And one last set of endorsements...

His argument on prop 19 is fairly compelling. I'm sorta wishing I could change my vote. Oh well, too late now.

I am totally a couple of notches to your right, but only for practical reasons; if the state could wither away, and we could federate into organizations based on voluntary association that manage property and ensure individual rights, I'd be all for that.

Were all men angels, libertarianism and communism would work fine. Back here in reality, I have trouble imagining a for-profit "rights enforcement agency" that does not devolve, in short order, into a protection racket.

I'm a big fan of social contract theory, and in particular Hobbes' Leviathan -- man is a quite nasty animal; unconstrained, we tend to prey on each other in a way that is self-defeating. We all end up much healthier, wealthier, and happier when we find ways to constrain and channel our appetites. (I read through the canon of political theory, starting with Plato's Republic, going through Machiavelli, the Enlightenment social contract writers, Marx and Engels, and up through modern writers like Stanley Fish, for a class in my freshman year; I imagine you must've done something similar...)