The day's news, as it always does, offers a rather depressing tableau of the human condition, frequently exacerbated by the heavy hand of the state. From the tragic end of two surfers in Mexico, now avenged, we are told, by 158-year prison sentences for their alleged murderers, to the political machinations in Washington regarding Russian sanctions, a common thread emerges: the insatiable appetite for control, and the often-futile results of its exercise.
Let us first address Mexico, where justice, it seems, is now measured in centuries. Three men, we hear, have been condemned to a staggering 158 years each for the murders of two Australian and one American surfer. One hundred and fifty-eight years. For three individuals. This is not justice; it is a theatrical display of retributive power, a performative severity designed to placate international outrage, not to rehabilitate, nor to genuinely deter. The state, in its infinite wisdom, determines that a man's life, even if he were to live to a truly astonishing age, is worth multiple life sentences. What purpose does this serve beyond demonstrating the absolute, almost divine, power of the judiciary? It is a stark reminder that when the state steps in, proportionality often flees, replaced by a lust for symbolic victory. One might even argue that such excessive sentencing serves merely to entrench, rather than solve, the very problems of criminality that plague such regions, fueling resentment and offering no pathway for societal integration or genuine reform.
Meanwhile, back in the supposed bastion of freedom, Washington, we witness President Trump – yes, that Trump – waiving several Russia sanctions as a new US law takes effect. Now, a libertarian might ordinarily cheer the reduction of state interference in international commerce. However, the context here is crucial. This is not a principled dismantling of economic warfare in favor of free trade; it is a calculated political maneuver, a President exercising executive discretion, not to foster liberty, but to pursue particular geopolitical objectives. Sanctions, for all their purported moral righteousness, are rarely anything more than blunt instruments of state coercion, punishing entire populations for the transgressions of their rulers, and almost always failing to achieve their stated objectives. That they can be so easily waved or imposed at the whim of an executive, irrespective of legislative intent, speaks volumes about the precarious nature of economic freedom when subjected to the vagaries of political expediency.
Consider, too, the ongoing saga of the Amazon deforestation rates in Brazil. A "record fall" is hailed, yet it is explicitly linked to an "imminent key election." Again, the invisible hand of political opportunism, not genuine environmental stewardship, seems to be guiding the ship. The state, through its various regulatory bodies and electoral cycles, dictates environmental policy, often to its own short-term benefit, rather than allowing market forces and property rights – yes, even in nature – to find a more sustainable equilibrium. The tragedy of the commons, after all, is almost always a tragedy of *unassigned* commons, ripe for political exploitation.
Even the quieter stories reflect this theme. The "sidewalk sleepers" outside hospitals, a poignant image, speak to a state failing in its most basic duties to allow individuals to care for themselves and their loved ones without resorting to such indignities. And the ongoing, theatrical spectacle around the "iconic Delhi protest site" – a thousand slogans echoed, but now facing an uncertain end – reminds us that even the right to dissent is often a privilege granted, and easily revoked, by the state.
From the macro-level of international diplomacy and environmental policy to the micro-level of individual freedom and justice, the pervasive influence of the state apparatus is undeniable. It is a force that, while sometimes necessary in its most minimal form, almost inevitably swells beyond its legitimate bounds, imposing its will with a combination of brute force and bureaucratic sleight of hand. The news of today is merely a fresh indictment of this perennial truth.
Cornelius Bragg
Economics Editor, The Artificial Press