Comments

1
Don't let the the door hit you on your way out.
2
You were at times honestly quite funny, and I think you would have more of a career in satire perhaps.

But your core beliefs and ideas are frankly terrifying, anti-human, and rooted in the beliefs (if you ask me) of noted nihilist and general maniac, Ayn Rand. If the sorts of social, fiscal, and tax rules your side wanted went wholesale live, our modern society would fall apart into haves and have-nots, and would look worse than even the Gilded Age was for gross human suffering. Cheers.
3
At least when Mudede spews incoherent nonsense, he is thought-provoking and entertaining.

You, on the other hand, are an idiot, plain and simple.
4
You are an economic psychopath.
5
I'm imagining all of the employment opportunities that will leap into your lap given your powers of rhetoric and persuasion. It's a good thing you left an amazing record online of just how you present your perspective and achieve mutual respect with those who disagree with you.
6
Has it really been five months?

It seems longer.
7
It was a delight to see you rile up so many commenters! That said, you still haven't really answered my questions re aligning your beliefs with your actions.

Good luck should you decide to have kids.
8
Well at least you're not as shallow-minded and vapid as Lindy.
9
Just remember, when the revolution of the workers finally comes to America be very afraid scab be very afraid.....
10
You talk like I've never seen posts from callow libertarian punks before - I'm waist deep in the stuff every time I fire up my browser.

Good luck!
11
Hearts and butterflies, Matt. You were an awesome intern and you will be missed.
12
You weren't even a good troll, Luby. Bye, scab.
13
Your work has helped us Slog commenters feel briefly united by our hatred of your work. So thanks!
14
Personally, I would rather visit one of those creepy anal-massage workshops Dan referenced earlier today then ever see another post by this Unpaid Intern again. We'll see how the unemployed writer feels if and when he suddenly needs health care to survive.
15
Well, we had fun, didn't we?

Every once a while we Sloggers need a new lightning rod for criticism and vitriol, and Matt, you played the part better than anyone I can immediately think of. Even casual, normally even-tempered commenters absolutely lost their shit over what you wrote, and to your credit, you weren't afraid to respond directly to your critics.

It was great to meet you, and good luck in the future. Let us all hope that your worldview never catches on in any meaningful capacity.
16
I bet you thought that poll was witty, but it actually made me wish you would stick your dick in a blender.

And you're still a blithely self-important twit with a profoundly damaged capacity for empathy.
17
@ Joe Szilagyi -- Argh. I generally like your comments and I like that you enjoyed some of my humor, but to still be hung up on thinking that I have any sort of connection to Ayn Rand is a bit disappointing. Ayn Rand was a minarchist. I have Objectivist (Randian) friends. When I hear them talk about the heroic virtues of the U.S. military and defend intellectual property rights, it makes me cringe. That is not me. I am an anarchist through and through.

I really think you just don't know enough about the anarchist-libertarian side of things and are just latching on to the only person you know in Rand. Oh, and to say that I am anti-human is just a lie.

@ unpaid reader -- Hmm, ok. Do you have a degree in Economics? Do you read economic tracts in your free time? Because I'm guessing your "knowledge" of economics probably comes from high school history and screeds on MSNBC.
18
I assume that you are now moving to Somalia, one of the freest markets on earth, to live out your life completely free of any government market controls
19
I'll miss you, Matt Luby!
20
Back to the echo chamber.
21
So those who disagree with you have 'entrenched minds'? That's a characterization a person of unshakable faith would make of someone that disagrees with them, and not what a 'truth-seeker' would say or think.

Good luck to you Matt.
22
Please, never breed. Scab.
23
I can't even joke about the Kochs. Best wishes, Matt. Hope you aren't ever cold and hungry through no fault of your own.
24
@8 - Bummed on the Stranger's coverage of Nights in Rodanthe, or did you actually make a shitty movie yourself?

