Minutemen Vs. "Minutemen" Don Boudreaux _I'm not one to believe_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2004/08/spontaneous_pro.html) that the state possesses exclusive moral authority to create, define, and enforce law. And yet I get the creeps whenever I read or hear about the current crop of so-called "Minutemen" -- self-appointed enforcers of immigration restrictions. These "Minutemen" today likely believe that they are the intellectual and moral descendants of the Minutemen of revolutionary-era America. But they aren't. One of the main motivations of the American revolutionaries was to free themselves from burdensome restrictions on their economic activities -- restrictions meant to protect monopoly privileges for British merchants -- restrictions enforced with threats of violence by what was then the world's most powerful army and navy. Today's "Minutemen," as _this story_ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/08/AR2005120802068.html) in the Washington Post makes plain, are enemies of freedom. They are officious, narrow-minded, xenophobic, selfish meddlers seeking to inspire the state to unleash greater force against peaceful foreigners who want to work. While the _Minutemen_ (http://www.ushistory.org/brandywine/special/art01.htm) of Concord and Lexington fought in an effort to abolish the British empire's monopoly privileges in North America, today's "Minutemen" seek to create and enforce monopoly privileges. Posted in _Current Affairs_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/current_affairs/index.html) , _History_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/history/index.html) , _Work_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/work/index.html) | _Permalink_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/minutemen_vs_mi.html) | _Comments (10)_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/minutemen_vs_mi.html#comments) | _TrackBack (0)_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/minutemen_vs_mi.html#trackback) Recent Posts * _The Rumble of Rent Control_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/the_rumble_of_r.html) * _Property Rights Protect Trees_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/property_rights.html) * _Some Social Capital_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/some_social_cap.html) * _Not Quite Yet Lennon/McCartney, But...._ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/not_quite_yet_l.html) * _Blogjam_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/blogjam.html) * _What Is it About Immigration???_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/what_is_it_abou.html) * _What About the Bedroom-men?_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/what_about_the_.html) * _Markets in Everything_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/markets_in_ever.html) * _Doom and Gloom_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/doom_and_gloom.html) * _Minutemen Vs. "Minutemen"_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/minutemen_vs_mi.html) _Archives_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/archives.html) * _December 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/12/index.html) * _November 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/11/index.html) * _October 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/10/index.html) * _September 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/09/index.html) * _August 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/08/index.html) * _July 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/07/index.html) * _June 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/06/index.html) * _May 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/05/index.html) * _April 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/04/index.html) * _March 2005_ (http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2005/03/index.html)
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