#######################################################################

LIBERTARIANISM: THE PATH TO PEACE, PROSPERITY AND FREEDOM
By Jarret Wollstein

#######################################################################


Would you like to live in a society of peace, prosperity and freedom?
Would you like to earn a lot more money than your parents, be free to do
whatever you want that doesn't harm others, and see the threats of
violence and war largely disappear? Would you like to live in an age of
artistic freedom and rapid scientific progress in which anything seems
possible?

Such a world is not only possible -- it is part of our history. For
nearly fifty years, between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the
beginning of World War I in 1914, the United States was the freest, most
prosperous society on earth. Living standards rose nearly 5% a year. The
average American's income was six times higher at the end of the period
than at the beginning. There was little restriction upon personal
economic and artistic freedom. There was no income tax, no military
draft, little government regulation of business, and no prohibition of
drugs or alcohol. Voluntarily-organized and financed schools and
charities made education available for all and help available for those
who needed it. And, except for the brief Spanish-American War, the
nation enjoyed the longest period of peace in its history. Nearly
anything seemed possible. Illiterate immigrants who started with a push
cart, could become millionaires through hard work.


OUR FUTURE ENDANGERED

America of 1992 is far removed from the America of 1892, both in time
and spirit. Today's social landscape is one of deterioration, violence
and mounting fear, rather than progress and boundless hope.

Living standards are falling and each year's college graduating class
finds fewer and fewer job and career opportunities available as high
taxes and regulations devastate the economy. Few young adults can now
afford to buy their own homes, save for their childrens' education, or
build security for their retirement.

Violence has become epidemic. Murder is now the leading cause of death
among young black men. One in four college coeds report they were the
victim of rape or attempted rape. And nearly 25% of all American
families are now victimized by theft or vandalism every year.

The threat of superpower warfare has declined. But weapons of mass
destruction -- chemical, biological and nuclear -- continue to spread to
the world's most repressive regimes, many of which have been supported
by U.S. military and economic aid. President Bush's ``New World Order''
threatens to mandate U.S. involvement in conflicts throughout the world
-- inviting war and terrorist attacks on Americans.


OUR LIBERTARIAN HERITAGE

What has changed in America in the last 80 years? Why has this nation
changed from one of the most prosperous and progressive on earth to one
of increasing deterioration and violence? As Shakespeare observed, ``The
cause, dear friend, lies not in the starts, but in ourselves.'' America
is declining because Americans have largely abandoned their libertarian
heritage.

Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and America's other founders
understood the values required for a free peaceful and prosperous
society: individual liberty, economic freedom, and limited government.

Individual liberty is the basis of a free society. Liberty means the
freedom to control your own life, to work and play as you choose, to be
able to enjoy the fruits of your labor, to practice the religion of your
choice, to speak freely, and to associate voluntarily with others.

Liberty can flourish only in an environment of tolerance, voluntary
association and mutual respect for the lives and property of others. You
can have liberty for yourself only if you grant it freely to everyone
else. The alternative to freedom is coercion and slavery. You are
coerced if force or the threat of force are used to prevent you from
speaking, acting, or associating freely; if you are compelled to labor
for the benefit of others or if the fruits of your labor are seized; or
if force is used to con trol your life, your education, or your
business.

The moral purpose of government is to protect us from domestic and
foreign aggressors who use coercion. But the power of government can
destroy as well as protect. When government crosses the line from
protector of our liberty to master of our lives, it becomes just another
criminal gang. At that point, as Jefferson said in the Declaration of
Independence, it is the right and the duty of the people to alter or
abolish government - and to create new guardians for their peace and
security.

The United States was born in a revolution against tyranny. America's
founders created a constitutional republic in which government was
limited to protecting individual rights. For nearly 200 years our
Constitution and Bill of Rights protected freedom of speech, press,
religion, and assembly; the right to keep and bear arms; the right to
trial by jury and due process of law; protection of property from
unreasonable search and seizure; and many other rights.

Gradually over the last eight decades, Americans have surrendered
control over their lives for the illusion of government-guaranteed
security and prosperity. The fundamental rights protected by our
Constitution and Bill of Rights have now been abandoned. The government
is on a rampage against our lives, liberty and property.