I thought Intern's crap was kinda fun to read, like getting stuck on Fox News for a second, or Coast to Coast AM. He doesn't know enough to have "tip-toed through [ANY] -isms", and I'm guessing his hands are kinda soft to practice the sort of self-reliance he preaches, but at least his poll options were kinda funny.
25
Hey Stranger Editors,

I personally enjoyed the novelty of having a different viewpoint here on Slog. But, next time, can we get a non-egomaniac playing the part of a libertarian? One who is a little bit more mature, and not so fucking dense? Idealism is great and all, but I think we need somebody who isn't so undeveloped in his thoughts (and simultaneously so sanctimonious). Thanks.
26
@ jt -- I actually liked your comments a lot. I like it when people point out my inconsistencies. That makes me think and reconsider.

@ Time Lord -- Don't worry, I'll be far away from this stinking carcass of an empire by then.

@ Alden -- Stop hanging out on 4chan. Thanks for the good wishes!

@ Hernandez -- Thanks, Hernandez. Your comments are always well-considered and sincere. You were also an extraordinarily friendly person when I met you at Slog Happy!

@ balderdash -- Do you have Asperger's?

@ wl -- God, you are the first person to ever say that!
27
Hope your parents keep paying your way!
28
@ sarahlloyd -- And I'll miss you--one of the few commenters to actually risk appreciating my work publicly!

@ 20 -- Heh.

@ Fish Wrench -- Thanks!

@ Bauhaus -- One time my landlord waited a few days to turn the radiators on in Cincinnati. Does that count?

@ Dougsf -- You'd be surprised--I've done some pretty shitty jobs.
29
Never was crazy about your POV, but I can't help but admire your completely unapologetic attitude.

And a yes/yes survey is nothing but awesome.
30
Matt, you're not anti-human, I said your beliefs are and will lead to that sort of state or end result, and I believe they will. Systems should exist for the collective benefit of everyone in them, or they're not serving a good purpose. If that means massive intervention or minor intervention, or oversight, so be it. Anything that goes against the greater common long-term goal and growth of us as a species from what we were to what we will be is wrong. Utterly free markets, the out of control model? Bad, bad, bad. On some things, freedom and liberty truly are secondary, because of the massive harm they can cause, as we've seen since 2007-2008. Your beliefs would lead us to a social apocalypse of mass poverty. Either school, Rand or yours--it's all crap. Sorry.

But beliefs are malleable things, so your views could be night and day when you're 40 from now. Mine at 35 are wildly different from mine at 15-20, and even a fair bit from 25. Good luck out there, dude.
31
Look forward to seeing your blog turn more Republican by the day as you age into what you are obviously destined to be. Actually I won't enjoy it. Because I won't read it. Take yer copy of "Atlas" with you.
32
Echoing #21
For your sake, you should never refer to yourself as a 'truth-seeker' again, except for when you're LARPing.

I do have some questions about what a market-controlled military would look like, or a market-printed currency. Trying to separate property rights from the institution which legitimizes them always struck me as strange.

33
Good riddance!
34
Oh and Matt, you can call me Doctor..everyone else does.

And to correctly say what #1 said "Don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you"
35
It was fun Matt. And some day you will grow up.
36
@ rodolfo -- Glad you enjoyed it!

@ Joe Szilagyi -- If it's any consolation, your beliefs worry the piss out of me, too, Joe. So much talk about "collective benefit" and "good purpose" and "greater goals," so little talk about individual rights and lives. That's the sort of talk that got us in trouble time and again in the 20th century.

If you really think the free market is what caused this recession, then you don't understand free markets well enough. There would have never been a housing bubble if not for government creating perverse incentives to lend. There would have never been a bailout if not for government looking out for its clients. There would have never been a banking crisis if not for government's enshrinement of moral hazard. Ours is nowhere close to a free market.

But hey, you are still a nice guy, at least.

@ chimsquared -- Obvious and uncreative troll is obvious and uncreative.
37
ha ha ha. bye bye.
38
How can you resist seeing this "Market Anarchy" first hand. Just think after a year in Somalia you would be able to argue from first hand experience. No more speaking in theoretical generalities and abstractions. I'll even give you fifty bucks to send you on your way.
39
What do you want? You're a funny, scary sociopath and your ideas literally hurt people as has been patiently explained in detail by more than one frustrated Slog commentator. Reading your libertarian opinions on Slog was like being molested in my bedroom by someone I loved and trusted. Didn't like it.

