A reader pointed me to the home page for this year’s Freedom Fest, presumably a libertarian event. It features a 2-minute video with the theme that we are like the Roman empire, in its state of decline. The reader sees this video as

completely based on the civilization-barbarism axis.

My reaction:

1. Although the video does pay some lip service to freedom issues, I tend to agree with the reader. It seems to me that the video itself would appeal more to conservatives than to libertarians. My guess is that libertarians will not be totally turned off by the video, but they may not be attracted by it, either.

2. There is some irony in talking negatively about Roman debauchery in advertising a conference that is held annually in Las Vegas.

3. The conference agenda is rather heavily weighted toward investment strategy. Only a couple of the currently-listed speakers have topics that pertain to libertarian theory or practice.

4. Perhaps these ambiguities are a good thing. The conference may attract a mix of libertarians and conservatives, wealthy right-wingers, financial advisers, and academics.

5. I do not like large conferences at all, but perhaps that means I should force myself to go to some of them. But not in Las Vegas, which is one of my least favorite cities.