Adam Kokesh: Progression to a Freer Society Is Inevitable

Adam Kokesh

Adam Kokesh has made a name for himself in libertarian circles by producing alternative, libertarian-oriented radio programs and YouTube videos. In November 2006, Adam Kokesh was honorably discharged from the US Marine Corps after his second activation as a reservist. He moved to Washington, DC to get a Master's degree in political management at George Washington University. After failing to secure "gainful employment," Kokesh, "stumbled into full-time activism" with Iraq Veterans Against the War. In May and June, Kokesh and other activists ran high-profile flash mob-silent dances at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC in protest of a recent ruling against dancing at federal monuments. In 2010, Kokesh ran as a libertarian-Republican in New Mexico but lost in the primary. Since then, he's built a talk radio program called "Adam vs. The Man" (AVTM) airing out of New Mexico, and his video reports can be seen on YouTube. He has been critical of aspects of the "Occupy DC" version of the Occupy Wall Street movement. He is soon to release a book, Hot, Dirty and Dangerous.

Daily Bell: Tell us about your activities.

Adam Kokesh: Well, right now, my main focus is my now-independent show and the new business model I've created to support it. I get invited to speak at a lot of different events, and occasionally organize actions of my own, but I really want to get away from organizing to focus on media production. I'm still trying to finish the edits on my first book and have at least a few ideas for documentaries rattling around my skull.
Daily Bell: What is your take on the current wars?
Adam Kokesh: They are rackets, like all modern wars.
Daily Bell: What would you like changed?
Adam Kokesh: Changed? I don't need anything changed, necessarily, unless you want me to say "everything," but everything is changing whether we want it to or not. I see the progression to a free society as inevitable, so for me, it's not so much a matter of achieving change as much as being on the side of progress, that is, towards cooperative free-market solutions and away from the coercive control of statism.
Daily Bell: Are you in favor of the OWS protests? Are they being manipulated?
Adam Kokesh: In favor of? I'm glad that the angst of a segment of the broader population that they represent is part of a constructive conversation, but I'm not a supporter. I'm in favor of being in the streets instead of on the couch, (unless you're on the couch with a laptop fomenting revolution on the interwebs) so I welcome the political engagement. I think the premise of protesting the 1% is fundamentally flawed and from what I've seen of the movement, I don't think it will evolve past rage.
Daily Bell: What should they be protesting?
Adam Kokesh: Using force to solve problems (government) when persuasion is superior (freedom).
Daily Bell: Is it more important to aim protests at Wall Street or Washington?
Adam Kokesh: It depends on what you want to achieve. For those who want more government, protesting Wall Street makes perfect sense.
Daily Bell: Is the system hopeless? Is it malevolent?
Adam Kokesh: That depends what you mean by "the system." Regardless, I take the long view of history and would just say that our current "system" of social organization is premised on creating a moral exception for government. But don't worry; we're evolving past it. Is it malevolent? I prefer to see it as holding back our potential. The government isn't some malevolent entity that is completely separated from the rest of the population but at present represents the institutionalization of the worst of human nature.
Daily Bell: Why is the system so socialist?
Adam Kokesh: One effect of the abundance we have created in recent history is to be tolerant of more control and more collectivism because we don't see the negative impact. This is because we are developing so fast that it comes out of would-be improvements instead of current quality of life – at least for now.
Daily Bell: How would characterize yourself? As a libertarian? As a conservative? Constitutionalist?
Adam Kokesh: Libertarian/voluntarist.
Daily Bell: Shouldn't Congress have to DECLARE war?
Adam Kokesh: Of course, as per the document that grants Congress its existence. But the authors of that document had something much different in mind. They intended a declaration of war to be a response to an existing state, not a start of hostilities. So the framework they laid out dictated that our foreign policy be one of non-intervention and non-aggression. Too bad it didn't stick.
Daily Bell: Is America winning the war on terror?
Adam Kokesh: Can you win a crime?
Daily Bell: IS there a war on terror? Who is the enemy?
Adam Kokesh: There is a "war on terror" in the sense that the term is a handy one for our government to try to justify a lot of unnecessary spending and to keep people afraid and to remind us of how much we "need" government.
Daily Bell: Are you hopeful about America?
Adam Kokesh: America will go down as one of the most important developments in history for human liberty, but the next developments will be global in scale and render government borders irrelevant.
Daily Bell: What do you foresee for America in the future?
Adam Kokesh: Hopefully, the American traditions will be helpful in the next challenges to expand liberty. But clearly, our government will be of little help and it's doubtful the American people as a whole will be leading the way globally.
