King of the Hill. Hank Hill's stringent ethics, common sense and blue-collar rationality constantly conflicts with a society and government trying to make his life difficult. But danged if he don't kick some ass, I tell you hwat.
yeah I'd call it more conservative than libertarian given Hank's views on drugs, criminal justice, prostitution etc. Regardless it was a great show, and even had some great libertarian episodes, like the one where Hank fights the crone capitalism of Arlen's low flow toilet ordinance, or the one where he operates an illegal trans fat serving food truck.
@D.K What's wrong with his price gouging video? It shows how "price gouging" is an incentive to efficiently provide goods and services to people in need.
Firefly! The underlying theme is very libertarian, and lots of great lines: "You can't take the sky from me", "People don't like to be meddled with", etc.
@@ablethreefourbravo I don't know about that last part.. Whedon is quite a leftist, and full of typical hypocritical hollywood wokeness.. Still, he's produced some amazing stuff, and I agree that FIrefly is a great libertarian show that definitely belongs in this list!
Great list.would add Firefly... They were 'good guys' who did that took care of their own and CHOSE to help others because they wanted too..not because they were compelled by the state...
Changing that number is on your hands buddy why don't you become a productive member of society and create something for yourself and other individuals instead of being a whining cockold Bolshevik
@CC3GROUNDZERO It's an economic system, not a government system. And also, this depends on your outlook on life. Do you consider yourself a victim of capitalism, or do you consider yourself a dependant person who can do what you like with the capital you have?
Sheesh. The nerdy libertarian fan-boys at Reason.com are _still_ pining over the cancellation of Firefly *12 years ago.* I am not making this up. reason.com/blog/2014/10/02/netflix-aims-to-reinvent-the-movie-busin#comment_4807051
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the original Twilight Zone. With episodes like "The Obsolete Man", "Eye of the Beholder", and "Number 12 Looks Just Like You", the Twilight Zone took on the dangers of big government and mob rule. I'm not much of a science fiction fan, but some of the shows were very thought provoking.
"Adam Ruins Everything" tries to be a spiritual successor to Bullsh!t, and it does occasionally have it's moments, but he comes across as way too preachy. Penn and Teller never told you what to think, just that you needed to be informed before making a decision, Adam seems to cross that line.
South park used to be shunned on in my house back in the 90's, now. . . . it's got more truth than mostly anything on tv, ironically. People are just too lazy to see it.
Firefly is problematic because in the end, it is just libertarians living off the products of various forms of other societies from mega-statists to monarchies to even outright anarchist ones. At no point does the crew ever find a place where a 'libertarian' existence is possible outside their own ship.
Parks and Rec might have been a spoof of how government and government agencies really don't do anything good for their community, even with a Hillary Clinton wannabe, but it did give us the great Ron Swanson, a libertarian even greater than the mustache on his face
Not that I think you're wrong, but I expect David Simon would cringe to hear anyone say that The Wire is libertarian. Dude is an outspoken lefty who just happened to accidentally make a libertarian series.
The British "House of Cards" with Sir Ian Richardson was great, too, even though the whole series comprised only 9-12 episodes. Ironically, Sir Richardson was also in "Brazil", arguably the best libertarian movie ever.
For anime fans, Kino's Journey, Full Metal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain and especially One Piece are all must watches for anyone who claims to be a libertarian, regardless if they are left or right leaning. Also if you haven't seen the tv shows The Wire, Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, you definitely should.
You know, basically the entire premise of Tensura is that the main character just wants to live a comfortable life where everyone who doesn't like him, just leaves him alone and to let him and those like him do their own thing when they are not causing harm to others. Granted this means creating his own nation (in a place where officially nobody had control and was literal wilderness), literal crusades against him and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, but still the whole story from beginning to the end (as in the actual end in the books) serves that purpose.
Boardwalk empire is a good one. A lot of good libertarian quotes in there and it shows the true nature of politics and the negative effects of prohobition.
Buffy. A high school student with no government support keeps on saving the world. In fact the government keeps on getting in the way of her and her friends.
I'd give an honorable mention to the early seasons of The Simpsons. They were at least as good at poking fun at all sides back then as South Park is now. Around season 10 they started losing it, and at season 12 or 13 they took such a hard turn to the left I think they flipped the car. Granted the show has become everything it used to satirize, but I still remember when they could argue on both sides and still make a good point.
Firefly. "That's what governments are for, get in a man's way." - Malcolm Reynolds "A year from now, ten, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running; I aim to misbehave." - Malcolm Reynolds "A government is a body of people usually-notably-ungoverned." - Shepherd Book.
Firefly is problematic because in the end, it is just libertarians living off the products of various forms of other societies from mega-statists to monarchies to even outright anarchist ones. At no point does the crew ever find a place where a 'libertarian' existence is possible outside their own ship.
Come on, guys: Babylon 5. Not only the original "video novel," but its central message was "one person can make a difference." Doesn't get much more libertarian than that.
I nominate Elementary. There was one episode in particular which made me stop watching the show. Holmes specifically ridiculed libertarian philosophy in that episode. To top it off, the suspect in that episode was an ancap. Even though an ancap murderer is a contradiction in which no effort was made to explain.
I could say that 24 would be a pro-statist show because it encourages government intervention and torture to fight terrorism. But at the same time, the show could be a warning about the consequences of pointless wars and military intervention in other countries that could lead terrorism and the loss of liberties in the name of security.
Thanks for the list! I'll smugly claim that I don't watch TV, but you did pick some of my favorites. I need to catch up on the last several seasons of South Park, and based on your recommendation, The Wire looks like a show that my wife and I might both enjoy in syndication on Amazon Prime this fall and winter. PS - Respect my authoritah!
I would add most anime to this list. They're almost all about self-improvement rather than community improvement. Ayn Rand would be crying tears of joy.
I just thought of another one that I can't believe hasn't been mentioned. But Game of Thrones deserves to be on this list. As Learn Liberty Academy points out the whole problem with Westeros is ruling and wanting power.
Can't disagree much with the list.. never watched the wire but will have to check it out. One correction though, libertarians don't believe in "freedom of speech first and foremost", libertarians believe in the NAP first and foremost, and freedom of speech is a natural consequence to that.
Billy Martini The rest of that show is a monument to government. Swanson has his moments, but his character is made to act ridiculous in an attempt to make his argument seem ridiculous.
