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To: f.Christian
Where do libertarians demand moral responsibility?

Where does libertarianism demand moral responsibility?

23 posted on 05/16/2002 6:08:28 PM PDT by f.Christian
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To: f.Christian

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24 posted on 05/16/2002 6:10:16 PM PDT by Luis Gonzalez
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To: f.Christian
Where does libertarianism demand moral responsibility?

I'll give it a shot.
Libertarianism demands that individuals take the full consequences of their actions and decisions, while at the same time stating that individuals can make any decision or action that does not directly harm another.

These consequences include death by overdose, starving, or accident in the case of drug use.
Promiscuous sex results in disease or death or pregnancy which lower the quality of life.
Committing crimes and denying others the rights to live in liberty results in imprisonment or death by the defender (victim with a gun).

Our current society provides all sorts of ways that other people must shoulder the consequences of an individual's immorality. This is not done directly, but through a taxing system that punishes good decisions and supports poor decisions.
Remove that system of support for bad (immoral) decisions, and people die due to their immorality. This only happens for a short time though, as people see the consequences are to be borne by the individual, not by society.
The general level of morality in society rises because of the survival factor. Immoral behavior leads to bad or deadly consequences. Moral behavior leads to a good life.

Remove the safety net, as libertarians promote.
After this, increased individual liberty does not lead to immorality because such behavior has undesirable consequences.

25 posted on 05/17/2002 6:49:28 AM PDT by MrB
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To: f.Christian
I think you misunderstand one of the primary tenents of libertarianism. It is not about morality, it is about government. I am a strong believer in morality, and I believe it is my job to try and convince the immoral of the error of their ways. However, it is oppression to use the government to enforce that morality. I want a world that is free of coercion. I want to be free to stand in front of the "koffee house" and try and convince people not to go in, not make it illegal for them to go in. Once you start legislating morality, it takes a simple majority to be sworn in and a whole new morality becomes the law of the land. People should be free to make whatever ridiculous mistakes they choose to, as long as it does not infringe on my freedom. It is my moral obligation to try and convince them of the truth, not use "the barrel of a gun" (i.e. the government) to convince them. I want people to believe, not obey. We could have a perfectly moral society if we were willing to give up all freedom. Bottom line, libertarians are all about freedom from government oppression, not freedom from personal responsiblity, morality, or promiscuity as some of the threads seem to imply.
39 posted on 05/22/2002 8:55:49 AM PDT by armedandtotallysafe
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