Potential Christmas Presents for Libertarians and Statists, Plus Daunting Challenges for Santa Claus

December 18, 2017 by Dan Mitchell

 

Last year, I wrote that I wanted a spending cap for Christmas. Sadly, Santa Claus did not deliver, so I’m stuck with my consolation prize from 2013.

I’m not expecting a spending cap under the tree this year, either.

But for those of you panicking about presents with one week left, there are some good Christmas gifts for libertarians, as shown in this video from Reason. My favorites are 1) Entitle-Mints, 2) the libertarian doorbell, 3) Jury Nullification Barbie, and 4) Hungry, Hungry Venezuelans.



But keep in mind that Santa doesn’t discriminate, and neither should you.

After all, it wouldn’t be nice to get Christmas gifts for libertarian friends and family while neglecting the socialists in your life.

Writing for the Financial Times, Merryn Somerset Webb has a serious list of books that she thinks would be very helpful for deluded leftists.

I’m concerned — and hardly alone in being concerned — about the bad rap capitalism is getting… So I thought I would suggest some rollicking good reads that also show the market economy, big business and the capitalist instinct in a good light. …what Christmas reads might help ardent socialists see that entrepreneurialism and business creates the wealth that pays for everything else, and that capitalism is a force for good? One slightly unexpected place to start might be Great Expectations. Escaped criminal turned super-rich entrepreneur Magwitch offers a fabulous lesson in the uses of capitalism to Pip… Another contender has to be Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged, in which industrialists, fed up with the failures of central planning and stultifying effects of overregulation on their businesses, effectively go on strike from productive activity. …I’d point you towards Henry Hazlitt’s similarly themed 1966 novel Time Will Run Back. It is a better read (Hazlitt is known to be one of the few economists who is also a good writer) and is basically an economics explainer hidden in a work of fiction. It kicks off in a miserably Orwellian state (think 1984) which is gradually turned — to everyone’s benefit — into a capitalist one.

I’m a fan of Atlas Shrugged, so I’ll echo that suggestion.

I’ll track down the Hazlitt book, which sounds promising, but I’ll pass on Great Expectations since I was underwhelmed when forced to read it in high school.

Now let’s shift gears and contemplate the challenges that Santa sometimes faces.

Here’s what happens when a child asks St. Nick for a tolerable government (h/t: libertarian Reddit).

We have another example, only this time Santa is asked for a non-oppressive government (h/t: libertarian Reddit).

P.S. If you know folks who spend a lot of time in the bathroom, you can get them IRS-themed or inflation-themed toilet paper for Christmas (this offer not valid in Cuba and Venezuela).

P.P.S. If you’re shopping for an environmentalist, this option might work. And if you need a gift for a Keynesian, this Christmas album would be perfect.

P.P.P.S. At this time of year, remember that adoption is a way of providing a good home.