stared at the live screen for a long minute. There was no remote anywhere in the room as far as he could tell, and none of the government flunkies questioning him before had mentioned the thing. He was about to stand up to turn it off, reasoning he’d sleep better that way, when something appeared amidst the dark pixels.

It was text, white against the black background, that read, “John, if you can see this, please don’t react. They’re watching.” He blinked, but lay back down, his hands behind his head, angling with his wrists so he could still see the TV. He wondered if this was some elaborate plot by the DCS to collect more evidence they could use in court against him.

The text on the screen changed, “We’ll be there in 30 minutes. You can choose to come with us to “Shangri-La,” then or not.” He tried to remain calm, but some flutterings of nervousness disrupted his stomach. It was the Fremonts, and they were coming for him. He’d get a chance to see Lysandra again after all. The white text disappeared and the TV switched off.

Now that it was past the point of pure speculation he felt hesitant, like a lottery winner suddenly confronted the day after with what to do with his winnings. They were coming to take him to some new, strange place, away from his family, from his friends, and the from life he’d built in Denver. They were coming to make him into more of an outlaw than he already was; a full blown, anti-government revolutionary. He smiled: maybe they’d make him wear one of those red berets. Then he thought of Lysandra Fremont and his smile faded.

He didn’t know what bothered him more: that she had lied to him for so long, or that she had been the individual making those lies. It seemed to him that the act was made worse by the apparent character of the person committing it. He didn’t care when a moral degenerate committed an act of moral degeneracy, but when that same act was committed by someone he had come to respect, it was worse, somehow.

He passed the 30 minutes in grim reflection, not moving from the bed. There was a sudden knock on the door, and he jumped involuntarily. The knock came again, more insistent. He rose cautiously and went to open it. The door was unlocked.

The hallway was devoid of government flunkies or crew cuts. There was only one figure in front of John, slight, dressed in an ill-fitting pantsuit, and wearing a tight-lipped expression.

It was Lysandra.

John fumbled for words, “How did you-“

“I didn’t, but Aly’s very good at faking personnel schedule changes in secure government databases, and at obfuscating them enough that no one will realize this door is completely unguarded or that the cameras in the room are looping old footage for at least the next 10 minutes.” She smiled slightly, almost nervously, it seemed to Morales. “It’s good to see you, John.”

He started to speak, but stopped. This woman had lied to him, gotten him arrested, and likely ended his medical career for good. Still. He had wanted to see her again.

She broke in before he could continue, “I owe you an apology.”

“I know.”

She took a breath and paused, searching his eyes, “I’m sorry.” The rest came out in a rushed jumble, “I was afraid you wouldn’t even give me the time of day if I didn’t have some excuse to be talking to you. I know now that I should have respected you enough to trust you with the truth. You deserved- you deserve” she corrected herself, “better.”

“Why did you come back for me? It’s dangerous for you to be here.”

“Because we need you, and you need the freedom of a Shangri-La.”

“That’s not it.”

“No.” She looked into his eyes and her gaze was steady, “That’s part of it, but not all.”

“What’s the rest?”

She didn’t answer, but she stepped forward tentatively, gingerly placing each foot in the deep carpet of the hallway, until she was close enough for him to smell the hint of jasmine from her shampoo. She slowly took both of his hands, interlocking fingers at their sides.

Suddenly his lips were on hers. It was impulsive, like the night he had agreed to help the mysterious pair. After a shocked pause, her mouth responded eagerly, her hands left his and began to search his arms, his neck, the hair on the back of his head. Without thinking he grabbed her lower back and pressed her towards him. They were both breathless when she finally broke the kiss, her hand on his cheek and her forehead touching his.

Her voice was almost a whisper, “We need to go, we don’t have much time.” The words were serious, but she smiled.

He smiled too, “Lead on” and released her.

Lysandra pulled out a cell phone, a model Morales had never seen before, and spoke urgently into it, “We’ll be outside in 5 minutes, pull up to the side door in 3.” With that they were off, Lysandra in the lead, walking purposefully down the elegant hallway, turning into a side branch and opening the stairwell access door there. 17 flights later and they were on the ground floor.