That's a interesting pick. It seems Ron Swanson was originally depicted as a Libertarian to make fun of Libertarians, but the more people watched of him, the more they understood, and liked the idea of being a libertarian.
Ron Swanson is a parody of Libertarian promoters that don't have any real caliber in the party. In every political party you have the scientists, philosophers, and pother intellectuals, and then they command foot-men to physically enforce the presence of the party, along with celebrities, and the overall caliber of the person drops after that, starting with the foot-man and celebrities, to people who aren't fully developed overall, and that is who Ron Swanson represents.
Exactly! People say Parks and Rec is bashing Swanson, but if you think about it although they try to make fun of ron swanson's radical libertarianism, they eventually end up depicting the 'government-gang' as a bunch of idiots and some people might end up asking themslves ''would I want to pay taxes to finance people as inefficient and idiotic as THAT?'' They depict Swanson as the weirdo, yet he seems to be right.
The overall premise of Parks and Rec is incredibly pro big government, although I do think it's a great example of how a left leaning comedy can still be funny, tasteful, and contain a voice for the opposing side, without making them too much of a one dimensional stock character.
Great selection. Jericho is another one. It is not libertarian but as far as i remember did not show the government out to be a hero. Arguably why it never had a second season. Parks and recreation is meant to be good because of ron swanson but i have never watched the series. I did watch a 40 min clip of best of ron swanson on youtube. Another series i would recommend is the Canadian sci fi show continuum. Although it is not libertarian it is about a future cop from 2077 that works for a big corporation. The corporations run the world. The terrorists in the series are fighting against the corporations and they are sent back to present time 2012 to change the future. There is next to no mention of the state in the series even the police in the 2012 end up being bought by the private sector. It definitely appears on first glance like the series was written by anti-capitalist. I think though that the corporations could just easily be replaced with the government in the story to some extent. Especially on the police state side of things. If you like sci fi and a some what more intelligent story line then i recommend continuum. The first ones i would have mention is penn and teller and south park. There is not much libertarian TV.
Jericho is the best SHTF show, but it came out 6 years too early, when people (in other words - me) believed that small limited government could cover the basics, like defense and crises. If they remade it today, I think the mayor, "rangers," etc. would be pushed aside.
Jason Tatseos Yes, I watched the short second season. It was 6 episodes and they said they cancelled it because of poor ratings but i am not sure about that. I watched it years ago but i never got the sense that it was trying to portray the state as the hero, especially for such a subject matter i would expect that. I mean look at The Last Ship for example. Perfect example of the type of series that makes the state out to be the hero. Another one i watched fairly recently that was cancelled was Crisis although not a very good series in general, the synopsis ends up being that the state tried to cover up a military massacre in middle east due to some drugged up solider program that they wanted to keep secret and some guy turned on the state to reveal the truth to the public about what happened, in order to clear his name.
Another good one I grew up with, The Odyssey. It's a kids show where the main character goes into a coma and dreams he is in a land controlled by an autocratic regime. Hits on areas ranging from book burning to justice.
The new show "Medici: Masters of Florence" on Netflix is actually good from libertarian perspective. I was expecting a typical Marxist undercurrent but was pleasantly surprised when instead of the evil rich vs the noble poor, it has a focus on social mobility that I was happy to see.
I know that it has been mentioned but Firefly would have been at the top of my list. The show was totally libertarian despite Whedon's personal paradigms.
Hell on Wheels definitely explores some abuse of govt power and true free will. Some great lines in it. The middle parts are a little lackluster but the first 2 seasons and the very end of the last are golden.
I'll chime in with: "Battlestar Galactica". "The Drew Carey Show" (He's even worn a Reason shirt on at least one of the 'sodes). "Shark Tank" (Shows people that individuals can negotiate business deals without the need to bribe polytricktians and co-opt the guns of gummint). Anything with Stossel. There was a rather short lived series ca. 1980 where the lead character was framed, went to prison while his company was usurped, and met a Hispanic sidekick in jail. When they got out they went around trying to protect people from criminals "working above the law". I don't remember much else about it, other than the protag drove a Porsche, playing cards were used in the opening credits, and one of the opener's tag lines was, "You're gonna bug the federal building?!" Anyone remember this show?
Actually I'd put 4 out of these 5 on my list... with parks and recreation on the freed spot. This one deserves a place for both satirizing bureaucratic machine AND it's opponents with Ron Swanson.
vary able They can be advocating nuclear holocaust for planet Earth and it still has nothing to do with the show. There's a lot of scummy actors out there - using their fame in nasty ways. I don't give a damn about what they represent as celebrities so I won't boycot products the take part in (BTW there's a bunch more than 3 actors there and a large support crew that you also boycot in this way).
Permafry42, great list! Also, The Pretender (corporatism explained and fought), Swat Kats (for kids), Max Headroom (Media corruption explained and fought), Orange is the New Black (rehumanizing prisoners), The Colony (Reality TV, self sufficiency), House (medical overregulation kills people), AND HELLO -- BURN NOTICE (ideal for a functional criticism of the state's "defense" industry). Just a few more :)
"I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own!" -The Prisoner Fuck yeah!
The Prisoner is beyond awesome! Only found out about it 2 years ago - saw all the episodes on you tube. South Park proves libertarians have the best sense of humor - which is why some of the best stand up comedians are libertarian minded. Haven't watched those other shows but will now check them out if they are available on Netflix.
Surprisingly a solid show with libertarian themes is Numb3rs. There's an episode in there where the main character directly defends capitalism. It's never black and white either. all sides of the coin tend to be explored on the show. Another one about people selling organ's, the father tells a story about how his friend died because there were no matching donors available and he thought, what if people could sell them? Anyhow, it's a good show in general, especially for a police/crime drama style. The only outright non-libertarian trope on the show is its portrayal of the drug war as positive and acceptable. It's never questioned by anyone.
An argument could be made for Burn Notice since it mostly focus's on a pro-gun small bushiness owner rooting out corrupt gov. bureaucrats, while performing the occasional act of private charity, and operating his entire business unlicensed and off the books.
Actually The Wire isn't exactly libertarian. The guy who wrote the series is a big critic of capitalism and free markets and he called the media coverage of the NSA Scandal a "faux scandal". So this guy doesn't get anything in my book.
Graham Skelly Yes it could be interpreted that way but I guess it has to do with what the creator of the show intends to convey vs what the viewer sees which may be different. The creator was trying to show how people are forced into criminality because their jobs become obsolete or less lucrative. But as libertarians we see corrupt union officials desperately trying to maintain power in an advancing economy.
