Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Feminists have a communications problem when it comes to concerns about “toxic masculinity”. Let me demonstrate this with the following: incompetent women make very poor drivers. Alright then, how did you read that? Did you read 1) “all women are incompetent and make for very poor drivers” or 2) “only women who are incompetent make for very poor drivers”? If you read it as 2) then you took your time and considered what was being said. Congratulations! If you read it like 1), then you made quick assumptions looking for someone to feel outrage toward. Reading as 2) probably also had you consider whether or not incompetent men made for very poor drivers, as well, and such would be a rational inference. Reading as 1) gave you bad feelings toward the person saying it, wondering strongly about how long they’ve been a misogynist. Now, do you understand why the phrase “toxic masculinity” is not being received very well? If you need me to mansplain it further for you, I will. And that’s today’s two cents.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Episode 271 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: enjoying the NFL’s NFC and AFC Conference championship games; his prediction for the coming Super Bowl winner; the new podcast by EVC featuring lectures and interviews by voluntaryist giants past and present; understanding toxic masculinity by live-reading an essay shared by a friend; and more.

Listen to Episode 271 (25m, mp3, 64kbps)


Subscribe via RSS here, or in any podcast app by searching for “everything voluntary”. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/evc.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Here’s a memetastic peeve of mine:  the bumper stickers and signs that say “Freedom is not free.” Talk about an equivocation. What is being implied by this statement is support for the armed forces and law enforcement. Little thought seems to be given in what this support entails, forcing other people to part with their hard-earned money to pay for these misidentified “services”. I suppose it could be argued that there is no equivocation if what is meant with this phrase is something along the lines of “It costs your freedom to protect your freedom.” In which case, keep your protection to yourself, nobody asked you. And that’s today’s two cents.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Episode 270 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: what lookism is and why it’s absurd; his view on colonizing Mars and the space program; why parental expectations of children should begin and end with joy; the infinite number of genders in the world; why markets are best suited toward bringing about egalitarian ideals; and more.

Listen to Episode 270 (25m, mp3, 64kbps)


Subscribe via RSS here, or in any podcast app by searching for “everything voluntary”. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/evc.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

An entitlement in the context of government is a promise of something, be it a good, a service, or money. Because government only has resources it has first taken from other people, the fulfillment of entitlements requires future takings. If those who call themselves “government” are unable to prove a right to that which they take from others, they are simply robbers engaged in extortion. It then follows that entitlements necessarily violate the liberties of other people. To demand more entitlements from government is to demand that liberties be violated. Entitlements are thus antithetical to liberty. You must prioritize one over the other not only for yourself, but for your neighbors as well. “If I don’t choose entitlements, then they will” does not justify or excuse what amounts to unethical behavior. Do you believe that you have the right to violate other people’s liberty? Do you?! If so, what class of human being does that put you in, hero or villain? And that’s today’s two cents.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Episode 269 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: the new Gillette commercial admonishing men to be better men, in part by keeping other men under control; the patriarchal undertones of the Gillette commercial; the unfortunate oversights of not including women (mothers) in their admonishment in how boys are raised and the absence of striking the root issue of violent and coercive parenting practices; the claim that voluntaryism is “exploitation pretending to be anarchism”; where left anarchists make major mistakes in their critique of voluntaryist and anarcho-capitalist theory; and more.

Listen to Episode 269 (40m, mp3, 64kbps)


Subscribe via RSS here, or in any podcast app by searching for “everything voluntary”. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/evc.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Paradoxically, at a time when #metoo started and continues, yoga pants are becoming more and more common as daily attire worn by attractive women. I am in no way complaining, quite the contrary, I welcome this evolution in fashion. It seems this trend started before #metoo, actually. I don’t know for certain, but isn’t this trend evidence that woman feel safer than they used to? Yoga pants are practically a color skin on a naked body, yet women everywhere are wearing them out and about, and quite comfortably so. This seems like progress to me. What do you think? And that’s today’s two cents.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

I am not totally opposed to the ideal of economic egalitarianism. I don’t want poverty to exist, and I do want those with means to bring about its eradication in an ethical, efficient, and lasting way. Where many (most?) egalitarians error is their mistaken belief that government force is one of the ways, or even the best way, to make that happen. It’s not. Government force can only flatten wealth distribution downward, and less wealth overall cannot bring people out of poverty. On the contrary, private property and free markets, ie. capitalism, have shown theoretically and in practice to do exactly what economic egalitarians desire to achieve and is actually possible among real human beings. There is no better alternative, truly. And that’s today’s two cents.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Episode 268 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: YouTube’s copyright claim system and the trouble that its causing; why libertarian types complain about what government spends its ill-gotten gains on; voluntaryist time-traveler solutions to the problem of Hitler; the peculiarity in descendants of conquered people sharing in the religious/political sensibilities of their ancestor’s conquerors; the value of economics in shifting moral outrage from market actors to government actors; and more.

