# Rothbardian Pro-Wrestler wins election **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 3, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055 "2018-08-03T17:02:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/1 "2018-08-03T17:02:57Z")
Glenn Jacobs, aka Kane, has won election for Mayor of Knox County Tennessee. [https://www.google.com/amp/s/71republic.com/2018/08/02/jacobs-wins-election/amp/](https://www.google.com/amp/s/71republic.com/2018/08/02/jacobs-wins-election/amp/) > **[Glenn Jacobs, WWE wrestler known as Kane, will be next mayor of Knox County,...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wwe-wrestler-glenn-jacobs-will-be-next-mayor-of-knox-county-tennessee/)** > > Better known as Kane, the libertarian activist has flirted with running for office in the past This is a bellwether election similar to the victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In the wake of the Ron Paul campaigns, it is clear the country is ripening for some Murray Rothbard political economy. His election has nothing to do with his wrestling career. “Once you come across Rothbard, it’s all over with. The arguments he makes are so logical and they’re so faultless that you really can’t disagree with him.” Glenn Jacobs, Mayor elect What is next for the Rothbardians? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/2 "2018-08-03T17:09:08Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > “Once you come across Rothbard, it’s all over with. The arguments he makes are so logical and they’re so faultless that you really can’t disagree with him.” > > Glenn Jacobs, Mayor elect The argument Glenn Jacobs makes above is so logical and so faultless that you really can’t disagree with him. Just kidding. > [@](#): > > What is next for the Rothbardians? I never heard of Murray Rothbard before you opened this thread, and I imagine I’m not alone. What do you think is next for the Rothbardians? Are there any other Rothbardians (other than Ron Paul, if he is one)? ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/3 "2018-08-03T17:19:54Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > His election has nothing to do with his wrestling career. Bullshit ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/4 "2018-08-03T17:20:26Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > [https://www.google.com/amp/s/71republic.com/2018/08/02/jacobs-wins-election/amp/](https://www.google.com/amp/s/71republic.com/2018/08/02/jacobs-wins-election/amp/) Here’s a [de-Googled link](https://71republic.com/2018/08/02/jacobs-wins-election/). if anyone prefers one. Normally I’d be wary of a news organization that was founded a year ago by a high school student, but reading that their work “has been shared by Jordan Peterson, Glenn Beck, John McAfee, Austin Petersen, Silvio Schembri, and Lew Rockwell, amongst others,” all my reservations were allayed. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/5 "2018-08-03T17:21:48Z")
Ooooh a libertarian! I’m sure his ideas are totally practical and easily implemented; I find them intriguing! How do I subscribe to his newsletter? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/6 "2018-08-03T17:26:05Z")
Murray Rothbard was the fairly modern voice for free market economists of the Austrian school; his hero was Ludwig von Mises (_Human Action_). If memory serves he was writing mainly in the 60s and 70s, although he lived until 1995. According to Wikipedia, he was a strong advocate for what he called “anarcho-capitalism.” ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/7 "2018-08-03T17:40:20Z")
I suspect that Rothbard will be come the dominant economic theorist in the US now, because anyone who doesn’t agree with him will be chokeslammed and set on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/8 "2018-08-03T17:54:47Z")
Shall we explore the in depth journey into the study of Economics that led him to the Austrian School? > [@Kane from second link in OP](#): > > “My interest in economics just basically comes because I think I’m a curious person, and I’m interested in how the world works,” Jacobs told the outlet. “I never studied economics in college because I thought it was all about numbers, and statistics and formula, and computer models. And then I heard about Austrian economics, and I was like, well that’s interesting. And then I started studying Austrian economics, and for those who aren’t familiar with Austrian economics, it’s completely different than the prevailing school of economics, which is Keynesianism. And Keynesianism is all about numbers and formulas.” Translated: “I hate math, and the book about Austrian Economics had less math than other economics books I looked at so I decided to follow that one.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/9 "2018-08-03T17:57:00Z")
Jacobs won because he was the Republican nominee in a county that is massively Republican, his victory was a foregone conclusion when he won the primary. He won the primary by only 23 votes, and while Jacobs appears to be a pretty serious candidate who has done a lot to build towards this political career, his pro wrestling background definitely helped him. He’s been very active in the local community for years as a philanthropist and helping with various causes, and doing those things he gets extra press/attention for them because he’s a pro wrestler. He also had a lot more personal wealth to fund his campaign than the two county commissioners he ran against in the primary, which is directly related to his wrestling career. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/10 "2018-08-03T18:11:49Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Shall we explore the in depth journey into the study of Economics that led him to the Austrian School? > > Translated: “I hate math, and the book about Austrian Economics had less math than other economics books I looked at so I decided to follow that one.” :smack: I don’t think that is a charitable translation. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/11 "2018-08-03T18:18:16Z")
