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Sunday, December 25, 2005 

Harry Potter and the Coming Libertarian Generation

I found a link on Prof. Bainbridge's blog to an article by Professor Benjamin Barton which claims that the Harry Potter book series is libertarian propaganda. I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, but I have seen the first three movies. Obviously, I'm getting a much more condensed version of the Potter world in the movies, but I still see some of the points. The abstract states...
The first is that Rowling presents a government (The Ministry of Magic) that is 100% bureaucracy. There is no discernible executive or legislative branch, and no elections. There is a modified judicial function, but it appears to be completely dominated by the bureaucracy, and certainly does not serve as an independent check on governmental excess.
From what I've seen in the movies, this is true. The Ministry of Magic is totally bureaucractic, a libertarian's nightmare.

I'm going to read through the article during the day and see if I'm really convinced. There is a warning at the beginning that there are a lot of plot spoilers in the footnotes, so that should make up for my lack of familiarity with the text. I hope it's true and I hope it sticks. This country could use more people who aren't in love with big government poorly providing services in inefficient ways for extremely high costs.

LMAO I had not heard that one yet! My only hope is the kids understand the message as I'm all for a country under a Libertarian government! Unfortunately I apparently am too dense to get the message from the books though... Darn US education system must have given me the slip when it comes to deciphering a Libertarian agenda in a children's book.. Dang! Wonder what else I have been missing??

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  • I'm Steve
  • From Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
  • "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." P.J. O'Rourke
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