2018 Detaisprint Libertarianism propounds that persons havea soul, while the State isa machine devoid of feelings and apt for violence The frogs asking for a king he invitation to release | a book about "The art of the possible: A liber- tarian manifesto’, authored by Professor Nuno da Silva, my colleague in the Luso- phone University in Lisbon, provided me an occasion for reflection which lam sharing through this Op-Ed column here. The book is about State governance and civic liber- ties, as applied to Portugal, described as shabbily gov- ered for most ofits citizens since many centuries. The book is of diminute size, just fifty-seven pages. But the famous Communist Manilesto (1848) by Marx and Engels was not very ‘much longer, and it became a classic and served as ideolog- {cal base for the political con- structions of Lenin, Mao and Fidel Castro, beside some other known and unknown attempts that did not make their mark in history. My friend author distances himself from the Leninist- Maoist models as one-sided exaggerations of his model governance. However, I read the absence to any reference to the Communist Manifesto as throwing the baby with the bath. Ifthe teachings of Christ, need notbe blamed for its po litical exploitation by the Lib- eration theologians, the theme explored by the author in his doctoral thesis, neither the Communist Manifesto needs to be rejected or ig- nored if Lenin, Mao and oth geoisie in the Communist Manifesto and clarifying its nature and evolution in Por- tugal. It hardly helps to de- nounce the role of a faceless, financial oligarchy and its co- hort elites in the mis-govern- ment of Portugal. There are several issues that needed clarification to make the new Manifesto meaningful and_ promising: (1) The bad governance in Portugal began only with the constitutional monarchy as suggested in the Preface? (2) Which section of the popula tion sought to declare Portu- gal independent and why? Is there any nationalist move- ‘ment anywhere which drew entire populations? (3)’There is enough documentation to prove that the Portuguese ruling aristocracy and a small bourgeoisie, consisting largely of Italian and German expatriates settled in Lisbon pushed for the Discoveries, exploiting the services of poor citizens, jailed and de- ported. (4) Aided by slave trade and mechanisms of In- quisition, the Portuguese aristocracy got used to plun- ering during several cen- turies, and” the habits continue as a post-colonial hangover, contributing to bad governance. Intentionally or not, Profes- sor Nuno da Silva, shuns any reference to class-strugele, a kkey concept of the Marxist analysis of history. Possibly considers the concept out- For a New Liberty: The Lib- ertarian Manifesto, published in 1973, It qualifies the State as impotent and immoral, and defends its elimination He denounces the State as the greatest enemy of liberties, and defends that only its elimination can restore peace, prosperity and secu- rity for all. Nuno da Silva pro- poses in the last section of his book a strategy for liberty Calling it "A manifesto’. He distances himself from the anarchist (2) libertarianism, and believes that the State governance can be rectified through a libertarian social- ism, applying collective mu- tualism to market econom Marcelo Mastrili, a Brazil- lian disciple of Rothbard, published recently his ABC of anti-Statism, entitled “O Es- tado? Nao, obrigado" (State? No, thanks). It is a shorter version of Rothbard and can be read online at hetp://www.libertarian- ismo.org/livros/mmeno.pdt It rejects outright the com- mon definition of the State as, "We are the State’, declaring it to be a hig hoax, invented and perpetuated by the bour- geoisie. There have never been States founded from below. They have been al- ‘ways impositions from above, bullying the common people as good and indispensable to look after them. Libertarianism propounds that persons have a soul, while the State is a machine devoid of feelings and apt for violence. The title of this Op- Ed is borrowed from Aesop's fable which provides insight into the human yearning for freedom, not knowing the consequences, Obviously, “Not Knowing” [bttp:/ /bitly/1p7lv3F] may help in “turning uncertainity 122018 ers took advantage of it. Undoubtedly, both Christand Marx brought new paradigms that have no expiry date. It is important to notice that the authors of Commu: nist Manifesto acknowledge in the Prefaces to new edi- tions that the thelr Manifesto needed to be adapted to indi- vidual countries and chang- ing times. The Manifesto of my friend could have done this in the context of Portugal of our times to permit a cor- rect diagnosis and to suggest appropriate remedies. The book could be richer by ex tending the analysis of bour- Inipitwwwepaper cheraldainDetalsprint.aspx7id= 191928boxid= 15524313 Detaisprint dated, or is unprepared to face the dominant academic elites of the West? The Marx- ist-Leninist or Maoist models condemned on p. 57 of the last chapter have nothing to do with the cass-struggle, but with faith in mismanaged state. This only reinforces the ideas of Murray N. Rothbart (1926-1995), the father of the Libertarian movement, which condemns the state to extinc- tion ‘The Austrian school of lib- ertarian political economy dates back to the end of the 19th century. It gained wide publicity through Rothbard’s into opportunity’, including opportunity to pay a heavy and damning price. We know from the Bible how Adam and Eve had a first taste of their Libertarian manitestation ‘The Creator saw that it was not good. They were shown the door to leave the garden. ‘To conclude, the State and nationalism have gone viral. Not even the Creator may be able to bottle it in, and much less the Libertarians, We may have Holy Fathers, but shall we ever have a holy Vatican? It was fathered in 1929 by Mussolini whose fascism de- fended State above every- thing. [Teotonio R. de Souza is the founder director, Xavier Cen- tre of Historical Research, Goa (1979-1994), 22