Harry Browne on Seven Principles in Selling Libertarian Ideas

Excerpts from the late Harry Browne's radio show on how to be an effective salesman of liberty, aired on January 26^th, 2003. Accompanying article: Be an Effective Salesman of Liberty

From Wikipedia: Harry Browne (June 17, 1933 – March 1, 2006) was an American writer, politician, and investment analyst. He was the Libertarian Party's Presidential nominee in the U.S. elections of 1996 and 2000. He is the author of 12 books that in total have sold more than 2 million copies.

Video source from economicsinonelessonYouTube channel.

Translated by Jadranko Brkic

(see video at the bottom of transcript)

transcript:

I've been talking about ways that you might become more persuasive in talking to people about freedom. And it all starts with an understanding of government and the seven principles that I mentioned. They were again:

1. Government is force.

2. Government is politics.

3. You don’t control the government.

4. Power always grows.

5. Power is sure to be misused eventually.

6. Government doesn’t work.

7. Because of all the first six, government must be subject to absolute limits.

Understand that when you're talking to someone, you don't have to bring up all seven of these principles. All you need is to bring up one of them. And maybe one of them will work with one person and not with somebody else. So it helps to become as conversant as you can, with maybe three or four of these principles, the ones that you're most comfortable with. But I do strongly recommend that you bear down on the obvious fact that is so easily ignored no matter how obvious it is that government simply does not work.

These seven principles also lead to seven questions, you can just transform each of the principles into a question to ask somebody who is proposing a new government program or defending an existing one:

1. Do you really want to make this a matter of fines and prison terms? I understand your desire to see children educated or to do this or to do that, ... but do you really want to send people to prison who don't do what you want them to do in this particular case?

2. Do you really want to transform this matter (whatever it may be) into a political issue, to be decided by politicians, whoever can come up with the most political influence — people like Bill Clinton, Trent Lott, Teddy Kennedy, or George Bush? Do you think that you have the political clout to overcome all these people, because it's all gonna become politics once Congress gets its hands on it, or the state legislature.

3. Do you really expect that if this program were to be passed the way you wanted, that it would retain its original size and scope forever, without spreading into other areas of your life that you didn't intend it to spread into, and affect you adversely?

4. Do you really think the program will operate in the way you imagine — knowing that you have no way to control it? You are not going to be in Washington to look over these people's shoulders and stop them whenever they go off in the wrong direction.

5. Do you really want to hand to the government power that can be misused in the future by some politician that you may despise?

6. Do you really believe this program or law will achieve its goal — knowing that no existing government program has matched whatever promises were made for it? Why in the world would you think that this program or law is going to work any better than all the failed programs of the past?

7. Are you willing to breach the Constitution to have your way — knowing that this would just simply open the door to ever wider to whatever tomorrow’s politicians and special interest groups want to breach the Constitution for? I wouldn't think so.