The arrest of a 19-year-old accused of planning a terrorist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna has some lessons in light of what Auberon Herbert, a student of Herbert Spencer, wrote in 1894. The suspect, a citizen of Austria. with “North Macedonian roots,” who reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, apparently intended to attack the crowd with knives and explosives. (See “Teens Admit ‘Isis’ Attack Plot Against Taylor Swift Concerts,” Financial TimesAugust 8, 2024; and “Taylor Swift Terror Suspects Planned to Use Car Bomb at Concert, Authorities Say,” The Wall Street JournalAugust 8, 2024).
Auberon Herbert was a British liberal bishop, although he called his philosophy “voluntarism” and rejected the anarchist label. The European anarchists of his time were mostly communists and often terrorists who blew things up to speed up revolution. In his own Modern Review article, “The Ethics of Dynamite” (reproduced in The right and wrong of government coercionLiberty Fund, 1978), Auberon Herbert argued that the “dynamiters” (terrorists) were not necessarily aligned with the government:
Perhaps it is right at the same time, for the benefit of some of my friends who are less inclined to praise this word “dominant” without thinking about all that it contains, to translate this word, so common on our lips, to what I hold to be its true meaning: to impose your will and your pleasure, even if what is it, if you happen to be strong, for other people. … Dynamite is not against the government; rather, it is the government in a much stronger and more centralized way. … [Dynamite] it is the pure essence of government, more concentrated and strengthened, than ever before. It is the government in short, the government stripped, as some of us do not like it, of all its most cherished myths, the ballot boxes, the political parties, the House of Commons oratory, and everything else. Indeed, how is it possible to govern more effectively, or in an abbreviated way, than to say: “Do this—or do not do this—unless you wish to have a pound of diamonds placed tomorrow evening in your place—a low lesson.” It is the perfection, the ne plus ultra, of government.
Speaking of terrorists, he blasted the governments of his time:
Here is your baby. This is your doctrine of deified force, this is your contempt for human rights, this is what your possession of men and women leads to.
This was at a time when Western governments were much less powerful than today’s. Of course, the latter are far from being beaten in that game by the Islamic State and many other bullies in the world. Anyway, we can think about the Senate hearing about another issue related to Taylor Swift but mainly about the government’s fight against so-called monopolies and market inefficiencies – a claim from i the governmenthard to take seriously (“Senate Hearing on Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift Meltdown: Five Takeaways,” The Wall Street JournalJanuary 25, 2023):
Live Nation Entertainment Inc. faced questions from lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday, in a Senate hearing stemming from Ticketmaster’s failed ticket sales last year for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour. …
Leaders from both sides of the political spectrum in Congress came together to criticize Ticketmaster, with Democrats and Republicans calling for a review of Live Nation’s market power.
Individual freedom and private property are necessary to prevent civil strife or Leviathan. Let people who like Taylor Swift feel free to accept her concerts, if she or others can finance them. Those who don’t like Taylor Swift or don’t like to have fun should steer clear. And let people who want to go to Taylor Swift’s concerts buy their tickets from whoever organizes these concerts or acts as an agent for the organizers or resellers.
Source link