10 Great Libertarians Of Film And TV
7. Daryl Kerrigan The Castle
The law of bloody common sense! The Castle is an Australian cult-classic. Ask 10 Australians what their favourite Australian film is, and I wager at least 10 of them will say The Castle. In Australia, it not being your favourite film is a bootable offence. Its the story of an everyman tow-truck driver named Daryl Kerrigan (whose name even near-rhymes with libertarian, try it), and his legal battle to protect his home from the government. The Kerrigans have built their home adjacent to the airport (Dad says it will be very convenient if we ever have to fly one day); the noise never much bothers them, trouble only comes along when a multinational corporation pairs up with the government to compulsorily acquire his land, to expand the runway. Translation: the Kerrigans are offered an arbitrary amount of money for their home, acceptance of which is not optional, what the mafia might call an offer he cant refuse. What follows is a legal battle that goes all the way to the highest court of the land. The film is an indictment on crony-capitalism and an exploration of property rights and real prices. Who, other than a homes owner, can really assess its value? How can anything be worth less than what its owner would voluntarily part with it for? Daryl Kerrigan also shows some understanding of the concept of natural law, for while he is uneducated about the Australian law (as is his bumbling lawyer), he understands innately that the seizure of his home, legal or not, defies some higher sense of right and wrong. While the politics of The Castle are thankfully secondary to its constant stream of jokes, it does have a little bit to say about the relationship between the individual and the state.