Posted on 12/25/2005 4:45:24 PM PST by plain talk
Judging by GOP spending habits the Elephants certainly haven't come close to heeding that (small gov't) gospel.
You "assume" too much in an attempt to make your point. Does the govt have any reason to assume they can take private property to increase their tax base? Does the govt have any reason to regulate businesses to tell them they can't permit smokers on their premises? Just a few examples of where we're going in this country. I subscribe to the theory that I'm responsible for my own welfare. That's a somewhat quaint attitude these days.
Some libertarians self-identify as anarcho-capitalists, but the problem is that the term "anarchist" has already been preempted by socialist proponents of mob rule. So I agree with you, but only because the word "anarchist" is itself so ambiguous.
That's a profound point. Tarring libertarians (including even the anarcho-capitalists) with the claim that they will abolish all government is a pernicious sort of slippery-slope argument. One made more appealing by the fact that the anarcho-capitalists would agree with them. We can always shrink government without any fear whatsoever of it disappearing.
Libertarians believe that government should exist to protect property rights, including the right to exist. Pick up the book Atlas Shrugged, the longest book I have ever read but totally changed my outlook on life and the role of governemnt
For libertarians there is essentially one law: keep your hands to yourself. That implies laws against murder, rape, assault, robbery, fraud, kidnapping, and any other manifestation of coercive force. The idea that libertarians are lawless is a straw man.
It's horse manure.
Without some form of government-enforced morality libertarian philosophy will inevitably decay into anarchy.
Even with the power of a church people cannot and will not regulate themselves. Period.
Now I'm a pragmatic conservative.
"For libertarians there is essentially one law: keep your hands to yourself. That implies laws against murder, rape, assault, robbery, fraud, kidnapping, and any other manifestation of coercive force. The idea that libertarians are lawless is a straw man."
No straw man attempted...I fully understand libertarian belief in property rights and laws againt rape, murder etc, and there was nothing in my argument to indicate that I thought libertarians to be lawless.
Now about those other pesky laws I refer to...and regulatory agencies...by ommission I assume (there I go again) that you do not, as a libertarian, approve of these laws and agencies.
It's not libertarianism that has a problem. It's Libertarinaism.
libertarianism is consistent conservativism, unlike modern Republicans.
I suggest you evaluate your own prejudice, sport.
Your opinion. You're entitled to it.
Hell, most Libertarians I've encountered are just pseudo-conservatives who wanna smoke dope and not pay taxes.
For most people libertarianism is an experiment -- or more exactly a set of experiments -- that can succeed or fail based on the circumstances or details involved. For the "real" libertarians, libertarianism is a philosophy dictated by morality. For many it's the only moral form of government, and for some libertarianism is identical with morality. I don't think most of us can accept that. Then there are those who excuse the failures of libertarian policies because government is always hidden away somewhere distorting the free workings of markets, just as socialists blamed their failures on the remaining vestiges of capitalism. If libertarianism has a future it's with those who try to make specific libertarian policies work under specific circumstances, not with those for whom it is the only valid form of government, way of life or system of ethics.
As for religion and politics, religion is strong in the US because we don't have an established church. If government takes more steps to honor religion, and if piety and devotion become matters of state policy, rather than individuals' and families' free choices, it's possible that people will turn against churches. I wouldn't mind prayers in the public schools, but looking at history it does look as though compulsory religion provokes serious negative reactions.
I assume you mean these: "prostitution, drugs, gay marriage, polygamy, etc"?
There's more than one way to answer the question. I'm for banning all of those things, and for legally forcing everyone to convert to my religion as well. At least, I pray for the coming of Messiah, who will do just that. On the other hand, I don't want Teddy the Swimmer to enforce a single religion, because the big oaf will pick the wrong one (namely, not mine).
Since I don't trust governments to legislate the right morality--namely, mine--I would generally rather that they stay out of that business entirely. Most libertarians that I know disapprove of drugs and prostitution, but believe that government shouldn't be involved unless force comes into the picture. IOW, legalize it and then preach against it.
Rather than untie the gordian knot, I ignore the problem entirely: I preach against prostitution and other immorality, and I divorce myself from the doings of government. But from the sidelines I continue to point out that there's way too much of it out there.
I can't believe I made all the way through that steaming pile of excrement without puking.
That's the lesson of the book of judges. Many libertarians will agree with you, though; they would merely ask, "Are you so sure that it would be worse than the oppression that exists today?" I don't know the answer to that question. In the absense of Messiah, no human system is ultimately workable. I'm reluctant to say which would be better than what.
Excellent, excellent post.
It's fine, champ.
That's interesting because I DID NOT post those key words. I posted only one key word - libertarianism.
Admin - how did all those other key words got attached to this article?
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