> [@GoodOmens](#): > > I suspect that Rothbard will be come the dominant economic theorist in the US now, because anyone who doesn’t agree with him will be chokeslammed and set on fire. Figuratively that sounds about right, though I’d lean towards piledriver. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/12 "2018-08-03T18:29:45Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > I don’t think that is a charitable translation. So how do you read it? When asked how he ended up following the Austrian school, his answer was that he went with this school of economics because the other one was all about numbers and formulas. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/13 "2018-08-03T18:31:56Z")
> [@](#): > > “Once you come across Rothbard, it’s all over with. The arguments he makes are so logical and they’re so faultless that you really can’t disagree with him.” Sounds good in theory, but let’s try them out in practice for a while in Tennessee and see how that works before we roll them out nationwide. Consider it a beta test. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/14 "2018-08-03T18:33:28Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Bullshit I would like to add that chronic traumatic encephalopathy also has nothing - NOTHING - to do with Mr. Jacobs political views. And there was no collusion! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/15 "2018-08-03T18:34:38Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I would like to add that chronic traumatic encephalopathy also has nothing - NOTHING - to do with Mr. Jacobs political views. You can’t say that; the OP clearly describes him as pro-wrestling. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/16 "2018-08-03T19:03:27Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > So how do you read it? When asked how he ended up following the Austrian school, his answer was that he went with this school of economics because the other one was all about numbers and formulas. He is curious about how the world works. He viewed mainstream economics as not concerned with how the world works, but rather on mathematical model-building, therefore it was of no use to him in satisfying his curiosity. He found Austrian economics interesting because it eschews model-building, and instead satisfies his curiosity by attempting to explain how the world works. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/17 "2018-08-03T19:12:19Z")
> [@](#): > > He’s a strong opponent of government, taxation, and wasteful spending; promising to limit government as much as possible. His policies also include improving the school system, fixing infrastructure, helping the local economy, and maintaining full transparency. He against government and taxation, but wants to improve the school system and infrastructure. How, I cannot help but wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/18 "2018-08-03T19:17:03Z")
I’m curious as to whether Mr. Jacobs campaigned on Rothbard’s “the War for Southern Independence in 1861 was one of the few just wars in history” position, or his categorization of those advocating for a women’s right to vote in he early 20th century as “spinsters whose busybody inclinations were not fettered by the responsibilities of home and hearth,” or his support for selling children as chattel. Do these positions go over well in Knox County? > **[What's a Just War? - LewRockwell](https://www.lewrockwell.com/1970/01/murray-n-rothbard/whats-a-just-war/)** > > Much of “classical international law” theory, developed by the Catholic Scholastics, notably the 16th-century Spanish Scholastics such as Vitoria and Suarez, and then the Dutch Protestant Scholastic Grotius and by 18th- and 19th-century jurists, was... [https://mises.org/library/progressive-era-0/html/c/627](https://mises.org/library/progressive-era-0/html/c/627) > **[Children and Rights | Murray N. Rothbard](https://mises.org/library/children-and-rights)** > > The right of self-ownership by each man has been established for adults, writes Murray Rothbard, for natural self-owners who must use their minds to select and pursue their ends. On the other hand, it is clear that a newborn babe is in no natural... ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/19 "2018-08-03T19:17:20Z")
Well, that county’s going to be a hot mess for a little while. And of course someone who only reads one book about economics will base his economic views on that one book. That doesn’t tell us how good the theory is compared to other theories. Hand him one of Krugman’s popular books, let him read it, and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055/20 "2018-08-03T19:54:59Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > He is curious about how the world works. He viewed mainstream economics as not concerned with how the world works, but rather on mathematical model-building, therefore it was of no use to him in satisfying his curiosity. He found Austrian economics interesting because it eschews model-building, and instead satisfies his curiosity by attempting to explain how the world works. What, exactly, is the difference between a model and “attempting to explain how the world works”? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rothbardian-pro-wrestler-wins-election/819055.md?page=2)