Matthew Feeney is a consultant with the IEA and a former member of staff a Liberal Democrat Headquarters, though speaking here in a personal capacity. He argues that libertarianism needs to refocus itself on social entrepreneurship – getting away from a focus on getting government to do things – even libertarian things – and towards making change happen at the grassroots level. He notes in particular how this might be done with regard to such things as home schooling and drugs policy, and how it may be more effective than traditional, political means.
On 23rd November we hosted a talk by Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol, who spoke about his book, “Islam Without Extremes”. The book draws upon a wide range of sources, both religious and secular, to argue not only that that the liberal values of self-determination and liberty are compatible with Islam, but that they are the best interpretation of Islam in today’s world.
Earlier this term we hosted a talk by Alexander Boot, author of The Crisis Behind Our Crisis. You can now watch it on YouTube
This weekend I was one of over eighty classical liberal university students to attend the UK Liberty League’s first ever Freedom Forum conference in Birmingham. Speakers included Mark Littlewood and Steve Davies (both of the IEA), Alex Deane (formerly of Big Brother Watch), Guy Herbert (NO2ID), Simon Clarke (Forest), Mark Wallace, Simon Richards (Freedom Association), Graham Aitkin (SSDP), Tim Evans (Cobden Centre), Conservative MP Sajid Javid and Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming. Liberal Vision’s Tim Cox was a panellist for a discussion on how the current crisis can help us make the case for a smaller state, alongside Tom Clougherty (ASI) and Josie Appleton (Manifesto Club), while I was a panellist debating so-called libertarian paternalism with Claire Fox (Institute of Ideas), Oliver Cooper (Progressive Conservatives) and Joe Finlayson (Liberty society at Leeds University). In addition to the speeches and panel debates, there were also useful workshops on fundraising and campaigning, making use of social media, public speaking and public relations.
There were quite a lot of hyperlinks in that paragraph above, but if you are unfamiliar with any of the individuals or organisations mentioned, I strongly recommend that you take a look at their websites, as they include some of the most articulate and effective defenders of a free and liberal society we have in the UK today.
It was fantastic to meet so many young like-minded people, and it was also encouraging to see that pro-liberty campus activism is clearly on the rise, something which is likely to be reinforced by the skills developed, ideas exchanged and links between societies strengthened as a result of the Freedom Forum.
The outcome of the elections held at the Warwick Libertarians Annual General Meeting is as follows:
President – Vassil Kirchev
Vice President – Latoya Ferns
Secretary – Anselm Plummer
Treasurer – Edward Ffitch
Publicity Officer – Stuart Wheatcroft
Social Secretary – Sammy Dennison
Events Organiser – Marvin Smith
We also passed the society Constitution which you can read here.
Our plans for the rest of term:
Tuesday, week 10 (15th), 7pm, we are having another social at Varsity – all are welcome to attend.
Thursday, week 10 (17th), 6pm, Warwick Libertarians will again be represented on the panel of Politics Society Question Time. (We don’t know which room this will be in yet, but will keep you updated.)
Thanks to this year’s exec and to everyone who’s turned up to our events and socials – it’s been another great year for Warwick Libertarians!
Running the society
Mar 4
This might be useful for future exec. It might also be useful for other student libertarian societies.
How to run a successful societies fair stall
Several months before term begins, email the UK Liberty League / the Adam Smith Institute / the Institute of Economic Affairs / whoever else asking “Is there any possibility that you have any spare books or leaflets that you could send us to distribute to our members?”
Make sure you pay attention to Student Union emails in the society account. They’ll let you know how to register for a stall at the societies fair. Any problems, just send nagging emails to the societies officer.
Talk to your exec and organise a date, time and place for your first social which everyone can attend.
Put some “Warwick Libertarians” posters up right at the start of term, so that people know the society exists before the societies fair. That way, people won’t have to make an on-the-spot decision as to whether to join, which should hopefully get us some more members. It also conveys that the society is aiming to be highly active in the year ahead.
At the societies fair, print out the letters “W-A-R… I-A-N-S”, one per A4 sheet of paper. Take pins. Stick letters to the board behind your stall with pins. Also, print out the society logo on a few A4 sheets of paper and do the same. Unfortunately we can’t afford anything more elaborate than this.
Print out loads of “What we’re doing this term” leaflets to give out to everyone.
