Let It Bleed: Libertarianism And The Workplace.

[4588686]

[url="http://crookedtimber.org/2012/07/01/let-it-bleed-libertarianism-and-the-workplace/"]http://crookedtimber.org/2012/07/01/let-it-bleed-libertarianism-and-the-workplace/[/url]


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[i]“In the general course of human nature, a power over a man’s subsistence amounts to a power over his will.”[/i] —Alexander Hamilton, [url="http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/fed/blfed79.htm"]Federalist 79[/url][/font][/color]
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Libertarianism is a philosophy of individual freedom. Or so its adherents claim. But with their single-minded defense of the rights of property and contract, libertarians cannot come to grips with the systemic denial of freedom in private regimes of power, particularly the workplace. When they do try to address that unfreedom, as a group of academic libertarians calling themselves “Bleeding Heart Libertarians” have done in recent months, they wind up traveling down one of two paths: Either they give up their [url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/06/3087/"]exclusive focus on the state[/url] and become something like [url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/01/why-im-not-a-bleeding-heart-libertarian/"]garden-variety liberals[/url] or they reveal that they are not the defenders of freedom they claim to be.[/font][/color]

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That is what we are about to argue, but it is based on months of discussion with the Bleeding Hearts. The conversation was [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/03/07/when-libertarians-go-to-work/"]kicked off by the critique[/url] one of us—Corey Robin—offered of libertarian Julian Sanchez’s [url="http://www.juliansanchez.com/2012/03/05/cato-and-the-kochs-a-presignation-letter/"]presignation letter to Cato[/url], in which Sanchez inadvertently revealed the reality of workplace coercion. Jessica Flanigan, a Bleeding Heart, [url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/03/libertarian-hypocrisy/"]responded[/url][url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/03/workplace-coercion/"]twice[/url] to Robin. Then one of us—Chris Bertram—[url="http://crookedtimber.org/2012/05/29/fuck-me-or-youre-fired/"]responded to Flanigan[/url]. Since then, the[url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/05/employee-and-employer-rights/"]Bleeding Hearts[/url] [url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/06/some-comments-on-bertram/"]have offered[/url] a [url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/06/3087/"]series of responses[/url] to [url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/06/libertarianism-and-private-power/"]Chris[/url] and [url="http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/06/if-you-want-to-keep-dating-me-youd-better-let-me-fuck-you/"]Corey[/url].[/font][/color]


[b]Life at Work[/b]