Daily Bell: Are America and the world facing even tougher times?
Adam Kokesh: I think human progress is a process of one step backwards, two steps forwards happening simultaneously on many different levels, and while we may be in the middle of some big steps backwards, they're only temporary setbacks. I am optimistic that what we might even consider to be tough times these days will soon be unimaginable, as today, everyday life of just a few hundred years ago would be considered unbearable.
Daily Bell: What's in store for the dollar and fiat currency in general?
Adam Kokesh: Of course, the dollar system can't last forever and there are already attempts to replace it with a global fiat currency so I think a showdown is coming between those who want free-market money and those who want to impose a new fiat currency. But because this showdown is happening in the age of the Internet, the truth is much more likely to prevail and the fiat currency advocates will lose as those who would have the system imposed upon them realize the exploitation inherent in it.
Daily Bell: Are we facing another Great Depression?
Adam Kokesh: Possibly a short one around the collapse of the dollar, but I don't think any future depression would be at all like any prior in which survival of mass numbers of people was threatened. With the collapse of the dollar, it would be hard to even measure a depression. But I have a hard time believing that with today's communications/information technology we won't be able to see past any government interventions in the market holding us back, and probably be able to get around them quite easily or find agreement on political solutions.
Daily Bell: Do you consider yourself an Austrian?
Adam Kokesh: Both by a small part of my genetic heritage as well as my economic philosophy.
Daily Bell: Where do you see gold and silver going from here?
Adam Kokesh: Going? I think in the coming turmoil, gold and silver are going to be important stores of wealth for a lot of people and will definitely be important factors in the first major free-market currencies but eventually, their advantages as media of exchange will be rendered less relevant by technology and more generalized commodity backed currencies.
Daily Bell: Can the fiat dollar recover, in your opinion?
Adam Kokesh: Every fiat currency has a limited life expectancy so any recovery would be temporary.
Daily Bell: Will we have a China-centric or Asia-centric world in the 21st century?
Adam Kokesh: Perhaps for a while but things will even out eventually by any current measures of "-centric."
Daily Bell: Is the US finished as the world's sole superpower?
Adam Kokesh: The end of the dollar will be the final nail in the coffin for the American government being the most effective tool for the super class to exploit the rest of us and China will rule for a while, but then the era of superpower governments will come to an end altogether.
Daily Bell: The Anglo-American monetary elite is a very powerful and crafty group. Do they wish to run the world?
Adam Kokesh: Speaking of "they" as a group gives the super class too much credibility for being united. The only thing that unites them is a desire to dominate others, including each other.
Daily Bell: Is the Internet making life tougher for them?
Adam Kokesh: Absolutely! The most effective of their frauds are based on ignorance and deception, and the Internet is very bad for both.
Daily Bell: Are markets manipulated – especially gold or silver? If they are, in your view, how long can the manipulation go on? Aren't we reaching a point where metals markets are simply going to be too big to constrain?
Adam Kokesh: They're definitely being manipulated, and that manipulation can go on as long as the market will bear it. But the threat of the metal market is not that it will be "too big to constrain" but rather that metal currency-based exchanges will come to push out the relevancy of dollar exchanges as we see more and more barter as the dollar loses value faster and faster.
Daily Bell: Can politics really change where America is headed?
Adam Kokesh: Politics is where America IS. Fortunately, America is headed to a much better state.
Daily Bell: Who was responsible for 9/11?
Adam Kokesh: Wish I knew!
Daily Bell: What are the biggest problems America faces?
Adam Kokesh: The executive, the legislative and the judicial.
Daily Bell: Should the Federal Reserve be abolished?
Adam Kokesh: It should have never been started!
Daily Bell: What changes does America need to make to become great again?
Adam Kokesh: I don't think national measurements of "greatness" are relevant any more. We will at least be on the right track when we realize that what binds us, as a nation, is our collective victimization by the same government entity.
Daily Bell: What is your proudest accomplishment to date?
Adam Kokesh: Renouncing pride.
Daily Bell: What are you concentrating on now?
Adam Kokesh: Just getting ADAM VS THE MAN going as a stable entity by which I am able to share my talents with others in a way that continues to deliver a product of value. Soon as the book is done, I'll be writing my first documentary, which is already writing itself in my head!
Daily Bell: Any other points you want to make?
Adam Kokesh: I hope your readers will want to support an independent journalist with a unique perspective! Check out the site and if you don't want to invest, stop by to tell me why you think the show sucks so I can improve it! adamvstheman.com