Spread books (which you will have been given by one of the above organisations) over the desk in front of you. However, do not give out the books on the day. (Because of the way the system if run, if you do this people are able to take a book but then not join – this was a real problem for us this year. I don’t think it was even deliberate deception – people just saw how long the queue was and decided against it, or lost the bar code label for the society.) Rather, tell people that they will be given a free book when they turn up to the first social.
If you can get away with it, charge £0 for membership.
Don’t believe people who say “I’ll join online”. At least take down their email address – have a “mailing list” sheet on the stall. Make sure that members sign up to the mailing list as well, so that if they end up not joining for whatever reason (i.e. if they do not scan the barcode that you give them) you still have their details.
If at any point throughout the year you run out of money, go to the societies office and demand more. If that fails, get in contact with one of the organisations mentioned above and tell them what you need it for. Alternatively, just invite speakers who are willing to pay their own travel expenses.
How to run a successful social
Organise a date, time and place when all of your exec members can make it.
Create a facebook event, email your members about it. Inform that they will be able to find you as you’ll stick a poster (a print-out of the logo) up next to your table / be in a very specific location. Say “if you still can’t find us, then phone [your name] on [your number].” Say “non-members are welcome to come along”.
Get there at least 10 minutes early. Encourage your exec to do the same. Put up the poster next to where you’re sitting (if applicable).
Bring books (if you’ve said you will give some out).
Make an effort to introduce everyone to everyone.
Socials are generally aimed at other libertarians (though non-libertarians can still attend, of course.) Speaker events, on the other hand, are aimed at Warwick students more generally.
How to run a successful speaker event
Aim for three speaker events per term.
Contact an organisation ideally at least a few months in advance of when you want your speaker for. Say something like:
Hi, I am the President of the Libertarian Society at Warwick University. I am writing to invite [you / a representative from your organisation] to speak to us on [a topic of your choice / this particular issue]. The talk would take place on a weekday evening at around 6 pm. We can be quite flexible, but the best date for us would be [either [date] or [date] / between [date] and [date].] [We can cover travel expenses.] Let me know if you are interested.
Thanks
[Name]
Warwicklibertarians.org.uk
Despite what people say, it’s OK to have events on Fridays. As long as they’re finished by about 7.30pm, people are still able to go out for the night with friends, so it shouldn’t deter them from coming. Note that Thursday is a very busy day for events – so although in some ways it’s the best day if there is nothing else going on, I’d try to avoid this. Wednesday isn’t great because, due to the lack of afternoon lectures, most second and third years will not want to hang around campus. Tuesday is good. Monday is OK, though make sure you promote the event the previous week, otherwise nobody will know about it.
If you can’t afford to pay travel expenses, obviously do not say “We can cover travel expenses.” Many people are happy to come for free.
Our website is far better than that of any other libertarian student society. This should help us attract good speakers. Try to mention it / put it as a ‘footnote’ of the email.
Never have speaker events during the daytime. Nobody turns up. Always early evening.
Organisations you can contact:
UK Liberty League – an organisation which helps student libertarian societies – feel free to ask them “can you help organise an event for us?”
Adam Smith Institute
Institute of Economic Affairs
Freedom Association – if you get them to co-host an event, they will often buy everyone a drink in the pub afterwards.
Liberal Vision – the classical liberal wing of the Liberal Democrats. Ask the Lib Dem society if they want to co-host.
Progressive Conservatives – the classical liberal wing of the Conservative Party. Ask the Conservative society if they want to co-host.
Libertarian Party UK
Libertarian Alliance
Or approach whatever individual libertarians you want…
Or have a look here for ideas: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sedm3622/archiveevents.html
Also note that most people who have already spoken at Warwick will happily return: http://www.warwicklibertarians.org.uk/pastevents/
Book a room at least 2 weeks in advance (preferably even earlier – as soon as you have a date agreed with your speaker) – just type “room bookings” into the search box on the Warwick website, and follow the instructions. If they give you a crap room, email them asking to change it.
Put up posters promoting the event at least 5 days in advance. You should probably print around 50-100 posters if you want them to get noticed. Poster over any other posters advertising events which have already happened. Bear in mind that the rules say that you’re not allowed to poster, but these are almost never enforced.
Email your members at least 5 days in advance. Then give them a reminder email the day before the event.