David SImon is a fabulous writer. I read his Homicide book before the series ever came out. As a reporter and in some writings Simon is very Liberal and thinks of himself that way, but in reality he is conservative and that comes out in The Wire and Homicide a lot. Many so-called liberal progressives talk that way but live much more conservatively. I care what the creators are saying they are portraying but I care much more about what they do portray for whatever reasons. Case in point: Forrest Gump comes off very conservative in many ways, but if you listen to the director's comments you would think his goal was to show Gump as just a fool and as a condemnation of America. ??go figure??
... sorta. Not enough though. Let's start with the "good cops" thing that shows like that have to have, and how thedude uses the state to try and get revenge. Then, analyze "Red Sauce" (S1E20), and this interaction, copied from script. Rigsby looks over to the very seedy looking teenagers that are gathered around the video games. RIGSBY (glumly) Teenagers. I hate questioning teenagers. It’s like talking to mud. JANE You need more love in your heart. RIGSBY Is that my problem? JANE Watch me now. (to Lisbon) See you later. Jane glides off toward the video machines. Rigsby bids Lisbon a rueful farewell and follows him to... INT. SIERRA VISTA HOUSE OF GAMES. ARCADE - CONTINUOUS A group of HESHERS gathered around an old-school pinball machine. They are watching as one of their number, PUTT-PUTT (a Jackie-Earle-Haley-circa-1977 type), racks up an impressively high score. Jane and Rigsby approach. JANE Not bad. Do you want to see how a true master does it? Jane steps forward, puts a quarter in place, claiming next game. The kids stare at him and Rigsby, and they gaze back at them with great seriousness. PUTT-PUTT What are you, sex perverts or cops? RIGSBY (aside,to Jane) See? JANE He’s a cop. I’m just a concerned citizen. Putt Putt spits. PUTT-PUTT We got nothing to say to you. An ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD in white boy gangsta trappings steps up with some half-assed gang sign. MIDGET THUG (a piping treble) Yeah, screw the cops. Giggles all round. JANE (to midget thug) Even for a midget villain like yourself, that’s an untenable ethical position. Every modern society has some kind of police force. It’s like saying, screw the public transport system. Beat of silence as the teenagers stare in bemusement. --- Notice, the anti-government people have to be "midget thug... villain(s)" with "untenable ethical position(s)", and this guy, who is "not a cop" consistently does things that the cops "sadly" can't do, like in this interaction: JANE The reason I’m here alone? My colleagues are kinda straight arrows. I didn’t want them mixed up in anything, you know, sketchy. GINA What sketchy? Beat. Jane gives Gina a sinister look. JANE I went to talk to Sonny Battaglia. See what he had to say about all this. GINA Oh? JANE He’s an impressive man. Knows how to get what he wants. GINA He’s a vicious scumbag. JANE Yes. He doesn’t speak well of you either. He seems to think it was you that encouraged Eddie to turn rat in the first place. GINA That’s not true! JANE That’s what he thinks. And you know how he is once he gets an idea in his head. Stubborn. (beat) He offered me a very sweet deal. Gina’s scared now. GINA What kind of deal? JANE What kind do you think? Gina looks around instinctively for danger. GINA Tell me. Jane gets up, crosses to Gina. JANE Gina, here’s the bottom line. Either you can make me look good with the cops, and confess what you did. Or, you can make me look good with Battaglia, and die. Your choice. Gina backs away from Jane. GINA Die? But, but, you’re a cop. Jane follows. JANE And they never bend the law, do they? Besides, I’m not a real cop, I’m a consultant. I’m not breaking any oaths to the State or anything. Just looking out for number one. (looks at his watch) Better make up your mind. Battaglia’s man is on his way. --- So no, I think this episode pretty much revokes its libertarian card, if the previous ones hadn't already. Don't let that stop you from enjoying it, though!
Jeremiah Harding thanks for the feedback. The second conversation seems ok to me although the first conversation is a little troubling. I guess it's writer by writer. Some episodes may be written by statists while others by writers skeptical of the state. There was an episode where bounty hunters are belittled vs government police which is a statist fallacy. Their treatment of cops (other than Lisbon, Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt) on the show as idiots or corrupt does give it some libertarian cred. Jane has no respect for the law, only for what is right. He conceal carries. In one episode there was a hostage situation and he bemoaned the fact that additional cops had arrived on the scene while he was trying to diffuse the situation.
Jeremiah Harding Most police procedurals are very pro-government. Cops on these shows are incapable of catching the bad guys without violating someone's constitutional rights at least once. Honestly I think trying to analyze shows like this is pointless. A lot of what seem like politics are really just long-established tropes.
FIrefly, Burn Notice, Blacklist, Have Gun; Will Travel, Rockford Files, Breaking Bad, Farscape, Kung Fu, Hamish MacBeth, Daniel Boone, Hmmmm -- that would be my initial list... probably more -- will think about it.
There was a very shortlived series ca. 1980 that was libertarian. The premise was that a capitalist was railroaded out of his business by antagonists working in cahoots with the government. In prison he befriends this Hispanic dude, and when they're released they go into "business" to fight corruption that is above the law. The opening credits used playing cards, and one of the intro lines was, "We're gonna bug the federal building?" If anyone remembers the name of this series please comment!
I grew up in a very christian house hold, I remember the first time I challenged my childhood indoctrination on homosexuals was when I was 15 and south park had the big gay al episode. I thought "if something as cool and popular as south park says it's okay to be gay, maybe it's not what I have been told." No one ever really challenged anyone's "sacred" beliefs in television. Everything from hate speech to political ideology has been completely dismantled by south park to the point that a single quote from one of their shows is enough to destroy any bad argument that comes up. It forced you to check your pre-conceived notions at the door because you wanted to laugh at the best show on television.
Any show can be reviewed from a libertarian position so whatever shows you like are the best libertarian shows. Even state promoting shows can be good libertarian shows because they illustrate the delusion of the poor mislead statists and describe exactly those paradigms, gestalts which keep the otherwise thinking man, enslaved to the wrong ideology.
