Monopolist Regulation Behind Wikiweapon 3D Printer Repossession

3D Printed Gun Frame

J.G. Vibes

Last week I wrote an article about how Defense Distributed, a new company that planned to help average people create firearms at home with 3D printers had their equipment seized by the manufacturer. When story of the repossession hit the news, there was a great deal of confusion surrounding the legality of Defense Distributed’s Plans and the grounds by which Stratasys, the manufacturer was able to go back on their contract and snatch back the printer.

Upon further investigation it seems that Stratasys actually has no problem with their printers being used to print firearms…well that is as long as you have jumped through all of the correct bureaucratic hoops. Stratasys is actually currently in talks with the Knight’s Armament Company, the makers of the Remington brand and the country’s largest producer of shotguns and rifles. 

Hacktivists Show Us the Future of Decentralized Regulation

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J.G. Vibes

One of the most frustrating paradoxes in the mainstream political discourse is the idea of “regulation”. We are often told that the problems in our economy, and in our society as a whole are the result of “not enough regulation”, but many people fail to actually process the reality and peripheral consequences of said “regulations”. 

Now before I begin I want to make it clear that I am not saying that all kinds of regulation or oversight for important services is a bad thing, but what I am saying is that government regulation is bad. More specifically, the actions that have come to be associated with this word regulation in terms of government policy are extremely harmful to society.

When a government regulates anything, be it the economy, the drug market, the food market, you name it, they are not doing so with the benevolent intention of helping people, as their public relations scheme suggests. Furthermore, they are not using peaceful means to achieve their goals, they always use force and threats to get what they want. It’s important to remember that these politicians are not impartial referees on the sidelines who have no personal interest in the decisions that they are making.