Create an event on the facebook group. Bear in mind that facebook events usually fuck up when you create them. If you get an error message, just wait a few hours and it will usually sort itself out.
If you’re concerned turn-out might still be low, print out some leaflets (6 per A4 page works well), stand outside the library (or wherever else) and start handing them out. Busiest time: 5 to – 5 past the hour. However, this is also the time when loads of people will completely ignore you…
Emphasise in your promotional material that “non members and non libertarians are welcome to attend”.
Join as many of the other political societies on campus as you can. It’s good to be a “knows everyone” type person if you want people to come to your events.
Ask other societies to email their members promoting your event. Joining other societies will help here. Be willing to do the same for them. Though it is better to mention other societies’ events as a “p.s.” in one of your own emails rather than constantly spamming everyone.
On the day of the event, take a marker pen and write “TODAY!” over all of your posters.
If you study a subject relevant to the topic of an upcoming talk (e.g. Politics, Economics, whatever else), email one of your seminar tutors asking him/her to email everyone on your module promoting your event. Or get your exec members to do the same. Saying “just forward this email” should help. Generally academic departments will not help you, but individual seminar tutors sometimes will.
Tell your friends about the event. You’ll be surprised how many will turn up just to help you out, even if they’re not particularly interested in politics.
Arrange regular executive committee meetings, e.g. at least every 2 weeks. (I tried to arrange everything in facebook messages. From my experience, this doesn’t work particularly well.)
Get all of your exec to “share” the event on their wall on facebook or invite their friends to the event.
Suggest to your speakers that they arrive at Warwick about an hour before the talk actually begins. Meeting in the Dirty Duck is good – often speakers like to grab a quick pint before their talk. Obviously, make sure you exchange phone numbers over email so you have a way of contacting them when they get here.
Get to the room at least 10 minutes in advance.
Make sure you’ve got a good bio of your speaker so that you can give him/her a decent introduction. Finish the introduction with “please join me in giving a warm welcome to [speaker]” to avoid that awkward confusion where the audience doesn’t know whether or not to applaud. Similarly, at the end, “Join me in a round of applause for [speaker].”
Encourage Q and A after the speech, but don’t let this drag on and on. Usually, if people have been sat in a room for 75 minutes, they’ve got bored and want to go home / to the pub. If you’ve said that the event will end at a certain time but think that a few more questions would be a good idea, say “I think we can have a few more questions, but as we said that this event would end at [time], so if anyone needs to leave, feel free to do so.” Otherwise, people will get annoyed.
Pass around a mailing list during the event. Get everyone to sign it.
Inform everyone of when the next event is.
Try to get as many people as possible to go to the Duck for a post-event social.
I think it’s good manners to take your posters down the day after the talk, though most societies don’t do this.
Don’t pay travel expenses on the day. It’s easier to get the union to transfer the money to your speaker after the event has taken place – fill out the form from the societies office. But do make sure you note down where s/he has travelled from and the number of miles travelled. Also take their bank account details so that the money can be transferred, or an address to send a cheque to. Bring the Money Request form with you to the event so that you can get the speaker to fill out the relevant details.
Write a review of the event – some background about your speaker, a summary of the talk, some of the questions that people asked, and your own personal opinion on the issue. Send it to the Boar and put it up on the website. Take a camera to the event so that you’ve got some photos to upload as well.
Above all – have fun!
We will hold Warwick Libertarians executive committee elections at some point before the end of term. This post is just to give you some more information about this.
Positions available
All members who wish to become a part of the executive committee next year are pretty much guaranteed a place as General Executive Member. This basically says that you are expected to turn up to all society events and meetings and help the society where you can, but doesn’t give you any specific responsibility.
But you can also stand for one of these roles:
President –
Heads the society, chairs Executive Committee meetings and deals with the Students Union. Hosts events (including organising room bookings).
Treasurer –
Responsible for the finances of the society and delivers a budget at the Annual General Meeting.
Secretary –
Takes minutes at Executive Committee meetings and society General Meetings. Also serves as the first point of contact for new members and alumni.
Events Organiser –
Assists the President in searching for speakers.
Social Secretary –
Organises social events for the membership of the society for throughout the year.
Publicity Officer –
Designs publicity material for the society (e.g. posters and leaflets advertising society events).
Thinking about standing?
