AF Events: The Case for Optimism
On August 26, 2014, the AF Atlanta Chapter hosted Jeff Deist, the president of the Mises Institute, at the Hudson Grille in Midtown, Atlanta. Jeff joined the Mises Institute following many years as an advisor to Ron Paul and as a tax attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions for private equity clients. He was Congressman Paul’s Chief of Staff during the 2012 election and his press secretary in Congress from 2000 to 2006.
Jeff’s presentation began discussing the common narrative that libertarians have become so accustomed to hearing regarding the state of liberty in society. The country is on the precipice of disaster on many fronts: the welfare state is running amok, the government continues to violate our rights with NSA surveillance, the dollar continues its slide away from reserve currency status, the fiscal gap of the entire apparatus of the government amounts to more than $200 trillion by some estimations. Indeed, the United States government is in a condition of “state anarchy” – a term he defined as meaning lawless, chaotic, and unpredictable government.
This all paints a rather hopeless picture. However, there are reasons for freedom-lovers to hold out hope for the future and to be optimistic. Jeff quoted Herbert Stein’s law: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” These downward spiral trends will stop eventually, and their weaknesses in the state’s blockade that individuals have found and exploited through the use of digital-age technologies. There is a bottom-up revolution happening all around us right now by led by informed people articulating the messages of the geniuses who came before us. People are coordinating with each other like never before and are voting with their feet and wallets while states around the world continue to lose their legitimacy. People are continuing to innovate despite an increasingly heavy-handed regulation by the government. He concluded by saying that freedom-loving individuals must understand that language matters; freedom should be a positive message rather than one of opposition. They also shouldn’t allow themselves to be marginalized as hopeless utopians. If they can keep promoting a positive message of liberty, they won’t even need an absolute majority to effect the kind of change they want in society.
The Atlanta Chapter of America’s Future Foundation appreciates Mr. Deist’s valuable time and effort as well as his stimulating presentation! We would welcome him and any of his colleagues back to our chapter anytime!