Jesse Francis This is exactly the problem with putting The Wire and House of Cards on the list: Since initiation of coercion is pretty much THE cause of human suffering and conflict, you can see that lesson in any show at all. For example: * Three's Company was a horrific sitcom where 99.9% of the plot each week was communication failure, usually someone lying or keeping a secret. Deception is coercion. Libertarian show. * The Shield is a show about a grotesquely corrupt police force, the protagonists murder one of their partners just in case he might blow their evidence-stealing cover in the first episode. This is the inevitable outcome of a police state. Libertarian show. * Animaniacs is pure anarchy! * All in the Family was made by people who border on Marxism, yet not only did they have to make some reasonable "right wing" arguments in Archie Bunker's mouth, in order to make him believable, but any rational person can see statism or coercion as the underlying cause of the conflicts in the show. Or stupidity. Four stupidest main characters in history...after Three's Company, anyway. * The Brink is the best new sitcom in years. I'm pretty sure the whole thing is made from a Liberal Media perspective, which just happens to include opposing Neocon interventionism (the show's theme is an attack on it) on purely partisan grounds, but almost any viewer, even Democrats, can probably see that Statism is the main antagonist in the show.
KAZ Vorpal Thanks for the elucidation. I think the premise of the piece falls short myself. If someone is watching popular media and glued to the tube how free can their mind be? They didn't mean to call it programming for what it does to human minds but it deserves that title. Then again, well people can learn. A steady diet of opposing ideologies is the fuel for a thinking mind.
Jesse Francis Actually, I disagree with the trendy "TV is stupid" meme. Television is an important component of having a broad understanding of the world and reality. It can convey information you aren't going to get from books, or that you were not seeking. What is important is simply that it's not THE source of experience, but instead A source of experience.
If you don't mind japanese, One Piece is probably one of the best and most popular libertarian shows ever. And if you don't mind some rated R stuff, Black Sails is great. They are libertarian but never preach at all.
I watched the first episode of the Prisoner, and I really like it. Glad to know about this show. I never knew it before. But Pen & Teller and South Park are not my type. I know people making the shows are libertarian, but sometimes they are skeptical about topics that are not necessary of libertarian's concern ...with passion. It's not like they are anti-libertarians shows, but it seems to me they are not enough ideal to be best libertarian shows.
King of the Hill. Hank Hill's stringent ethics, common sense and blue-collar rationality constantly conflicts with a society and government trying to make his life difficult. But danged if he don't kick some ass, I tell you hwat.
And theres that episode where he has a self questioning realization that his favorite candidate (Bush) had a soft hand shake.
That's more of a conservative show rather then a libertarian show.
yeah I'd call it more conservative than libertarian given Hank's views on drugs, criminal justice, prostitution etc. Regardless it was a great show, and even had some great libertarian episodes, like the one where Hank fights the crone capitalism of Arlen's low flow toilet ordinance, or the one where he operates an illegal trans fat serving food truck.
Kevin Volk
Dale seemed to have healthy skepticism of government.
@@chrisf5170 true, however no one can deny that Dale is without a doubt a libertarian
John Stossel show. How is Stossel not number one on this list. He is a major Libertarian influence in my life.
he probably was only talking about non-political shows
@D.K What's wrong with his price gouging video? It shows how "price gouging" is an incentive to efficiently provide goods and services to people in need.
@D.K You need to study supply and demand curves.
John stossel is to far right for my more causematarian tastes
Dido
Firefly! The underlying theme is very libertarian, and lots of great lines: "You can't take the sky from me", "People don't like to be meddled with", etc.
“That’s what a government is for, getting in a man’s way”
Shepherd Book: A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned
I was going to say this. Firefly is literally libertarians in space, made even better when one knows the political leanings of Joss Whedon.
@@ablethreefourbravo I don't know about that last part.. Whedon is quite a leftist, and full of typical hypocritical hollywood wokeness.. Still, he's produced some amazing stuff, and I agree that FIrefly is a great libertarian show that definitely belongs in this list!
@@danstheman33 That was the point!
Great list.would add Firefly... They were 'good guys' who did that took care of their own and CHOSE to help others because they wanted too..not because they were compelled by the state...
Best show to only get 1 season!
I am NOT A NUMBER! I AM A FREE MAN! The ultimate Libertarian!
Doesn't make any sense. Capitalism literally reduces people to a number: the amount in their bank account.
Changing that number is on your hands buddy why don't you become a productive member of society and create something for yourself and other individuals instead of being a whining cockold Bolshevik
@CC3GROUNDZERO It's an economic system, not a government system. And also, this depends on your outlook on life. Do you consider yourself a victim of capitalism, or do you consider yourself a dependant person who can do what you like with the capital you have?
Aaand, cue Firefly fans in 3...2...1...
Only thing Joss Whedon was good for.
Sheesh. The nerdy libertarian fan-boys at Reason.com are _still_ pining over the cancellation of Firefly *12 years ago.* I am not making this up.
reason.com/blog/2014/10/02/netflix-aims-to-reinvent-the-movie-busin#comment_4807051
Kizone Kaprow They aren't the only ones. :*(
That just shows you how powerful freedom is to human nature.
How did you know?
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the original Twilight Zone. With episodes like "The Obsolete Man", "Eye of the Beholder", and "Number 12 Looks Just Like You", the Twilight Zone took on the dangers of big government and mob rule. I'm not much of a science fiction fan, but some of the shows were very thought provoking.
The Monsters are Due on Main Street & Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up are another two to consider.
House of Cards intro theme gives me goosebumps. The libertarian stance in it is overwhelming. "You have the money, but I have all the guns".
I miss Bullsh!t. They need to bring that show back.
Penn & Teller did a similar show in the 80s called "Bogus!"
Yes that show is still needed. There plenty more bull to cover
"Adam Ruins Everything" tries to be a spiritual successor to Bullsh!t, and it does occasionally have it's moments, but he comes across as way too preachy. Penn and Teller never told you what to think, just that you needed to be informed before making a decision, Adam seems to cross that line.
@@smileyeagle1021 they also misinformed many times to preach what they believed, particularly against religion
@@cobramcjingleballs because religion is bullshit
South park used to be shunned on in my house back in the 90's, now. . . . it's got more truth than mostly anything on tv, ironically. People are just too lazy to see it.
Book: A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned.
Simon: Now you’re quoting the Captain.
We should all be quoting the Captain more.
Word!
All great picks, but should have given honorable mention to Firefly. And (arguably) Babylon 5. :)
Firefly is problematic because in the end, it is just libertarians living off the products of various forms of other societies from mega-statists to monarchies to even outright anarchist ones. At no point does the crew ever find a place where a 'libertarian' existence is possible outside their own ship.