There's just something wrong with you. Go away forever.
40
You'll have no one to be contrary to! Your whole identity gone! So long scabby!
41
I'd like to clarify that I don't agree with you about much besides booze and other drugs, but I respect you. And I loved your WSLCB stuff and am sad you won't be around longer to stay on that beat.
42
Lovely introspection-free glibertarian poll; and one of your best pieces of writing. Are you the best, or are you the greatest? Tough call certainly. Keep being the perfect person you are, no change or improvement possible.
43
UI Matt:
good work!
Every time you wrote the SLOGGERS would blister and pop off at your musings. you have been much better than a pinata. It is clear they haven't had much of a fight with previous interns. So, at least you succeeded in creating a sort of "Slogger solidarity" (against anything you wrote) but they have had a bunch of fun.
it was probably a good thing you single handedly settled the union dispute so you did not have to cross the line.
anyway, I have enjoyed your no blink writing.
onward and upward.
and don't forget to join these fine sloggers to slog it out as they always do. they still need someone to be the opposition voice. Happy Trails!
Herbie
44
As with most of the things written by this intern, the poll seems to be missing most of the relevant possible answers to the question...
45
Good luck in your future endeavors! If the day comes when we as a country do away with food safety inspections, fire departments, and air traffic control, you will be on all of our minds.
46
If you're going back to the 'Nati, i expect to shortly see you ensconced in the PR department of Chiquita Brands, perhaps in their brand-new "Tiara" building, rationalizing banana monocultures and other free-market innovations.
47
@ dirge -- I liked your LARP joke. So...market currencies, we already sort of have them. Consider precious metals, commodity exchanges, etc. Even in the U.S. before the Civil War, there were all sorts of competing banknotes. Not that I like banknotes. Market-controlled militaries would probably be much smaller and much more interested in brokering peace settlements than waging expensive wars.

@ wl -- How about this--if you really do raise enough money to send me to Somalia, I will 100% go there and do a story on it. No kidding.

@ Puty -- Ah, hyperbole. You are so very threatened by ideas as only an insecure person can be.

@ sarahlloyd -- Oh, I might not be in The Stranger's offices anymore, but I'll be keeping my eye on the WSLCB. WSLCB delenda est. That's one battle I'm very excited to keep fighting.
49
I will miss seeing links to news items from north of the border. It is sad that global news links are either from an atypical intern charged with Morning News Roundup Duty to introduce links, or from Charles Mudede's SLOG posts with selective copy and paste, and usually missing contextual facts.

Even if the only reference to Michael Ignatieff is a label of "neoliberal hawk", and not a link to his "It Gets Better" video, is the best The Stranger can do, it's still a reference.
50
Where are those glibertarian market forces you always talk about? You shouldn't need much, you could make it a work study project and get a job when you're there. I'm pretty sure they have no INS nor require any kind of work visas.
51
I will miss seeing links to news items from north of the border. It is sad that global news links are either from an atypical intern charged with Morning News Roundup Duty to introduce links, or from Charles Mudede's SLOG posts with selective copy and paste, and usually missing contextual facts.

Even if the only reference to Michael Ignatieff is a label of "neoliberal hawk", and not a link to his "It Gets Better" video (which somehow seems more relevant to The Stranger but what do I know I'm only a reader and not an editor, is the best The Stranger can do, it's still a reference.
52
I like this guy. Why are you letting him leave?

He is smarter than Cienna -- the worst new writer in years.
53
Matt, you've been an outstanding intern. You worked hard, wrote well, displayed some seriously unusual political views, and played the comment threads like a fiddle. Fine job! We'll miss you.
54
@47: You mean, market controlled militaries would be more interested in peace the same way market controlled lawyers prefer to minimize billable hours and avoid expensive litigation?
55
Exit the warrior, today's Tom Sawyer.
56
Thank god!! No offense Luby but you write like a biased tween.

Good luck :)
57
It looks like the ism that you are stuck on is narcissism. Get over yourself.
58
I will totally chip in to send Matt to Somalia but there need to be conditions placed on his trip there. These would work for me:

1) He must stay for at least 6 months.