They turned the corner, away from the main lobby, walking now on sleek, marble tile. A door down the hall ahead of them opened, and Lysandra stopped immediately, causing Morales to walk several steps ahead of her before coming to a halt himself. Out of the open portal strode a short, slightly pudgy figure with long, dark hair and too-tight suit pants. It was Shelly Reyes.

She recognized her surgeon ex-boyfriend immediately. Her eyes registered a flash of shock, followed by a beam of anger. “John? What are you-?”

Out of the corner of his eye Morales saw Lysandra move forward. A gun suddenly appeared in her hand; a small, mean-looking black pistol that shone dully in the fluorescent light. But it wasn’t pointed at Shelly, it was pointed at him. Lysandra spoke, and to the doctor her voice seemed deeper; husky, “Keep movin’ pal. You’ll have plenty of time to chat in prison.”

Shelly’s eyes shifted to the slim woman at Morales’ side, and narrowed in suspicion. Lysandra returned the regulator’s gaze evenly, her grip on the pistol never wavering. Finally Shelly looked away. Her eyes found John’s again and she spat. “Lock him up for a long time.”

Lysandra prodded Morales in the side and he moved forward again, braving the gauntlet of his ex-girlfriend’s stare. He felt the heat of her gaze between his shoulder blades until they turned a corner and she was gone.

He sighed. Lysandra glanced at him but didn’t say anything, holstering her vicious looking sidearm instead.

He was suddenly curious, “Are you even allowed to have that?”

“Only slaves ask permission, John.” Her smile was more carefree than it had a right to be.

They came finally to a side door leading out of the building. Lysandra opened it cautiously, peering out before beckoning for Morales to follow her into the alleyway. A car John had never seen before was idling in the cold, exhaust steam wreathing it in gray and white.

John went to the passenger side door while Lysandra opened the driver’s door and waited patiently for her daughter to exit and get in the back.

“Your 10 year old can drive?”

“Better than most of the adults in this city” was her only reply.

*****

They exchanged their car at a rough looking chop shop for one less conspicuous and, importantly, free of the ubiquitous government mandated tracking and remote disabling devices. Lysandra knew the shop owner by name, and had clearly arranged the transfer in advance. She slipped him several of her curious gold coins before getting in the driver’s seat next to Morales.

*****

An hour or so later they stopped at a lonely gas station on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. The young girl went inside to relieve herself, and the adults got out to get gas and stretch their legs. Morales found himself leaning against the car hood as Lyse unscrewed the gas cap.

“You can go back, you know. If you claim we threatened and kidnapped you I’m sure your father will make sure this is all forgotten.” She did not smile or look his way as she said it. Morales knew she was serious. He also knew she was right; the mayor was never above pulling strings for his son. His chest tightened at the tantalizing thought of returning to a normal life.

As he pondered, the wind blew a newspaper against his leg, where it clung stubbornly, flapping in panic. He reached down and pried it from its frantic embrace with his calf. As he moved to throw it away, he glanced at the headline, “Congress found in violation of Executive Emergency Powers Act, dozens of lawmakers arrested.” The subhead read, “President temporarily suspends legislative sessions.” He paused. His eyes came up and immediately locked onto the striking gray irises of Lysandra Fremont. She was looking at him directly, her eyebrows drawn together in appraisal, her short, ash blonde hair swirling about her head. Morales glanced back down. Slowly, he crumpled up the pitiable broadsheet and dropped it deliberately into the nearby trash can. The woman with the ash blonde hair smiled.

*****

Snow began to fall. Big flakes littered the ground like slain soldiers, and overhead the icy battalions marched earthward with a grim inevitability. But those that fell on the speeding car, the only one headed west at that hour, quickly melted and ran off the windshield in hastily retreating rivulets. Outside it was growing darker and colder, but inside the little bubble of the car’s metal skin it was warm, and John Morales sighed contentedly as he sped away from the impotent storm and its frozen henchmen.

The End.

The post A Second Opinion, Chapter Nine: Lysandra Fremont appeared first on Art for Liberty.

Chapter Eight: The Final Argument of Kings

“Ultima Ratio Regum” – Inscribed on the cannons of Louis the XIV

“Shelly? Enoch.” The normally dry voice had an uncommon pep to it, the ends of his words clipped off more suddenly than usual. Shelly could almost imagine the older man with his dark, graying hair, drumming his fingers on the desk in a rare display of excitement. “Listen, that tip you gave Thomas King turned out to be very fruitful. In fact, it’s been upgraded to an internal security matter and I’m handling it personally.”