I knew I loved South Park for a reason!
Parks and Rec might have been a spoof of how government and government agencies really don't do anything good for their community, even with a Hillary Clinton wannabe, but it did give us the great Ron Swanson, a libertarian even greater than the mustache on his face
Not that I think you're wrong, but I expect David Simon would cringe to hear anyone say that The Wire is libertarian. Dude is an outspoken lefty who just happened to accidentally make a libertarian series.
The British "House of Cards" with Sir Ian Richardson was great, too, even though the whole series comprised only 9-12 episodes. Ironically, Sir Richardson was also in "Brazil", arguably the best libertarian movie ever.
For anime fans, Kino's Journey, Full Metal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain and especially One Piece are all must watches for anyone who claims to be a libertarian, regardless if they are left or right leaning.
Also if you haven't seen the tv shows The Wire, Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, you definitely should.
And here I was thinking that the One Piece part was just me.
You know, basically the entire premise of Tensura is that the main character just wants to live a comfortable life where everyone who doesn't like him, just leaves him alone and to let him and those like him do their own thing when they are not causing harm to others.
Granted this means creating his own nation (in a place where officially nobody had control and was literal wilderness), literal crusades against him and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, but still the whole story from beginning to the end (as in the actual end in the books) serves that purpose.
I know this is an old comment but I'm curious about how Evangelion is libertarian.
“The Irregular at Magic High School” is a good Libertarian show. And Spice and Wolf.
Boardwalk empire is a good one. A lot of good libertarian quotes in there and it shows the true nature of politics and the negative effects of prohobition.
Negative effects?
It made prohibition look like a great money maker.
Buffy. A high school student with no government support keeps on saving the world. In fact the government keeps on getting in the way of her and her friends.
You needed to add Firefly and Jericho.
I cant believe I forgot about Jericho. That was one of the best shows Ive ever seen.
I'd give an honorable mention to the early seasons of The Simpsons. They were at least as good at poking fun at all sides back then as South Park is now. Around season 10 they started losing it, and at season 12 or 13 they took such a hard turn to the left I think they flipped the car. Granted the show has become everything it used to satirize, but I still remember when they could argue on both sides and still make a good point.
Firefly.
"That's what governments are for, get in a man's way." - Malcolm Reynolds
"A year from now, ten, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running; I aim to misbehave." - Malcolm Reynolds
"A government is a body of people usually-notably-ungoverned." - Shepherd Book.
Firefly is problematic because in the end, it is just libertarians living off the products of various forms of other societies from mega-statists to monarchies to even outright anarchist ones. At no point does the crew ever find a place where a 'libertarian' existence is possible outside their own ship.
Breaking Bad: a family man persecuted by the DEA just because he wanted to do some cooking.
Come on, guys: Babylon 5. Not only the original "video novel," but its central message was "one person can make a difference." Doesn't get much more libertarian than that.
In one episode, Babylon 5 seceded from Earth, and declared independence. About as libertarian as one can get.
Veep paints government in a hilariously inefficient light. I'd also count Parks and Rec. Ron Swanson is an icon.
This was a great list. I love Libertarianism!
Yeah, but what are the Worst Libertarian TV Shows Ever? I nominate West Wing.
I nominate Elementary. There was one episode in particular which made me stop watching the show. Holmes specifically ridiculed libertarian philosophy in that episode. To top it off, the suspect in that episode was an ancap. Even though an ancap murderer is a contradiction in which no effort was made to explain.
Newsroom has to be up there. He even blasted the Institute for Justice!
I could say that 24 would be a pro-statist show because it encourages government intervention and torture to fight terrorism. But at the same time, the show could be a warning about the consequences of pointless wars and military intervention in other countries that could lead terrorism and the loss of liberties in the name of security.
Matt Giesler Somehow, I feel that's a subtlety that would be lost on most viewers.
How so?
Until Penn got old and scared and decided safety is more important than freedom.
Was expecting Breaking Bad
last man standing with Tim Allen is pretty good
It's conversative
1. Firefly
2. Firefly
3. Firefly
4. Firefly
5. Firefly
WHY ISN'T STOSSEL ON THIS LIST?????????????????
no Firefly?
Yes minister. Showing how government really works will make anyone a libertarian. They called it a comedy so they wouldnt have to name their sources.
The thing I hate most about censorship is ****** ** ******* **** ***** ********* * *********.
Thanks for the list! I'll smugly claim that I don't watch TV, but you did pick some of my favorites. I need to catch up on the last several seasons of South Park, and based on your recommendation, The Wire looks like a show that my wife and I might both enjoy in syndication on Amazon Prime this fall and winter.
PS - Respect my authoritah!
I would add most anime to this list. They're almost all about self-improvement rather than community improvement. Ayn Rand would be crying tears of joy.
Ronald Ulysses Swanson made me man I'm today.
Hey -- 4 out of the 5 above are among my favorite pieces of media :)
How about libertarian anime (if that isn't nerdy enough)? Gurren Lagann FTW!
I just thought of another one that I can't believe hasn't been mentioned. But Game of Thrones deserves to be on this list. As Learn Liberty Academy points out the whole problem with Westeros is ruling and wanting power.
Firefly and it's wrapup flick Serenity were quite libertarian.
I know parks and rec isn't but I absolutely love when ron swanson has something to say
Can't disagree much with the list.. never watched the wire but will have to check it out.
One correction though, libertarians don't believe in "freedom of speech first and foremost", libertarians believe in the NAP first and foremost, and freedom of speech is a natural consequence to that.
P Mason The intention of Reason is to woo people over to the libertarian cause, so yeah something sweet like nutella.
Does that make learn liberty the peanut butter to complete my sandwich?
"Reason tends to be the Nutella of libertarian... not quite chocolate."
LMFAO! I really needed that. XD
+WasatchMan What's NAP?
+Master Race non aggression principle
Need a "5 best Statist TV Shows Ever" list
Penn Jillete has publicly stated many times that Trey and Matt kick way more than he and Teller.
Parks and recreation? Ron Swanson ? no?
Billy Martini The rest of that show is a monument to government. Swanson has his moments, but his character is made to act ridiculous in an attempt to make his argument seem ridiculous.
That's a interesting pick. It seems Ron Swanson was originally depicted as a Libertarian to make fun of Libertarians, but the more people watched of him, the more they understood, and liked the idea of being a libertarian.
