Libertarianism is a polite way of saying "anarchy". It is the old hippie mantra of "If it feels good, do it" made into a political ideology.
Way too broad of a brush. I am a small-l libertarian and I do not support the comments made by the original poster in this thread. The idea behind libertarianism is that you should be able to do what you want to do as long as it does not harm someone else. It is easy to apply this argument to smoking a joint in your own home. That harms no one. As Thomas Sowell said, homosexuals were on their strongest ground when they simply wanted the government out of their bedrooms. Now they seek to impose their sexual mores on the rest of society, and it is HARDLY a libertarian position to let them do this.
“It is easy to apply this argument to smoking a joint in your own home. That harms no one.”
I agree with you right up to the point where you step off your property stoned.
I think its also a libertarian principle to carry one’s own water.
Legalizing marijuana is going to come with costs born by taxpayers, just as alcohol currently does.
They are different drugs, so I guess as long as we’re all honest about the specific costs associated with that one that we will all be on the hook for, then how bad could legalizing marijuana be in a country with food stamps, 99 weeks of unemployment, and socialized medicine?
Really. How bad could it be?
You said:
“The idea behind libertarianism is that you should be able to do what you want to do as long as it does not harm someone else.”
This is no different than the wiccan motto - “Do As Thou Wilt but Harm None”. This motto was originated by Aliester Crowley (the beast) and is a libertine philosophy made softer by the wiccan community.
This is one of the reasons I cannot stand libertarianism. It is a cult like movement with no basis in real freedom but instead in anarchy.