2) He must go with no more than one set of clothes, a pad and pencil, and enough money for his first meal there.

3) He may not receive any help at all from friends, family, or acquaintance during his stay there.

4) He must, entirely through work of his own performed in Somalia, raise enough money to finance his trip back and he may not leave until he does so.

Let's see him prove he can practice what he preaches.
59
I guess that it shouldn't surprise me that your views haven't budged the tiniest bit on anything. But considering you at least gave the appearance of occasionally conceding a damning point against your ideology, I'd hoped for better. In practice, you appear to be willing to feign open-mindedness for long enough to escape a troublesome argument, but invariably you return to confidently re-stating your unaltered view moments later as though nothing happened.

Anyway, good luck. There's a huge market out there for free-market sophistry, so you might have a shot.
60
This dude seemed alright, though I seriously question the thought processes that could arrive at viable market anarchism when corporations routinely display all of the very worst features of humanity.

Also, Ayn Rand was not in any way a market anarchist. Learn your shit, shitters.
61
Despite the fact that I disagree with most of your views --- and vehemently disagree with many -- I've enjoyed your presence here on Slog. And I second Dom's assessment that you "played the comment threads like a fiddle." Well done indeed. Despite your weird worldview you've got a good sense of humor and self-deprecation.

Come back from time to time.
62
Despite your crazy politics, you are totally wonderful. Thank you one million times for all your excellent and also completely bizarre work!
63
Next time take your shirt off! I mean what the hell? Am I right?
64
I hope I never run into you at GABP, Luby. And I mean that most sincerely. Since I don't hang out at Chiquita, I will be unlikely to see you at the new post Mr. Solomon has uncannily predicted for you @46.
65
Rothbard was a cunt.
66
Snapfin,
I wouldn't be quite that harsh. On condtion 2 I think limiting what he brings to what ever he can carry in a backpack and a hand bag or suitcase. I don't think anything he could carry by himself would change his first hand experience with "market anarchy" much.
67
@ Max Solomon -- I am staying in Seattle. I'm in love with Capitol Hill. Hold off on the Chiquita fantasy.

@ Keister Button -- I wouldn't call Ignatieff a "neoliberal hawk," I'd call him a "humanitarian interventionist." Of course, both are equally invalid. At the very least, I think it is kinda cool that Canadians can accept a serious academic as a political leader.

@ Dominic & Bethany -- (blushing)

@ also -- The lawyers you talk about abusing the system are primarily empowered by a regulatory system so perverse and so opaque that only they can understand it. Not happening in a real free market, guy.

@ svensken -- Tween? Geez. At least give me 13.

@ snapfin -- Your caveats are interesting. What's in it for me? Do I get a prize when I return?

@ Proteus -- Nah, I'm an open-minded guy. It wasn't more than a year ago that I was trying to talk myself back into minarchism and even temped at a government agency. Thank God I got over that shit.

@ DeaconBlues -- Market anarchists are generally no great friends of corporations, given that they are clients of the state. But hey, at least you clarified the Rand thing.

@ gnossos -- Oh, I will. I am a child of the internets. I was a Slog reader before I worked here and I will remain one after I leave.

@ Fenrox -- Heh, not sure if you'd want that. I'm pasty even by Seattle standards!
68
WL,

I am fine with that as long as the value of the items isn't more than a few days pay of an average Somali.
69
For those of you suggesting Matt move to Somalia, it would be clearer if you simply said, "I know less than nothing about libertarianism, but I'll repeat this thing I heard someone say once." One would have to go to Red State or Free Republic to match the intellectual caliber of the "move to Somalia!" sentiments.

And it's genuinely sad how the people most enraged by Matt's politics, the one's who say his ideas "hurt people" (and I always thought behavior hurt people!), tend to be the first ones to support the President who does this to children and old people:

http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/rawagall…

The documented and objective fact is that President Obama and the Democratic Party have hurt and killed more innocent people with their behavior than libertarians could ever dream of hurting with their ideas. And I am not a libertarian.
70
Republicans: Economic externalities should be paid for quietly while pretending they don't exist.