To stand for election, you have to be a member of Warwick Libertarians – if you haven’t already, join the society here:http://warwicksu.com/societies/warwicklibertarians/
Any member can become a General Executive Member – and even this is great for your CV as you can say that you are involved in running a society. But to stand for a more important role, it helps if you’ve been along to at least one or two of our events this year.
You can become a candidate just by turning up to the elections – there is no need to nominate yourself beforehand. You’ll be notified of when they are in due course.
You can run for more than one position.
You will be expected to (but do not have to) give a 1 minute talk on why you think you would be good for the position. This is basically a chance for you to say what events you’ve been to, why you’re a libertarian, and what skills you have which would be useful to the society.
You do not have to be a libertarian on every issue to help run the society – e.g. some of our members are socially libertarian, but not economically libertarian (and vice versa)… and that’s fine.
Once elected, you will be told everything you need to know about what you need to do in your position – don’t worry! It’s really not all that much work.
You can be an executive committee member of more than one society! In fact, it’s useful if you do have connections to other societies, especially if they’re political ones. I’ve been promoting Warwick Libertarians events through the Politics society all year. We also have Lib Dem and Conservative society connections which have helped us a lot. It’s not a very big commitment… you should get on as many execs as you can!
If you want more information (e.g. on what a particular position involves), then email Simon at s.rigelsford@warwick.ac.uk.
Labour MP Kerry McCarthy recently called for all men in Bristol to have their DNA screened in the hope of discovering the murderer of Jo Yeates. Fortunately, it seems that the police have more sense than McCarthy does, and her proposal will not be implemented. Given the costs and practical difficulties of testing thousands of people for the purpose of solving just one criminal case, such a suggestion is clearly unrealistic in practical terms.
However, some argue that if a compulsory national DNA database of every UK citizen was established, far more cases where DNA evidence is left at the scene of the crime could be solved, as the DNA from the crime scene could be matched to the database. This would probably not work as smoothly in practice, and the potential benefits are usually over-stated: DNA evidence has sometimes resulted in wrongful convictions, and multiple matches on DNA databases are often returned. Compiling the database would also be very expensive. But regardless of the effectiveness of a compulsory national DNA database, it should be opposed as a matter of principle by anyone who believes that the state should pay any attention at all to respecting our privacy.
Our DNA is perhaps the ultimate symbol of our individual identity. It can reveal information about us which even we ourselves are not aware of – such as our susceptibility to certain diseases. If we have no right to restrict the state from holding our genetic information (assuming that we have not committed a crime), then we cannot logically be seen as having a right to any privacy at all, and any principled case for upholding our civil liberties must be abandoned. A fundamental liberal value is that the state is the servant, rather than the master of the individual; the creation of a compulsory national DNA database would imply a complete reversal of this notion.
Furthermore, a national DNA database could potentially be turned into a tool of vast oppression. While catching criminals is the standard justification, there is no guarantee that its use would remain limited to this (illegitimate, but not in itself critically threatening) function. Historians such as Jon Agar have noted a tendency of ‘function creep’ in the use of identification technologies; personal information often ends up being used in ways markedly different from those for which it was originally intended. Over the next few decades, scientists look set to make enormous progress in determining which specific genes contribute to various human traits. If the genetic associations of psychopathy or paedophilia (or a number of other characteristics) are determined, I imagine that the majority of people, without fully considering the implications for liberty, would support the state revealing to the general public who has such genes. I also imagine popular support for taking pre-emptive action against people with certain genes; for example, those with a gene associated with paedophilia might be banned from working with children. Once you accept such a principle, the power of the state is effectively unrestricted. Any future government that wished to control which people should and should not reproduce would certainly find a national DNA database very useful indeed.
I was opposed to Labour’s plans for ID cards for many reasons, but one significant reason why I felt it was such an important issue is that I feared that a national DNA database could soon follow. Thankfully, the coalition government have abandoned the ID cards scheme and have also recognised that the state has no right to store the DNA of those who have not been convicted of any crime. But McCarthy’s recent call should remind us that such illiberal principles are still supported, and we must remain vigilant against the potential threat posed by DNA databases and other technologies of identification
Legalise all drugs?
Feb 8
Talk by Steve Davies from the Institute of Economic Affairs
This Thursday (10th Feb / week 5), 6pm in A0.23 (which is on the ground floor of the social studies building)
The talk should only last an hour, so those who want to go to the Economics society talk will still be able to make it. The rest of us can go for a few drinks in the Dirty Duck.
