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Libertarianism for Beginners
Townhall.com ^ | July 6, 2016 | John Stossel

Posted on 07/06/2016 4:42:52 AM PDT by Kaslin

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1 posted on 07/06/2016 4:42:52 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Liberia and 1990s Cambodia are good examples of libertarian societies.


2 posted on 07/06/2016 4:50:29 AM PDT by Ethan Clive Osgoode (Nuke Saudi Arabia now)
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To: Kaslin

A person should wonder why there haven’t been any successful libertarian societies.

Whatever happened to the Free State Project?


3 posted on 07/06/2016 4:57:30 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: Kaslin

“Your body, like all your property, should be yours to do with as you please so long as you do not harm the body or property of others without their permission,” writes Seavey.

That’s fine, but he left out the part about taking full responsibility for harm done to one’s own body (or property) while doing as one pleases. In our society, if someone suffers harm from making stupid decisions, property is taken from others without their permission in order to help the poor unfortunate.

That is why genuine libertarianism cannot operate in this society.


4 posted on 07/06/2016 5:02:05 AM PDT by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: Kaslin

A few other liberal basics:

The law does not apply to us.
Apply emotion as the basis for all governmental decisions
Silence the opposition
Destroy the opposition
Create and perpetuate victim classes
Regulate everything
Control the general population because liberals are smarter than them.


5 posted on 07/06/2016 5:10:29 AM PDT by Sasparilla (Hillary for Prison 2016)
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To: Kaslin

Of course libertarianism is not liberalism


6 posted on 07/06/2016 5:11:45 AM PDT by Sasparilla (Hillary for Prison 2016)
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To: Kaslin

He left out some things, such as: Heroin should be legal, the borders should be wide open, homosexual drill sergeants are a good idea, etc.


7 posted on 07/06/2016 5:16:11 AM PDT by MSF BU (Support the troops: Join Them.)
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To: Kaslin

The biggest prob w/libertarians is the drug legalization.

I put that fight in the same vein as amnesty.

To me, there is absolutely no point in discussing amnesty until the border is controlled.

Per dope, no point in discussing legalization until the end of the welfare state.

Courts have consistently shot down state laws attempting to deny benefits to drug users.

So, I believe legalizing dope would have the effect of putting more folks on the dole, just like amnesty.


8 posted on 07/06/2016 5:22:33 AM PDT by fruser1
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To: fruser1

What clause in the Constitution allows the federal government to prohibit intoxicants?


9 posted on 07/06/2016 5:40:37 AM PDT by Daveinyork
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To: Moonman62
"A person should wonder why there haven’t been any successful libertarian societies."

Not everyone, or even a majority, is willing to accept responsibility for their own success and are more than willing to mooch a living if they can.

There are always those that will organize the moochers to loot the treasuries of the producers.

It is left as an exercise for you to determine which people and what organizations are:

A) Producers
B) Moochers
C) Looters

Compassion for our fellow man is largely what prevents us from establishing a truly free society where many would literally starve.

10 posted on 07/06/2016 5:43:38 AM PDT by Aevery_Freeman (Historians will refer to this administration as "The Half-Black Plague.")
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To: Daveinyork

None, but I’m not willing to subsidize someone who decides to sit around and be stoned or hung over all day. Hence my opinion.

The constitution DOES allow congress to enact laws. As such drug laws are statutory, not constitutional.


11 posted on 07/06/2016 5:44:21 AM PDT by fruser1
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To: Daveinyork

Elaboration via analogy,

There is nothing in the constitution, federal or state, that says I can’t take your property. The constitutions only prevents the government from taking your property without due process.

However, since the constitutions establish a congress that is granted the authority to enact laws, state congresses have made theft illegal.


12 posted on 07/06/2016 5:49:48 AM PDT by fruser1
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To: Ethan Clive Osgoode

dead on accurate.


13 posted on 07/06/2016 5:51:29 AM PDT by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: Kaslin

Losertarians.


14 posted on 07/06/2016 5:55:58 AM PDT by Drango (A liberal's compassion is limited only by the size of someone else's wallet.)
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To: Daveinyork

The exact same clause that allows welfare programs of any sort. Including guaranteed medical care.

You get rid of those and drug addiction regulates itself, by terminating addicts through overdose (Or death when whoever they are robbing shoots them) at an early age. Relive the 1870s.


15 posted on 07/06/2016 5:56:41 AM PDT by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: Kaslin

libertarianism for beginners?

ok, here it is... “legalize everything, especially drugs!”

that’s pretty much it and that’s pretty much why i’m not a libertarian and never will be. i think the legalization of marijuana is a ticking timebomb, and although the war on drugs has been mostly a failure of epic proportions, that’s only because it was waged by a huge and bloated bureaucracy and it was constantly stymied by the courts and the ACLU and other leftwingers who didn’t want it to succeed. it also perversely rewarded and protected LEOs for trampling on our freedoms... but i don’t really want to get into this debate right now. suffice to say, as a Coloradan, i’m exceedingly embarrassed that the rest of the country thinks of my state as a place to vacation to for recreational drug use.


16 posted on 07/06/2016 6:11:46 AM PDT by TangibleDisgust ("To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." - Voltaire)
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To: Aevery_Freeman

Don’t libertarians produce a parasitic drain on a functioning society by maximizing their selfishness?


17 posted on 07/06/2016 6:20:00 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Make America Great Again!)
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To: HartleyMBaldwin
That’s fine, but he left out the part about taking full responsibility for harm done to one’s own body (or property) while doing as one pleases. In our society, if someone suffers harm from making stupid decisions, property is taken from others without their permission in order to help the poor unfortunate.

That would be covered under "harm to other's property".

Perhaps it isn't explicit in this article, but it's explicit in the Libertarian Party platform:

Individuals own their bodies and have rights over them that other individuals, groups, and governments may not violate. Individuals have the freedom and responsibility to decide what they knowingly and voluntarily consume, and what risks they accept to their own health, finances, safety, or life.

All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. We call for the repeal of the income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution. We oppose any legal requirements forcing employers to serve as tax collectors.

But, you are correct: libertarianism is incompatible with "welfare", "Obamacare", and even "Medicare" and "Social Security". So, it would be difficult in today's society, with 47% dependent on one or more of these redistribution programs.

18 posted on 07/06/2016 6:23:47 AM PDT by justlurking
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To: Ethan Clive Osgoode
Liberia and 1990s Cambodia are good examples of libertarian societies.

As was the United States prior to 1913-02-03.

19 posted on 07/06/2016 6:25:24 AM PDT by justlurking
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To: Kaslin

From Futurama
“Lets join the Reform Party and buy internet stocks on margin”


20 posted on 07/06/2016 6:28:28 AM PDT by Zathras
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