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To understand the limitations of these Bleeding Hearts, we have to understand how little freedom workers enjoy at work. Unfreedom in the workplace can be broken down into three categories.[/font][/color]
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[i]1. Abridgments of freedom inside the workplace[/i]
On pain of being fired, workers in most parts of the United States can be [url="http://workrights.us/?products=drug-testing-in-the-workplace"]commanded to pee[/url]or [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/03/08/lavatory-and-liberty-the-secret-history-of-the-bathroom-break/"]forbidden[/url] to [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/03/24/what-happens-to-a-bathroom-break-deferred/"]pee[/url]. They can be [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT22&lpg=PT22&dq="]watched on camera by their boss while they pee[/url]. They can be forbidden [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/04/04/fancy-dress-at-fancy-law-firms-youre-fired/"]to wear what they want[/url], [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/04/08/the-wide-world-of-sports/"]say what they want[/url] ([url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/03/18/all-children-under-16-years-old-are-now-16-years-old-workplace-tyranny-at-the-gates-foundation/"]and at what decibel[/url]), and [url="http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2000/uslabor/"]associate with whom they want[/url]. They can be [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=L-n-V_6rNyMC&pg=PA302&dq=%22fear:+the+history+of+a+political+idea%22&hl=en&ei=e1koTvTbKsvTgQe70Nlc&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22In%20the%20United%20States%2C%20there%20is%20arguably&"]punished for doing or not doing any of these things[/url]—punished [url="http://www.amazon.com/Rights-Employees-Members-Second-Edition/dp/0809319144"]legally[/url] or [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=L-n-V_6rNyMC&pg=PA302&dq=%22fear:+the+history+of+a+political+idea%22&hl=en&ei=e1koTvTbKsvTgQe70Nlc&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q="]illegally[/url] (as many as [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2011/07/21/why-arent-there-more-union-members-in-america-a-reply-to-will-wilkinson/"]1 in 17 workers who try to join a union is illegally fired or suspended[/url]). But what’s remarkable is just how many of these punishments are legal, and even when they’re illegal, how [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=M8hyhhl7zWQC&pg=PA370&lpg=PA370&dq="]toothless the law can be[/url]. Outside the usual protections (against race and gender discrimination, for example), employees can be fired for good reasons, bad reasons, or no reason at all. They can be fired for [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/04/23/boss-to-worker-thanks-for-your-kidney-and-oh-youre-fired/"]donating a kidney to their boss[/url](fired by the same boss, that is), [url="http://www.amazon.com/American-Association-Guide-Workplace-Edition/dp/0375721401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339549140&sr=8-1&keywords="]refusing to have their person and effects searched[/url], [url="http://crookedtimber.org/2012/07/01/let-it-bleed-libertarianism-and-the-workplace/#v=onepage&q="]calling the boss a “cheapskate” in a personal letter[/url], and more. They have few rights on the job—certainly none of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendment liberties that constitute the bare minimum of a free society; thus, no free speech or assembly, no due process, no right to a fair hearing before a panel of their peers—and what rights they do have [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/04/08/the-wide-world-of-sports/"]employers will fight tooth and nail to make sure aren’t made known to them[/url] or [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT10&lpg=PT10&dq="]will simply require them to waive as a condition of employment[/url]. Outside the prison or the military—which actually provide, at least on paper, some guarantee of due process—it’s difficult to conceive of a less free institution for adults than the average workplace.[/font][/color][color=#111111][font=Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[i]2. Abridgements of freedom outside the workplace[/i]
In addition to abridging freedoms on the job, employers abridge their employees’ freedoms off the job. Employers [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/03/20/the-private-life-of-power/"]invade employees’ privacy[/url], demanding that they hand over passwords to their Facebook accounts, and [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/03/31/more-facebook-fascism/"]fire them for resisting such invasions[/url]. Employers [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=dyEZhA3ptyAC&pg=PA237&dq=%22In+one+case+in+Michigan,+the+courts+upheld+an+employer%27s+right+to+film+an+employee+at+home,+with+a+high-powered+lens%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zaHYT7q7LYei8QSo5om2Aw&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q="]secretly film their employees at home[/url]. Workers are fired for [url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56449-2004Oct23.html"]supporting the wrong political candidates[/url] (“[url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT9&lpg=PT9&dq=%22either+work+for+John+Kerry+or+work+for+me%22&source=bl&ots=2PxGjftlb7&sig=meesLJvVTqh6oO-Xf0DXleH6MSA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aO3bT7bAKqnH6gHf66igCw&ved=0CFMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q="]work for John Kerry or work for me[/url]”), [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT18&lpg=PT18&dq=%22William+Niess+was+an+executive+in+a+Wisconsin+company%22&source=bl&ots=2PxGjftrh6&sig=pqekRIuo66KO5YPrwlNgq12XpqI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=--_bT97XEfSA6QHe5PmuCw&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q="]failing to donate to employer-approved candidates[/url], [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT12&lpg=PT12&dq=%22He+attempted+to+ask+Bush+a+challenging+question+about+the+war+in+Iraq.%22&source=bl&ots=2PxGjftn9a&sig=VlRhwBjtiXYw76OdtJGawuF9plY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=H-7bT-K1EInJ6gGw5a2lCw&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=o"]challenging government officials[/url], [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT16&lpg=PT16&dq="]writing critiques of religion on their personal blogs[/url] (IBM instructs employees to “[url="http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html"]show proper consideration…for topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory—such as politics and religion[/url]”), [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=L-n-V_6rNyMC&pg=PA236&lpg=PA236&dq="]carrying on extramarital affairs[/url], participating in group sex at home, [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT49&dq=maltby+rights+work+cross-dressing&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LPbXT_nBD6a46QHhxti5Aw&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false"]cross-dressing[/url], and more. Workers are punished for [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT45&lpg=PT45&dq=%22some+even+prohibited+employees+from+smoking+in+their+own+homes.%22&source=bl&ots=2PxGjfukf9&sig=d_rg21-bsQljZrCOlhXPg5ESs2A&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FvHbT5edBof46QGw0K2GCw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&"]smoking or drinking in the privacy of their own homes[/url]. (How many nanny states have tried that?) They can be fired for [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT49&lpg=PT49&dq=%22When+her+boss+learned+that+Turic+was+considering+to+have+an+abortion%22&source=bl&ots=2PxGjfuld9&sig=xNJPLZppcX8VAHioXZlJDuguNG8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZfHbT8fYM-6J6gGHquihCw&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=one"]merely thinking about having an abortion[/url], for[url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT54&lpg=PT54&dq=%22Roger+Boisjoly+worked+for+Morton+Thiokol%22&source=bl&ots=2PxGjfuna6&sig=d4qMDRScsKphPcWcLhOgTvw3N7w&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DPLbT9nNPJC36QGMtLCrCw&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q="]reporting information that might have averted the Challenger disaster[/url], for [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=UHFg6TM0opYC&pg=PT55&lpg=PT55&dq=%22Philloria+was+brutally+beaten+and+raped+by+her+estranged+husband.%22&source=bl&ots=2PxGjfumc4&sig=uSx-3Y13bdRxayIwAamaVHEFtf0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uvHbT9bRLeqP6gH5vOyeCw&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepag"]being raped by an estranged husband[/url]. Again, this is all legal in many states, and in the states where it is illegal, the laws are often weak.[/font][/color][color=#111111][font=Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[i]3. Use of sanctions inside the workplace as a supplement to—or substitute for—political repression by the state[/i]
While employers often abridge workers’ liberty off the job, at certain moments, those abridgments assume a larger function for the state. Particularly in a liberal state constrained by constitutional protections such as the First Amendment, the instruments of coercion can be outsourced to—or shared with—the private sector. [url="http://coreyrobin.com/2012/03/14/birth-control-mccarthyism/"]During the McCarthy period[/url], for example, fewer than 200 men and women went to jail for their political beliefs, but as many as 40% of American workers—in both the public and private sectors—were investigated (and a smaller percentage punished) for their beliefs.[/font][/color]
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Read more:[/font][/color][color=#111111][font=Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[url="http://crookedtimber.org/2012/07/01/let-it-bleed-libertarianism-and-the-workplace/"]http://crookedtimber.org/2012/07/01/let-it-bleed-libertarianism-and-the-workplace/[/url][/font][/color]