Libertarians: Economic externailities? WHAT economic externalities? Everything is accounted for and assigned a price, and if it isn't, it's because it's infinite. If we run out, we just pull more out of that unicorn's ass.
71
the only thing that comes to mind right now is a quote from Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd”:
You are young.
Live has been kind to you.
You will learn.

adios, ya lil snot nosed fucker, and don’t forget our date next week for some tea and sympathy.

72
I voted option E:

"Your opinions are like those of the old insane people who post online and recycled into the dustbin of the Wayback Machine"
73
@ emma's bee -- If you run into me, you'd probably like me. I'm really a nice dude!

@ Fnarf -- That was not one of your best efforts.

@ LJM -- Oh yes, those things ceased to be bad when a Democrat became the one ordering them. Hell, they even gave him a Peace prize for it. Just like how we better take those pro-Palestinian ads off the bus because people might get into a fight in Seattle...let alone the innocent people being KILLED in Gaza.

@ scary tyler moore -- Ah, another one of the people I have met at Slog Happy shows up. Now just where might WiS be?
74
Snapfin,
I don't care if he had 10 Glocks and 20 pounds of $20 bills. A scrawny kid like Lubey would wind up with the starter kit you envisioned within an hour of leaving the airport.
75
Defensive little shit, isn't he?
76
Ah well, I think Sweden is a pretty terrific model for a country, so I'd imagine we would disagree over a lot of subjects, but you were entertaining, I wish you well, and I hope some day you discover the joys of tax-funded services.
77
WiS @ 72 truly remarkable!

This phrase:

Your opinions are like those of the old insane people who post online and recycled into the dustbin of the Wayback Machine


is actually the best description of your comments I've seen yet.
78
OMG, you're real?
79
I will miss you.
80
Luby was The Goods. He will be missed.
81
So long, Luby. Your posts were nostalgic for me - I was once a teenager myself.

Let me know when you set up your voluntary society. I probably won't visit, as I can't afford private security or an off-road vehicle.

Good luck to you, sir!
82
His opinions remind me of those communists who dismiss the failures of Soviet Russia/China/Cuba by saying "they weren't real communism." If that's your ideology you've got to deal with how it exists in the really real world. If every time someone points out problems with markets in the real world you run to the fantasy of purity in your head, then don't be surprised if people aren't convinced.

You're young, you've still got time to realise how perverse people are. Pristine ideological visions tend to get fucked up pretty fast when people get involved.
83
@ Canuck -- Thanks! You are a cool commenter, Canuck. Maybe I'll see you north of the border one of these days.

@ gnossos -- This is one of the funniest and best Slog comments I have ever seen.

@ judgmentalist -- Thank you!

@ Free Lunch -- I will roll out the red carpet for you in my voluntary community, should you come visit. Careful, though--some commenters maintain my ideas "kill" people.

Oh, and thanks, Grant!
84
Thank Xenu this day has finally come.
85
Well, I probably disagree with about, oh, 85% of your views, but you at least made for entertaining reading and a respite from the insular echo chamber that sometimes befalls this place. I particularly liked the WSLCB coverage and that SPL post you made. Making people actually defend their positions on issues is a good thing whether or not you agree with them. On a personal note, and I'm not saying this will change your mind on any of your views, but I hope you get the chance sometime to watch a TV series titled, "The Day The Universe Changed", hosted by a British chap named James Burke. It attempts to explain the rise of human innovation and our complex societal structure over the past 600-700 years or so, and the common touchpoints that spur major change in our lives. It definitely takes a Euro-centric slant, but then, that's mostly influenced how we got to where we are now. Anyway, in watching it over the years I've come away with a lot of thoughts about the crossroads of science, commerce, government, bureaucracy, and basic society, and how each seems to need the other while at the same time striving to be the one on top. Hope you like it. :^)
87
Happy trails news intern. I don't agree with a lot of your ideas, but you are a pretty funny fucker regardless.
88
Good riddance, twerp...
89
Well, I hope all cyber-denizens learnt an important lesson in ideological hegemony. And to the Stranger's hiring board: need better vetting process. Personally, I wouldn't employ anyone who doesn't march on Bastille Day.
90
Three cheers for Luby, the most effective troll Slog has ever seen. Kudos!
91
@ mreccles -- You know, I nearly brought up the communism-real world thing earlier in the thread. I'm a pretty self-aware dude. I know how it sounds. As far as ideological visions, I've read enough Burke and Kirk and von Kuehnelt-Leddihn to know they should be constantly tested with skepticism.