Shelly’s heart caught in her throat. “What…” her mouth was dry, “What did they find out?”

The usually reserved Enoch Boyle was almost giddy. He’d never had a case like this. The recording from the Health Department surveillance van had worked its way up quickly through the state security apparatus and, combined with the information that there had been a malicious hack within the hospital’s network, had returned with one verdict, “Possible terrorist suspects. Apprehend immediately.” And a final sentence that had sent Boyle’s blood pumping, “Deadly force authorized.”

His voice over the phone line practically cackled with glee, “It looks like Dr. Morales has been spending time with some very interesting compatriots…”

*****

John’s personal phone rang during surgery. Alone in his office it buzzed angrily, its incoming call light casting a harsh, artificial glow across the mess of papers on his desk. It vibrated four times, each seemingly more frantic than the last. Finally it was silent. In the surgery room, John, eyes focused intently, ordered the nurse to pass him a needle. His unseen cellphone buzzed one last time and the text on its screen read, “New Voicemail.”

*****

An hour later, finished with the surgery and freshly scrubbed, Morales returned to his office to fill out the paperwork required by a brain tumor craniotomy. He was halfway through form H-10289-B before he even thought to check his cell phone.

The voicemail that greeted him was loud, it was harsh, it was grating. It was from Shelly Reyes.

“You cabrón! I know all about your late nights at the hospital with your whore and her brat! I know you went to her apartment last night and missed the dinner I cooked you. You cheating hijo de puta! I’m staying with my sister. I want your things moved out of my house by the time I get back tomorrow!” There was a pause in the recording, then a final burst of vehemence, “And I hope you know that whore of yours is going to jail. Citizen Security just told me she’s a terrorist.” The message ended.

Morales should have felt shocked. His heart should have jumped into his throat and begun pounding furiously. It did not. Instead he experienced a curious feeling of detachment. The unreality of the situation made him view it as if from a distance.

There was no way Lysandra and her daughter were going to jail. They’d pay a fine for abusing the medical system, perhaps, as would he, but they weren’t terrorists. They’d never hurt anyone (and, indeed, Morales doubted the young woman and 10 year old girl were capable of hurting someone), or blown up any buildings. Those were the types of things terrorists did. Seeking medical care outside the system was not among them.

These thoughts reassured him. But then he heard Lysandra’s words again in his ears, How far away do you think we are, really, from political dissidents and undesirables being arrested and ‘disappeared,’ all in the name of some common good? He shook his head.

John Morales was unsure what to do. He had no phone number for the Fremonts, no way of warning them, and no idea if he even should. Besides, she’d lied to him.

The Fremont woman had used him for her own weird political aims. If she could deceive him for so long about something he was supposedly an expert on, what else had she been hiding? Maybe Lysandra had blown up buildings. Trying to help her escape a government dragnet for terrorists was hardly a rational thing to do, especially considering their most recent interaction. He still felt the acid in his chest from learning he’d been duped.

No, helping the Fremonts escape government custody was not rational. Helping them originally had not exactly been rational either. Yet he had done it.

It was at this moment that the surgeon was forced to confront the problem he had relegated to his subconscious mind for the last few months; the question of why, exactly, he had decided to help the pair in the first place.

It had seemed, at first, impulsive, reckless. He’d thought the decision aberrant.

And, for a career doctor, operating in a state administered health system and concerned narrowly with the day-to-day of paperwork, patients, and making ends meet, it was.

John had, he realized with a start, long ago resigned himself to such narrow cares. It was a gradual transition, one he hardly noticed as he was undergoing it but which, in retrospect, he could see as an inexorable progression from clear-eyed idealism to weary, cynical, pragmatism. But he was not, at his core, a cynical person. He had become so, step by slight step; when he allowed a senator’s friend to jump the waiting list “just this once,” when he didn’t correct an erroneous lab report because the hospital had already exceeded its allowed number of blood tests that month, and when he refused a patient who wasn’t eligible to be treated under the Patient Care Laws. It had been so easy, like sinking slowly into a dreamless sleep. And, his conscience assured him, it was all for the greater good.