It was quite a surreal moment: I was sitting in the Dirty Duck at a Liberal Democrat Society social, when in walks Lembit Opik, who goes up to the bar, orders a pint, and then sits down next to me. I am a member of the Liberal Democrats, but most in the society at Warwick see me as a bit of a political liability – even the Orange Bookers who largely agree with me; for them, I’m best kept in the background. I am unashamedly and consistently libertarian, so they probably have a point. But when Lembit turned up, obviously I had to try to convert him to libertarianism.
“I am a libertarian!” he declared. Perhaps such a “conversion” wouldn’t be too difficult… “Well, a social libertarian, at least,” he then clarified.
Someone asked Lembit his take on the tuition fees issue. He seemed genuinely appalled that so few MPs had stuck to their NUS pledge. I suggested that given that graduates earn considerably more over their lifetime than non-graduates, it was fair enough that they should pay for their university education. “But what about the social workers? What about the artists?” I could have pointed out that raising the income level at which fees must be repaid, as the government has done, will actually help social workers and struggling artists – so on that argument (one which, by the way, I do not necessarily accept), Lembit should support the changes.
But I am bored of defending the changes in tuition fees. So I moved the conversation onto a different topic: what did Lembit think about state funding of the arts more generally? The reason I asked is because this is one of the areas where Liberal Democrats tend to be stupid. I don’t think that anyone who calls themselves a “liberal” should support what is effectively a cultural welfare state. Given the subjective nature of artistic creation, it is unacceptable that the state should decide that we are valuing the “wrong things”, or not valuing certain things enough, and therefore need to pay extra tax so that the “right things” can be subsidised by a government which corrects our supposed ignorance. A fundamental principle of liberalism is that the state should not promote any particular conception of “the good life”. If the state is to fund the arts, then it cannot decide where to direct funding to without violating that principle. We should not allow a committee of bureaucrats to tell us what is good for us, especially on something as subjective as art and culture. What artistic productions flourish should be determined by the voluntary interactions of individuals, not by the central cultural planners of the state. (Also, notice that it’s almost entirely middle class culture that is subsidised by the government? Ask I put it to Lembit: “Why should a bus driver pay higher taxes so that you can get subsidised tickets to the opera?”)
But unfortunately, Lembit was as un-libertarian on state funding of the arts as he was on tuition fees. So I decided to see if I could find some common ground: why did Lembit describe himself a social libertarian?
He defended the standard John Stuart Mill justification for liberty: people have a right to do what they please, as long as they are not harming others. The fact that people may be harming themselves is not a sufficient reason for the government to intervene.
I expect a large number of Liberal Democrats would claim to support such a principle, but few would actually accept its logical implications. So I decided to test Lembit with an example: did this mean we should legalise all drugs? Not just reducing sentences for drug users. Not just decriminalising drugs. Not just legalise those presently-illegal drugs which are less harmful than alcohol. But actually fully legalising the lot of them. “Yes!” was the response. I was surprised: clearly, unlike many politicians, Lembit wasn’t afraid to be radical on this issue.
The smoking ban in pubs is another issue on which many Liberal Democrats have abandoned the liberal position. If I own a pub, which I have paid for out of my own legitimately acquired wealth, then I am entitled to impose, or not impose, whatever rules I want on my customers; whether smoking is banned in pubs is something for the publican to decide, not the politician. Lembit agreed.
He also pointed out that there is an unfortunate tendency for many Lib Dems to forget about liberty whenever “health and safety” is invoked. He agreed that most regulations on business do not benefit consumers, but rather benefit large businesses at the expense of small businesses, which face a far greater proportional burden in complying with them. He is in favour of reducing taxes for all but the very richest. He supports withdrawing out troops from Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as possible, and consistently defends civil liberties.
So how libertarian is Lembit? Without doubt, he is considerably more libertarian than the vast majority of politicians. He is more libertarian than any other Liberal Democrat hopeful for London Mayor. And, in my opinion, he is more libertarian than Boris Johnson. If he becomes the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London in 2012, and if I am living in London at that time, I now know for sure how I will be voting.
Views expressed are the author’s own, not necessarily those of Warwick Libertarians (which does not support any political party). If you want to submit an article to this website, email it to s.rigelsford@warwick.ac.uk under the title “Warwick Libertarians website submission”.