Ron Swanson is a parody of Libertarian promoters that don't have any real caliber in the party. In every political party you have the scientists, philosophers, and pother intellectuals, and then they command foot-men to physically enforce the presence of the party, along with celebrities, and the overall caliber of the person drops after that, starting with the foot-man and celebrities, to people who aren't fully developed overall, and that is who Ron Swanson represents.
Exactly! People say Parks and Rec is bashing Swanson, but if you think about it although they try to make fun of ron swanson's radical libertarianism, they eventually end up depicting the 'government-gang' as a bunch of idiots and some people might end up asking themslves ''would I want to pay taxes to finance people as inefficient and idiotic as THAT?'' They depict Swanson as the weirdo, yet he seems to be right.
The overall premise of Parks and Rec is incredibly pro big government, although I do think it's a great example of how a left leaning comedy can still be funny, tasteful, and contain a voice for the opposing side, without making them too much of a one dimensional stock character.
Does free to choose count?
HOUSE OF CARDS the original British version from the 90s
_"HOUSE OF CARDS the original British version"_
Absolutely, if only because Ian Richardson makes such a perfect villain.
Great selection.
Jericho is another one. It is not libertarian but as far as i remember did not show the government out to be a hero. Arguably why it never had a second season.
Parks and recreation is meant to be good because of ron swanson but i have never watched the series. I did watch a 40 min clip of best of ron swanson on youtube.
Another series i would recommend is the Canadian sci fi show continuum. Although it is not libertarian it is about a future cop from 2077 that works for a big corporation. The corporations run the world. The terrorists in the series are fighting against the corporations and they are sent back to present time 2012 to change the future. There is next to no mention of the state in the series even the police in the 2012 end up being bought by the private sector. It definitely appears on first glance like the series was written by anti-capitalist. I think though that the corporations could just easily be replaced with the government in the story to some extent. Especially on the police state side of things. If you like sci fi and a some what more intelligent story line then i recommend continuum.
The first ones i would have mention is penn and teller and south park.
There is not much libertarian TV.
Jericho ran for two seasons.
magentawave To let Gregory Van Der Mewve know that there's a second season he should watch.
Jericho is the best SHTF show, but it came out 6 years too early, when people (in other words - me) believed that small limited government could cover the basics, like defense and crises. If they remade it today, I think the mayor, "rangers," etc. would be pushed aside.
Jason Tatseos Yes, I watched the short second season. It was 6 episodes and they said they cancelled it because of poor ratings but i am not sure about that. I watched it years ago but i never got the sense that it was trying to portray the state as the hero, especially for such a subject matter i would expect that. I mean look at The Last Ship for example. Perfect example of the type of series that makes the state out to be the hero.
Another one i watched fairly recently that was cancelled was Crisis although not a very good series in general, the synopsis ends up being that the state tried to cover up a military massacre in middle east due to some drugged up solider program that they wanted to keep secret and some guy turned on the state to reveal the truth to the public about what happened, in order to clear his name.
I really liked that show.
What would be a even better Libertarian TV show would be a remake of the Prisoner with Butters as Number 6 and Cartman as Number 2.
Another good one I grew up with, The Odyssey. It's a kids show where the main character goes into a coma and dreams he is in a land controlled by an autocratic regime. Hits on areas ranging from book burning to justice.
The new show "Medici: Masters of Florence" on Netflix is actually good from libertarian perspective. I was expecting a typical Marxist undercurrent but was pleasantly surprised when instead of the evil rich vs the noble poor, it has a focus on social mobility that I was happy to see.
I know that it has been mentioned but Firefly would have been at the top of my list. The show was totally libertarian despite Whedon's personal paradigms.
Seriously enjoying the fourth season of 'Hell on Wheels' on AMC. 'Turn' isn't half bad either.
Hell on Wheels definitely explores some abuse of govt power and true free will. Some great lines in it. The middle parts are a little lackluster but the first 2 seasons and the very end of the last are golden.
Turn was great. I enjoyed that show a lot
I'll chime in with:
"Battlestar Galactica".
"The Drew Carey Show" (He's even worn a Reason shirt on at least one of the 'sodes).
"Shark Tank" (Shows people that individuals can negotiate business deals without the need to bribe polytricktians and co-opt the guns of gummint).
Anything with Stossel.
There was a rather short lived series ca. 1980 where the lead character was framed, went to prison while his company was usurped, and met a Hispanic sidekick in jail. When they got out they went around trying to protect people from criminals "working above the law".
I don't remember much else about it, other than the protag drove a Porsche, playing cards were used in the opening credits, and one of the opener's tag lines was, "You're gonna bug the federal building?!"
Anyone remember this show?
Bolivar DiGriz I think it was Nash Bridges, although I could be mistaken.
Don Johnson and Cheech Marin? San Francisco?
Yes for Drew Carey and Shark Tank. No way on BSG! Seriously, look how that government was run; when push came to shove all bets were off.
Actually I'd put 4 out of these 5 on my list... with parks and recreation on the freed spot. This one deserves a place for both satirizing bureaucratic machine AND it's opponents with Ron Swanson.
3 of the actors in that series came out in favor of gun control, so F@#$ them.
vary able 3 is actually pretty good for a show made by NBC. What number could we expect out of 30 Rock. It would be nearly all of them.
Yeah all the New Town stuff prompted them to "speak out". bunch of self important D bags.
vary able They can be advocating nuclear holocaust for planet Earth and it still has nothing to do with the show. There's a lot of scummy actors out there - using their fame in nasty ways. I don't give a damn about what they represent as celebrities so I won't boycot products the take part in (BTW there's a bunch more than 3 actors there and a large support crew that you also boycot in this way).
What you allow is what will continue.
List fails without Firefly and Parks & Rec
"History began on July 4, 1776. Everything before that was a mistake." - Ron
I would add "Parks and rec". it's a nice TV show that makes fun of every one and all the sides and it has a great libertarian character.
Permafry42, great list!
Also, The Pretender (corporatism explained and fought), Swat Kats (for kids), Max Headroom (Media corruption explained and fought), Orange is the New Black (rehumanizing prisoners), The Colony (Reality TV, self sufficiency), House (medical overregulation kills people), AND HELLO -- BURN NOTICE (ideal for a functional criticism of the state's "defense" industry).
Just a few more :)
Parks and Rec has the coolest Libertarian character
"I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own!"
-The Prisoner
Fuck yeah!