The first visit from the Fremonts had been a shock to his system: a defibrillator that sparked life into his almost extinguished flame of idealism. He thought then that helping them made no sense, that it was aberrant. But it wasn’t, really. Lysandra had finally shown him that with her copy of The American Journal of Ethics in Medicine, and the conclusion of his own essay.

Morales had always felt vaguely bothered by the healthcare system as it existed. Too many things caused him to turn down his mouth in quiet disgust. Unlike the many others in his profession he’d never really been able to shake the feeling of unease with the current system or fully lose his sense of early idealism. What he hadn’t had before Lysandra Fremont was an outlet for that feeling; a way of acting on it.

In fact, he hadn’t even had a voice for it until the thin woman with the grey eyes had showed up illegally with her daughter one evening. She’d said things he’d felt but been unable to describe, she’d challenged his silent quiescence.

She’d lied to him.

Did that even matter?

“Is it wrong, or right?” Her daughter had asked the question that first night. He’d given her a rote non-answer, then. But the issue was clearer to him now. Lysandra’s persistent questions and the intervening months had made him think hard about what he really believed.

Was it wrong to refuse care to people not on an approved government list, or right?

Was it wrong to rely on an inefficient, centralized bureaucracy for life-saving medicines, or right?

Was it wrong to give government employees special care because they controlled the budget, or right?

Was it wrong to fight a system that was only accountable, not to the people it was supposed to serve, but to connected career politicians and unelected bureaucrats?

Or was it right?

At that moment there was no emotional conflict, no inner contradictions, no agonizing choice to make. Morales had to drive to the Fremonts’ apartment and warn them.

His mind made up, John stood from his desk, opened the office door, and strode into the hallway.

And right into the path of Thomas King, who was flanked by two burly men carrying sidearms.

“Hello doctor. You’ll come with us please.” There was no preamble, and the bureaucrat’s smile was feral. The two men at his side glowered. One rested his hand slowly on the pistol in his holster, underscoring the nature of King’s request.

Morales nodded, numbly.

Outside the hospital, one of the men put a dark hood over John’s head and he was ushered, not exactly gently, into a waiting government SUV.

His cell phone, forgotten once more on his desk, was silent for moment, and then it lit up excitedly, buzzed once, and was again still. The words on its screen read, “New text message from Unknown.”

The post A Second Opinion: Chapter Eight: The Final Argument of Kings appeared first on Art for Liberty.

Five years sure go by fast, huh?

That’s when our last post was, in January, 2014.

But we’re back, and better than ever!

We’ve got a shiny new domain (you’ll notice all the old arsgratialibertatis.com pages now redirect to artforliberty.com ones), though we’ve kept the old logo and tagline for continuity (and laziness…), and if you poke around you’ll see a ton of other new things have been added and updated since last we published.

Our core lists of libertarian artworks have been reorganized and greatly expanded:

• The libertarian fiction list has almost tripled in size (going from 131 total books to 364 and counting) and we’ve separated novels out by genre and added a clickable table of contents for ease of navigation.
• The list of libertarian songs has also been added to and organized by genre (with a ton of new songs still to be added).
• And the libertarian movies list has been cleaned up and had dead links replaced.

Plus we’ve added a page of resources for libertarian artists, fiction authors, and other creatives, with links to organizations and tools to help you create better art, and get your art in front of a wider audience.

You may also have noticed that (hopefully not too annoying) pop-up (and nav/sidebar link) to get our sweet, sweet, free libertarian fiction megapack: we’ll be adding to that “megapack” as more libertarian fiction authors send us work they want to be included, and signing up for it is also a great way to learn about new releases, sales, and deals from libertarian authors (not to mention be notified when new posts are published here!).

Over the next few months we’ll be updating some older posts with new info and links (for instance, we’ll be greatly expanding the popular “Best Free Libertarian Novels” post with a ton of great new free books we’ve discovered) and bringing you new articles including reviews of libertarian fiction, interviews with prominent liberty creatives and artists, and news about awesome upcoming or overlooked libertarian novels, movies, songs, and even poems.

We’re also looking for guest posters!

Would you like to be involved? Hit us up on the contact page and we’ll reach out.

And again, if you’d like to be notified when we publish new content (and get some awesome, free libertarian fiction to boot!) sign up here.

The post The New ArtForLiberty.com: We’re Back! appeared first on Art for Liberty.