Kym Robinson | The Libertarian Institute

We Have Just One Planet, Let’s Not Nuke It

by Kym Robinson | Oct 5, 2022 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

“Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.”- President John F Kennedy There was a time when a lot of people feared nuclear war. The Cold War was a delicate dance of destruction between two super powers, each armed with enough weapons that could obliterate the planet. Protest groups were active outside military bases and test sites, and anti-establishment energies were often focused on opposing the arms race and nuclear weapons. Even at the height of the Cold War, when the empires...

Lessons From the Rape of Nanking

by Kym Robinson | Aug 22, 2022 | Book Reviews, Featured Articles

The "Rape of Nanking" is a high watermark of imperial savagery, even in the context of the violent and brutal Japanese Empire. This frenzy of rape and genocide was committed against a Chinese populace after their government abandoned the city and the international community watched in impotent horror as a proud Japanese military conducted itself with dishonor. But courageous individuals defied gangs of Japanese soldiers, exhibiting bravery and moral dignity. In her book The Rape of Nanking, Iris Chang concentrates on the eight weeks of terror which in 1937 took the lives of hundreds of...

We’re Governed by the Communist Manifesto

by Kym Robinson | Aug 8, 2022 | Featured Articles

Since its publication the Communist Manifesto has influenced most forms of government. The ideology has mutated from one of utopian ambition to providing a framework that uses the language of egalitarian justice. Marxist ideology no longer has a revolutionary spirit for liberation, but instead has become a template for authority and rule itself. According to Karl Marx there are ten points outlining the necessities of a free society. These points share commonalities with other parts of government ideology that have no historic relationship with Marxism. Even modern right-wing conservatives...

The Anti-Morality of the Coercive Monopoly

by Kym Robinson | Jul 18, 2022 | Featured Articles, Libertarianism

There are two ideological camps that matter: those who believe that coercion is required to achieve their means and those who believe in cooperation through voluntary interactions. History and the contemporary world has been defined by the bloodshed of the ideology of coercion. Those who believe that coercion is necessary often have a perspective of self appointed virtue based entirely on intended outcomes. This is the anti-morality used to rationalize the many forms of violence and misery that occur when the coercive ideology is implemented. When coercion is the acceptable means, society...

The War Films of Sam Peckinpah

by Kym Robinson | Jun 29, 2022 | Featured Articles

War movies have been popular since the early days of motion picture, often as means of propaganda to stir contemporary emotions and depict brave warriors of nation or faith locked in battle. War is a popular setting for story tellers, a stage for heroes and villains. The destruction and death is as much a prop as it can be a fellow character. Alongside the romantic war movies, some with an anti-war message emerged. In the 1960s and 70s, American film writer-director Sam Peckinpah gave us the misery of war with his own particular touch, specifically with The Wild Bunch and Cross of Iron....

‘They Took Our Guns’: A Perspective From Down Under

by Kym Robinson | Jun 20, 2022 | Featured Articles

To the rest of the world, the United States has a gun problem. Mass shootings, especially inside of schools, are national tragedies in the USA. When a non-American asks the question “Why a private citizen needs an ‘assault rifle’?" the pro-gun response is rarely helpful. Non-Americans assume it’s the “gun crazy” culture of the U.S. and to Americans, the rest of the world isn’t free because without a Second Amendment liberty is non-existent. Misunderstandings persist and innocent lives are lost while governments use tragedy and fear to grow. “Unarmed Australia” “Australian civilians now own...

The Need to Act

by Kym Robinson | May 31, 2022 | Featured Articles

It’s hard not to fall into patterns. While some routines may be for the better, habits develop because they may be easier, comfortable. After weeks, months, or perhaps decades of neglect and self destructive behavior, a cycle can develop because of these bad practices. A promise is made that they will fix and recover, improve from their circumstances and rise from the ashes, ascending to heights of utopian glory...only to return to the habits that first inspired such a declaration (though each time it will be different). Ignoring the reality of accident and injury, for the purpose of the...

Would Your Online Self Pull Over to Help a Stranger?

by Kym Robinson | May 24, 2022 | Featured Articles

It’s raining, late in the evening and you have been driving for most of the day. You want to get home. It’s cold and the pangs of hunger stir. You are on the home straight, and through the darkness and rain your beams of light illuminate the familiar. Suddenly ahead of you a car is on the side of the road, hazard lights flashing, a lone stranger is attempting to change a tire. Assuming that you know your way around a tire and you are not concerned for your safety, many of us would stop and offer assistance. Some may drive on, declaring that it’s none of their business. Assume that you do...