The two seasons of outsiders are pretty awesome. Highly recommend.
The Prisoner is beyond awesome! Only found out about it 2 years ago - saw all the episodes on you tube. South Park proves libertarians have the best sense of humor - which is why some of the best stand up comedians are libertarian minded. Haven't watched those other shows but will now check them out if they are available on Netflix.
The Legend of Korra is a very libertarian Cartoon, even the vilain in the first season is called "the equalists"
Breaking Bad? Firefly? Jericho? The Walking Dead? The A Team? Nowhere Man?
TV? Whatz dat? Oh yeah, the thing I used to have about 13 years ago before I shot it for telling me about Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Surprisingly a solid show with libertarian themes is Numb3rs. There's an episode in there where the main character directly defends capitalism. It's never black and white either. all sides of the coin tend to be explored on the show. Another one about people selling organ's, the father tells a story about how his friend died because there were no matching donors available and he thought, what if people could sell them?
Anyhow, it's a good show in general, especially for a police/crime drama style.
The only outright non-libertarian trope on the show is its portrayal of the drug war as positive and acceptable. It's never questioned by anyone.
Definitely Babylon 5. The B Plot was all about authoritarianism
Parks and Recreation
An argument could be made for Burn Notice since it mostly focus's on a pro-gun small bushiness owner rooting out corrupt gov. bureaucrats, while performing the occasional act of private charity, and operating his entire business unlicensed and off the books.
You can't take the sky from me.
Where have I heard that?
Actually The Wire isn't exactly libertarian. The guy who wrote the series is a big critic of capitalism and free markets and he called the media coverage of the NSA Scandal a "faux scandal". So this guy doesn't get anything in my book.
True, season two had a distinctive pro-union, anti-automation tone to it. I have only seen the first two seasons.
Patrick Dukemajian really? I thought season two was rather anti union and maybe even pro automation
Graham Skelly Yes it could be interpreted that way but I guess it has to do with what the creator of the show intends to convey vs what the viewer sees which may be different.
The creator was trying to show how people are forced into criminality because their jobs become obsolete or less lucrative. But as libertarians we see corrupt union officials desperately trying to maintain power in an advancing economy.
He definitely doesn't get my attention for whatever time slot this show is on.
David SImon is a fabulous writer. I read his Homicide book before the series ever came out. As a reporter and in some writings Simon is very Liberal and thinks of himself that way, but in reality he is conservative and that comes out in The Wire and Homicide a lot. Many so-called liberal progressives talk that way but live much more conservatively. I care what the creators are saying they are portraying but I care much more about what they do portray for whatever reasons. Case in point: Forrest Gump comes off very conservative in many ways, but if you listen to the director's comments you would think his goal was to show Gump as just a fool and as a condemnation of America. ??go figure??
What do you guys think of The Mentalist? Is it libertarian enough?
... sorta. Not enough though. Let's start with the "good cops" thing that shows like that have to have, and how thedude uses the state to try and get revenge. Then, analyze "Red Sauce" (S1E20), and this interaction, copied from script.
Rigsby looks over to the very seedy looking teenagers that are gathered around the video games.
RIGSBY (glumly)
Teenagers. I hate questioning teenagers. It’s like talking to mud.
JANE
You need more love in your heart.
RIGSBY
Is that my problem?
JANE
Watch me now. (to Lisbon) See you later.
Jane glides off toward the video machines. Rigsby bids Lisbon a rueful farewell and follows him to... INT. SIERRA VISTA HOUSE OF GAMES. ARCADE - CONTINUOUS A group of HESHERS gathered around an old-school pinball machine. They are watching as one of their number, PUTT-PUTT (a Jackie-Earle-Haley-circa-1977 type), racks up an impressively high score. Jane and Rigsby approach.
JANE
Not bad. Do you want to see how a true master does it?
Jane steps forward, puts a quarter in place, claiming next game. The kids stare at him and Rigsby, and they gaze back at them with great seriousness.
PUTT-PUTT
What are you, sex perverts or cops?
RIGSBY (aside,to Jane)
See? JANE He’s a cop. I’m just a concerned citizen.
Putt Putt spits.
PUTT-PUTT
We got nothing to say to you.
An ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD in white boy gangsta trappings steps up with some half-assed gang sign.
MIDGET THUG (a piping treble)
Yeah, screw the cops.
Giggles all round.
JANE (to midget thug)
Even for a midget villain like yourself, that’s an untenable ethical position. Every modern society has some kind of police
force. It’s like saying, screw the public transport system.
Beat of silence as the teenagers stare in bemusement.
---
Notice, the anti-government people have to be "midget thug... villain(s)" with "untenable ethical position(s)", and this guy, who is "not a cop" consistently does things that the cops "sadly" can't do, like in this interaction:
JANE
The reason I’m here alone? My colleagues are kinda straight arrows. I didn’t want them mixed up in anything, you know, sketchy.
GINA
What sketchy?
Beat. Jane gives Gina a sinister look.
JANE
I went to talk to Sonny Battaglia. See what he had to say about all this.
GINA
Oh?
JANE
He’s an impressive man. Knows how to get what he wants.
GINA He’s a vicious scumbag.
JANE
Yes. He doesn’t speak well of you either. He seems to think it was you that encouraged Eddie to turn rat in the first place.
GINA
That’s not true!
JANE
That’s what he thinks. And you know how he is once he gets an idea in his head. Stubborn. (beat) He offered me a very sweet deal.
Gina’s scared now.
GINA
What kind of deal?
JANE
What kind do you think?
Gina looks around instinctively for danger.
GINA
Tell me.
Jane gets up, crosses to Gina.
JANE
Gina, here’s the bottom line. Either you can make me look good with the cops, and confess what you did. Or, you can make me look good with Battaglia, and die. Your choice.
Gina backs away from Jane.
GINA
Die? But, but, you’re a cop.
Jane follows.
JANE
And they never bend the law, do they? Besides, I’m not a real cop, I’m a consultant. I’m not breaking any oaths to the State or anything. Just looking out for number one. (looks at his watch) Better make up your mind. Battaglia’s man is on his way.
---
So no, I think this episode pretty much revokes its libertarian card, if the previous ones hadn't already. Don't let that stop you from enjoying it, though!
www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/Mentalist/The_Mentalist_1x20_-_Red_Sauce.pdf
Jeremiah Harding thanks for the feedback. The second conversation seems ok to me although the first conversation is a little troubling. I guess it's writer by writer. Some episodes may be written by statists while others by writers skeptical of the state.