[r2Dtoo]

McCarthy was right.

[PhuturePriest]

I was slightly interested and read nearly the first paragraph or more, but then I scrolled down and saw how long it was so I quit reading it.

I do agree that libertarians are flawed in their thinking. To think that I once considered being one (Which I learned later would have been against Church teaching anyway)...

[arfink]

Screw it all, left, right, socialist, liberal, libertatian, whatever. I'm Catholic. We alone get to have it both ways if we follow Christ, as usual. Nothing could be better.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1345919002' post='2474130']
I do agree that libertarians are flawed in their thinking. To think that I once considered being one ([b]Which I learned later would have been against Church teaching anyway[/b])...
[/quote]

Ah, well....... no...

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1345919002' post='2474130'](Which I learned later would have been against Church teaching anyway)...
[/quote]
[img]http://i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/567/Massimo.jpg[/img]

[Winchester]

Yes. Most libertarians are unaware that non-government individuals abuse their power.

[r2Dtoo]

Most of this article is croutons anyways. 1 in 17 people who attempt to join a union get fired? Try, "Oh poo, I'm about to be fired! Can I join the union now?"

[4588686]

[quote name='r2Dtoo' timestamp='1345918788' post='2474128']
McCarthy was right.
[/quote]


You misspelled 'dumb-floopy demagogue'

[quote name='Winchester' timestamp='1345933208' post='2474207']
Yes. Most libertarians are unaware that non-government individuals abuse their power.
[/quote]

Excellent. I accept your surrender.

[Winchester]

[quote name='Hasan' timestamp='1346591130' post='2477569']

Excellent. I accept your surrender.
[/quote]
It took you that long, and you come up with a recycled Winchester line.

No, my friend, it is [i]I [/i]who accept [i]your [/i]surrender!

[4588686]

[quote name='Winchester' timestamp='1346592343' post='2477574']
It took you that long, and you come up with a recycled Winchester line.

No, my friend, it is [i]I [/i]who accept [i]your [/i]surrender!
[/quote]


GASP!

[God the Father]

Bosses, teachers, and presidents are the enemies of freedom.

[BG45]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1345919002' post='2474130']
I was slightly interested and read nearly the first paragraph or more, but then I scrolled down and saw how long it was so I quit reading it.

I do agree that libertarians are flawed in their thinking. To think that I once considered being one (Which I learned later would have been against Church teaching anyway)...
[/quote]

The tl;dr of this post is tl;dr.

[quote name='God the Father' timestamp='1346618988' post='2477653']
Bosses, teachers, and presidents are the enemies of freedom.
[/quote]

Today I learned I am an enemy of Freedom.

[4588686]

[quote name='BG45' timestamp='1346621600' post='2477663']
The tl;dr of this post is tl;dr.



Today I learned I am an enemy of Freedom.
[/quote][quote name='BG45' timestamp='1346621600' post='2477663']
The tl;dr of this post is tl;dr.



Today I learned I am an enemy of Freedom.
[/quote]

I disagree that teachers as a class are an enemy of freedom. But I would certainly agree that you personally are an enemy of freedom. I have thoroughly documented this fact. Although my findings have yet to be published by the bourgeois media.

[BG45]

[quote name='Hasan' timestamp='1346635125' post='2477716']
I disagree that teachers as a class are an enemy of freedom. But I would certainly agree that you personally are an enemy of freedom. I have thoroughly documented this fact. Although my findings have yet to be published by the bourgeois media.
[/quote]

Alas, I left such a trail of human rights violations, I should've known an intrepid young graduate would find it.