@ laterite -- Another good commenter, especially because your avatar reminds me of the :ugh: tag on SomethingAwful. I am glad you liked the WSLCB and SPL posts--like you said, calling people out on things is important. Always be a skeptic. I enjoy it when people here really call me out on my ideas and don't just call names. Anyways, I added "The Day the Universe..." to my Netflix queue. Thanks!

@ Ken Mehlman -- Agreed, it was fun!

@ Rotten -- Aww, thanks.

@ Civilized Worm -- Better vetting process? You must like echo chambers.
92
OMG--
I'm having an anxiety attack.
you can't go
We need you man!!
Luby, Luby, Luby
the sloggers come to you like flies on shit.
the discourse you create is healthy and provacative
(and, i'm learning lots of new words and phrases.)

don't go, we will not know what to do with ourselves.
anyway, this going away party has been a ball.
maybe you can be a guest celebrity at the slog happy events.

learning from all the sloggers and you make it happen.
thanks for taking our crap.
Herbie

93
Cheers, good sir. You've been trolling the trolls for five months and doing an amazing job at it.
94
Trolls? Did someone say Trolls? Farewell, Raggedy Man.
95
satire Intern - it's called satire. You might also be interested in a free-market proposal I heard from that rake Swift.

http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

96
Matt, not being on here that much, I haven't read that many of your posts or comments but the ones I've read haven't prompted the fits of rage or contempt they apparently have in many others.

A free market? Yes. A completely free market? No. There has to be some degree of regulation by government. A completely free market may financially punish an agribusiness which cuts corners in food safety and ends up killing numerous people but that market punishment won't bring those people back to life. Market punishment is after-the-fact. Regulation, on the other hand, may be onerous to the business, but it also is much more likely to prevent those people from being killed.

But, of course, if some regulation is necessary, it doesn't follow that more is always better. How much regulation of the free market is necessary or good is a valid question. But I don't see complete market freedom as a reasonable option.

Anyway, good luck!
97
One of the things i find most annoying about these libertarian-types is their belief that anyone who disagrees with them is "economically illiterate." So this "anarcho-libertarian" listens to economic lectures on his iPod. Big deal. Most actual economists of the sane variety would find your ideas laughable at best.
98
@ Cow -- Heh! It's been fun.

@ Civilized Worm -- Eh, sorry if I missed the humor, it's just that a lot of people here have stated that sort of sentiment seriously.

@ Roma -- I have enjoyed your comments. I can't really agree with this one. I would argue that governments kill far more people now than the elimination of state-imposed regulations hypothetically would. Even if that was not the case, it is simply not morally right to use "legitimate" violence to impose your will upon others in the form of involuntary regulations.

At least you are questioning the system. That is an important first step.

@ Greenwood -- I actually have an Econ degree, but even if I didn't, I believe you can learn a lot more about economic theory by reading books and listening to lectures on your own than spending all day running regressions like they do in Econ PhD programs.
100
Ya done good son..Take the negative as good and keep up the work. As long as you get a reaction (negative is as good as positive) you're doing good. Best of luck to you!
101
Matt Luby,
If you are truly the "free thinker" you claim to be, or even if not but still have the brains and courage to expose yourself to ideas that challenge your faith, I dare you to delve into the writings of Bob Chapman and G. Edward Griffin. They will at the very least make you question some of your assumptions about the global economic system and give context to the information you were indoctrinated with in school.
102
You talk a lot about what an open-minded fella you are, while stating that you are, "and will remain a market anarchist". As you venture forth in your life, I hope you will make a habit of practicing the open-mindedness you speak of. The libertarian world is a particularly seductive one. Take heed.

I've appreciated that you have participated in the comments to your posts. I wish your colleagues would take your example, since it makes for much more interesting discussions, (although I'm more partial to writers whose philosophies are more... nuanced.).

Best wishes for whatever's next!

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