Christmas gifts for libertarians
In our age of “ever-increasing innovation, abundance and weird, niche products”, there’s no longer any excuse for buying a gift card for anyone this Christmas – there’s something for everyone. Here are a selection of ideas for the libertarian in your life, selected by Reason, the American magazine that champions “free minds and free markets”.
Better than Monopoly
Libertarians have long complained that the board game Monopoly does not depict freemarket capitalist accurately, nor encourage useful business skills. The Entrepreneur Game (£91.20, toyscentral. uk) is different. You start your own business, then add, subtract or trade businesses, negotiating mortgages, law suits, “marketing snafus” and competition before the finish line, where players sell up and compare winnings. Alternatively, try the Monopoly Deal card game (£5.99, johnlewis.com), which is a “fastpaced battle of trade-offs and risks” that is in many ways more enjoyable than its namesake.
When you’re carrying a concealed gun, does the bulge in your trousers make it too obvious? This will probably only concern the American libertarian in your life, but the answer to the problem is the DeSantis Super Fly (£79, Amazon) – a holster with a flap to make it look like you’re packing only a wallet.
Libertarians hoping to be on board the flight that takes Elon Musk off to live on Mars should enjoy A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (£25, Particular Books). It looks at how we might get to the red planet, and what problems we will face when we get there, in terms of breathing, eating, working and procreating. There are more questions than answers, and those hoping to up sticks might be disappointed by the reality that travel to Mars won’t happen any time soon. Libertarians, though, will be interested to read about the economic, legal and geopolitical implications of setting up a colony on Mars.
For freedom lovers who partake of the herb, buy the Firedog Smell Proof Bag (£16.99, Amazon). It is a “stylish” pouch that “allows you to bring your bud” wherever you go, without arousing suspicions from “your nosy mother-in-law or the police at the airport”.
Finally, Jennifer Burns’ biography, Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative (£35, Farrar, Straus and Giroux), should “bring holiday cheer to any libertarian”. It is the first detailed, serious and comprehensive biography of the economist and deals fairly with the theories and controversies.