Listen to Episode 268 (25m, mp3, 64kbps)


Subscribe via RSS here, or in any podcast app by searching for “everything voluntary”. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/evc.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

One notable difference between voluntaryists and coercivists are the former’s insistence on tackling issues from their root, largely dug deep in a coercive foundation. Coercivists prefer to hack away at the branches with nary a concern for those whose lives and liberties they may be violating. Drug addiction is a problem of traumatic childhoods and broken social bonds. You can either examine and deal with the root, or throw guns and prisons at the branches in a futile attempt at solving the problem. Likewise for “illegal” immigration, human trafficking, terrorists, business cycles, and every other socio-economic problem that stems from utilizing coercion. Voluntaryists know better, if only the world would listen. And that’s today’s two cents.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Episode 267 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: adding calisthenics to his morning routine; the push by a minority of gig economy workers to force Uber, GrubHub, et al, to designate their drivers as employees, and why this is a big mistake; and more.

Listen to Episode 267 (24m, mp3, 64kbps)


Subscribe via RSS here, or in any podcast app by searching for “everything voluntary”. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/evc.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

If we are to categorize gender expression as genders, then there aren’t 2 genders, or even 70 genders, but 7.53 billion genders, and counting. Every person on earth has a gender and expresses it in a unique way. Therefore it follows that every unique expression by every person on earth is its own gender. At some point it becomes absurd to count genders, maybe for you its past 20, and for me it’s past 2, and for that person over there, 500. I don’t know, we all have our preferences here. Are my preferences any less valid than yours? Perhaps the gender recognition preference of 2 is just a part of my gender. What am I saying? Of course it is! I am a unique gender, after all. As are you. You may have a unique display of biologically similar-to-mine genitalia, but you too are a unique gender. Let’s celebrate our diversity! And that’s today’s two cents.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

The expectations that parents set on their children can have the effect of stifling the child’s own expectations, and expressions. A person is a unique combination of genes who grows and evolves within a unique combination of memes. Therefore, every person is a unique individual, and will learn to set expectations for themselves for what they will become. Parents can influence these self-set expectations, but they must be careful not to influence expectations that are incompatible with their child’s nature. You may want your child to be athletic, but they may be more inclined to mathematics and engineering. You may want your child to be musical, but they may be more inclined to painting and drawing. Children should be given ample opportunity to become whoever they will become without fear of shame or disappointment. Expect greatness and happiness from your child, but let them surprise you with how they manifest those things. And that’s today’s two cents.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Episode 266 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: an article by C Jay Engel titled, “Governance As A Role Vs. The State As An Entity“; challenging jurisdiction; and more.

Listen to Episode 266 (34m, mp3, 64kbps)


Subscribe via RSS here, or in any podcast app by searching for “everything voluntary”. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/evc.

Post by Skyler J. Collins (Editor).

Learning economics had the effect on me of shifting my moral outrage from capitalists and entrepreneurs to politicians and bureaucrats. For example, you might think a policy like rent control keeps greedy landlords from exploiting poor tenants. What rent control actually does, if we look at its economic effects in theory and in practice, is reduce the incentives for maintenance and upkeep and for new construction. What results is a housing shortage as current stock falls into disrepair, pushing tenants further and further away from city centers where they work, increasing commute times and congestion, and more. What is touted as a benefit for poor tenants becomes a major burden on both poor tenants and others. These effects are only reversed when rent control is repealed or significantly altered to be more in line with what market forces would generate. Like rent control, government interventions in markets produce unintended consequences that can seemingly only be solved through more government intervention in markets which produces unintended consequences that… ad infinitum. Or, cease the intervention and find non-governmental solutions to whatever it is you perceive as a problem. Learn economics and shift your moral outrage toward the people who deserve it. And that’s today’s two cents.