I'm actually quite happy with the state of Australian politics at this very moment. We have a 'hung' parliament, basically a tie with 2 independents & 1 Greens minister as the major power brokers. To form the majority government, both major parties have been haggling and negotiating for nearly 2 weeks. I've noticed many people frustrated at the drama on TV and I can't help but respond with 'I'm loving this!'
Why do I love this... well for starters, Australia has had a 2 week reprieve from either party passing legislation that resumes the looting of our private property & further restricting our freedoms. Secondly, the drama will have a greater chance of convincing people about the soundness of libertarianism more than any blog post.
What is frustrating though, is seeing these independents take their private wish list to both parties. These ministers are essentially holding the formation of an Australian government hostage with their list of demands to the party elites. In a twist of sick irony, not even the Australian public has this privilege.
This does raise a larger question about the nature of government. These minister are treating government as their own genie in a bottle. But what does this reveal about the government. Government is a monopoly privilege of force where any seizure of private property can be justified by complicated writing on a piece of paper called a 'Bill'. Government is a monopoly privilege of force that can imprison you for not violating the natural rights of your neighbours. Government is a monopoly privilege of force that will fine and imprison you for not participating in the selection of new looters every 4 years or sooner. Finally, government is a monopoly privilege of force that we use to steal from our neighbours for our own private interest.
The benefit of the democratic process is that the public is one step closer to writing the Christmas list. But as we've seen with the backstabbing of Kevin Rudd and the Hung Parliament, occasionally we're reminded that the Christmas list belongs to the adults and not the children.