There was an episode where bounty hunters are belittled vs government police which is a statist fallacy. Their treatment of cops (other than Lisbon, Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt) on the show as idiots or corrupt does give it some libertarian cred.
Jane has no respect for the law, only for what is right. He conceal carries. In one episode there was a hostage situation and he bemoaned the fact that additional cops had arrived on the scene while he was trying to diffuse the situation.
What about his "ethically untenable" comment indicates that he has no respect for the law? Just curious...
Jeremiah Harding Most police procedurals are very pro-government. Cops on these shows are incapable of catching the bad guys without violating someone's constitutional rights at least once.
Honestly I think trying to analyze shows like this is pointless. A lot of what seem like politics are really just long-established tropes.
Great collection. You could include Breaking Bad, and HBO's Deadwood.
I was thinking of Breaking Bad, myself.
Firefly should top this list.
Surprised Firefly never made it.
Red Dead Redemption espouses left-libertarian values, while South Park espouses centrist libertarianism.
Having not seen them all I can't say I'd bump anything from your list, but Drew Carey deserves at least an honorable mention.
Breaking Bad should be on this list because of the fact it shows the hypocrisy of the DEA anti Drug War and one mans Journey of self destruction
In the 60's as a teen I watched The Prisoner, and decided that I can never trust "them" and all power holders are "them"
FIrefly, Burn Notice, Blacklist, Have Gun; Will Travel, Rockford Files, Breaking Bad, Farscape, Kung Fu, Hamish MacBeth, Daniel Boone, Hmmmm -- that would be my initial list... probably more -- will think about it.
I'll give you Kung fu. I'd throw in stuff like Andy Griffith and Bering Sea Gold & the crab guys.
I was surprised you did not put king of the hill !
There was a very shortlived series ca. 1980 that was libertarian. The premise was that a capitalist was railroaded out of his business by antagonists working in cahoots with the government. In prison he befriends this Hispanic dude, and when they're released they go into "business" to fight corruption that is above the law.
The opening credits used playing cards, and one of the intro lines was, "We're gonna bug the federal building?"
If anyone remembers the name of this series please comment!
Firefly
the Prisoner and South Park in one video, awesome.
House of Cards went full on identity politics, with zero sense of satire or derision, so I think it has removed itself from this list.
I almost didn't recognize you without your leather jacket. I see I have some On Demand to do.
I grew up in a very christian house hold, I remember the first time I challenged my childhood indoctrination on homosexuals was when I was 15 and south park had the big gay al episode. I thought "if something as cool and popular as south park says it's okay to be gay, maybe it's not what I have been told." No one ever really challenged anyone's "sacred" beliefs in television. Everything from hate speech to political ideology has been completely dismantled by south park to the point that a single quote from one of their shows is enough to destroy any bad argument that comes up. It forced you to check your pre-conceived notions at the door because you wanted to laugh at the best show on television.
I recommend Gaksital / Bridal Mask on Netflix. It’s a korean drama about the Japanese occupation there and has great anti-statist message throughout.
One Piece. It's an anime, so I don't know if anyone here has seen it.
The only one I have really seen is Penn & Teller, and you are right about that one, so I've got some watchin' to do!
The Prisoner is absolutely #1. Good job.
I have just one comment: "A beer in every hand and a foot in every ass. Red Forman for president"!
The more I watch this Channel, the more I realize I'm absolutely not a libertarian.
You are number 6!
I AM NOT A NUMBER! I AM A FREE MAN!
Any show can be reviewed from a libertarian position so whatever shows you like are the best libertarian shows.
Even state promoting shows can be good libertarian shows because they illustrate the delusion of the poor mislead statists and describe exactly those paradigms, gestalts which keep the otherwise thinking man, enslaved to the wrong ideology.
Shows good for libertarians to watch =/= good libertarian shows.
Jesse Francis This is exactly the problem with putting The Wire and House of Cards on the list:
Since initiation of coercion is pretty much THE cause of human suffering and conflict, you can see that lesson in any show at all. For example:
* Three's Company was a horrific sitcom where 99.9% of the plot each week was communication failure, usually someone lying or keeping a secret. Deception is coercion. Libertarian show.
* The Shield is a show about a grotesquely corrupt police force, the protagonists murder one of their partners just in case he might blow their evidence-stealing cover in the first episode. This is the inevitable outcome of a police state. Libertarian show.
* Animaniacs is pure anarchy!
* All in the Family was made by people who border on Marxism, yet not only did they have to make some reasonable "right wing" arguments in Archie Bunker's mouth, in order to make him believable, but any rational person can see statism or coercion as the underlying cause of the conflicts in the show. Or stupidity. Four stupidest main characters in history...after Three's Company, anyway.
* The Brink is the best new sitcom in years. I'm pretty sure the whole thing is made from a Liberal Media perspective, which just happens to include opposing Neocon interventionism (the show's theme is an attack on it) on purely partisan grounds, but almost any viewer, even Democrats, can probably see that Statism is the main antagonist in the show.
Jeremiah Harding So you mean 'shows that support the Libertarian narrative'. Now I got it.
KAZ Vorpal Thanks for the elucidation. I think the premise of the piece falls short myself. If someone is watching popular media and glued to the tube how free can their mind be? They didn't mean to call it programming for what it does to human minds but it deserves that title. Then again, well people can learn. A steady diet of opposing ideologies is the fuel for a thinking mind.
Jesse Francis Actually, I disagree with the trendy "TV is stupid" meme.
Television is an important component of having a broad understanding of the world and reality. It can convey information you aren't going to get from books, or that you were not seeking. What is important is simply that it's not THE source of experience, but instead A source of experience.
If you don't mind japanese, One Piece is probably one of the best and most popular libertarian shows ever. And if you don't mind some rated R stuff, Black Sails is great. They are libertarian but never preach at all.
Black Sails is definitely libertarian.
I watched the first episode of the Prisoner, and I really like it. Glad to know about this show. I never knew it before.
But Pen & Teller and South Park are not my type. I know people making the shows are libertarian, but sometimes they are skeptical about topics that are not necessary of libertarian's concern ...with passion. It's not like they are anti-libertarians shows, but it seems to me they are not enough ideal to be best libertarian shows.
How is South Park Libatarian?
How about Blake's 7 , the ship was even called the Liberator.