A LITANY OF HORRORS

The power of government is now almost unlimited. Under RICO laws and
``anti-drug'' laws, the government can now seize all of a person's or
business's assets without trial or indictment. Million-dollar fishing
boats have been seized because a few marijuana seeds were found on
board. Houses have been confiscated because of the alleged non-payment
of a few hundred dollars in taxes. Entire businesses have been
expropriated because the owners sold a few erotic films or violated
incomprehensible ``insider trading '' laws. Cash is being seized from
travellers whose only crime is that they were carrying large amounts of
money and fit some policeman's ``drug courier profile'' (which could
describe anyone). The U.S. Marshall's Service now has a 1.4 billion
dollar inventory of seized assets. These are not occasional errors by
overzealous government agents. Confiscation of homes, businesses, cars
and cash without trial, indictment, or charge is now the official and
legal policy of the Un ited States government. In case aft er case, laws
passed by the Congress and President - and upheld by the Supreme Court,
authorize these criminal acts. The right to trial by jury is rapidly
disappearing. Less than 3% of criminal suspects now get a trial. Over 1
million Americans are now imprisoned (the highest percentage of any
country in the world), and prisoners are expected to double in less than
ten years. The Supreme Court has even ruled that coerced confessions
(e.g. police bea tings and torture) are legal. Most frightening of all,
conc entration camp-like ``shock incarceration centers'' are being built
throughout America.

Uncontrolled taxes and stifling regulations are crippling America.
Federal, state and local taxes now take an average of over 40% of the
typical person's income. (Serfs in the Middle Ages paid only 25%!). Many
small businesses now spend nearly half their time just filling out
government paperwork. Now EPA regulations that went into effect in
September 1991 require gasoline stations to have at least $1 million in
insurance. This is expected to put over half of the gasoline stations
out of business by the end of 1991! And this is just the beginning. A
host of new regulations will go into effect soon, dictating wages,
hours, benefits, and advertising. The tax and regulatory burdens have
become so oppressive that in one industry after another plants and
offices are closing or moving overseas, and lives are being destroyed.
Even when government tries to help, it usually fails. Virtually every
government service - education, crime ``control'', the post office,
public housing, welfare, an d infrastructure (roads, bri dges, sewers) -
is in a state of advanced deterioration. Without the discipline of free
market competition and the necessity of making a profit, socialized
government services consume ever more money while providing steadily
deteriorating services.


THE LIBERTARIAN SOLUTION

To restore prosperity, freedom and peace to America, we must restore our
libertarian heritage. As individuals we must return to the principle of
tolerance and respect for the rights of others. Activities which are
crimes for individuals - theft, assault, kidnapping, intimidation and
murder - must be crimes for government agents as well. Socialized
``public services'' must be privatized and replaced by efficient,
free-market businesses. The crushing burden of confiscatory taxes and
suffocating regulations mu st be lifted from our economy. The use of
foreign aid and our military to prop up repressive dictatorships must
end.

As the revolutions sweeping Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union have
demonstrated, the only power that government ultimately has is the power
that we give to it. If the Russian and Ukrainian peoples can overthrow
74 years of tyranny with their bare hands and raw courage, we can change
the course of this nation.

America can again be a land of liberty and unlimited opportunity.
Through peaceful yet determined action, we can replace corrupt and
tyrannical government and create a new dawn for liberty in America.

This is the mission of the America Libertarian movement: to create a
society of liberty, prosperity and peace. This is the society that once
existed in America, and which can exist again. If this is the type of
world you want to live in, we invite you to join us and help create it.

Jarret B. Wollstein, ISIL's Educational Publications Director, is a
founder of the original Society for Individual Liberty. He is the author
of over 250 articles, speeches and papers.



RECOMMENDED READING LIST:

The Discovery of Freedom (Rose Wilder Lane) .....   8.95
Economics in One Lesson (Henry Hazlitt) .........   9.95
Freedom in Our Time (Vine Miller - Ed) ..........   2.95
The Law (Frederic Bastiat) ......................   2.00
Libertarianism in One Lesson (David Bergland)....   7.95
A Liberty Primer (Alan Burris) ..................   7.95
Liberty Reclaimed (Jim Lewis/Jim Peron) .........   1.95
The Machinery of Freedom (David Friedman) .......  14.95
The Mainspring of Human Progress (Weaver) .......   3.00
The Market For Liberty (The Tannehills) .........  14.95
A New Beginning (Ed Clark) ......................   1.95
A New Dawn for America (Roger MacBride) .........   2.95
Our Enemy The State (Albert Jay Nock) ...........   9.95
Restoring the American Dream (Robert Ringer) ....   5.00


For these and other books and tapes write: Freedom's Forum Books, 1800
Market St., San Francisco, CA 94102. Add $2.50 p & h for 1st book and
$1.00 for each additional item.

Two-color hard copies of this pamphlet are available for 5 cents apiece
(minimum order $1.00). Price includes shipping. This pamphlet is
produced as a public service by the International Society for Individual
Liberty. If you would like to receive free literature about ISIL's
activities around the world, and receive a sample copy of the Freedom
Network News newsletter and book catalog, please write:

	  INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
	1800 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
	   Tel: (415) 864-0952 Fax: (415) 864-7506