[f.Christian]

... Manisfesto---of Lucas Helder!

[Joe Bonforte]

Sorry, wrong number. Libertarians are not the monolithic group this author believed. And he makes libertarian philosophy roughly equivalent to anarchy, which is not true.

Yes, I'm sure there are a few libertarians so extreme as to be indistinguishable from anarchist. But they are a tiny minority.

In fact, his description of what a conservative is sounds much like typical libertarian positions:

Both libertarians and conservatives believe that only a free market can produce widespread prosperity: neither believe in vast coercive redistributive schemes which are self-defeating— the intended beneficiaries hardly benefit— and (libertarians believe) immoral. Both believe that people are entitled to whatever they can earn in a free market: that individuals should have the right, singly or incorporate groups to own, produce, buy, and sell whatever they wish, at whatever prices they can get and to hire whomever they wish, at whatever wages are acceptable, with a minimum (none for libertarians) of government regulation or monopoly. Both groups believe that economic freedom is essential not just to prosperity and efficience but also to individual freedom. "Liberals" make the government the star player.

I'm sorry, but I see many officeholders that call themselves "conservative" that do not believe in the principles outlined above. They support the current high levels of taxation. They support continued intrusiveness of the federal government, in the name of such monstrosties as the drug war.

Conservatives see the government as umpire, or rule-maker, -interpreter, and -enforcer. Libertarians feel that the game goes better without an umpire.

This is flat out not true. Libertarians completely understand the need for a system of courts and law enforcement. Some idealistic libertarians do believe that private alternatives would work better, but they also know that's an academic point until we get the government back to constitutional minimums. Many so-called "conservatives" seem mostly to have given up on getting that far, or even going in the right direction.

[zoyd]

"Liberals" make the government the star player. Conservatives see the government as umpire, or rule-maker, -interpreter, and -enforcer. Libertarians feel that the game goes better without an umpire.

This was the first warning sign that the author has a poor conception of libertarianism.

Libertarians oppose public courts, laws, police, armies, roads, parks, education, health. They want no government whatsoever.

And this clinches it. Why not just call libertarians "anarchists" and save the bandwidth, you know?

[A2J]

However, utopian, thought can be dangerous. The desired Utopia cannot he achieved: but the destruction of an existing society may be. And it is quite likely to be succeeded by a worse one.

Beautifully said.

Libertarianism would spell the death of our nation and must be rejected.

[Roscoe]

"Conservatives believe that (limited) constitutional government is essential "to secure these rights"— to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Libertarians repudiate this insight of the Founding Fathers."

Well said.

[Roscoe]

Friedrich von Hayek writes: "Freedom is an artifact of civilization made possible by the gradual evolution of discipline [which] protects [man] by impersonal abstract rules against arbitrary violence. . . . Since we owe the order of our society to the tradition of rules which we only imperfectly understand, all progress must be based on tradition."

Another good quote.

[A.J.Armitage]

The major problem is that he takes Rothbard's claim that he and his followers alone were libertarians seriously. Rothbard was just trying to hijack the word, which is typical of anarchists. They tend to be nasty people.

[Roscoe]

Libertarians rely on the rationality of individuals, thought of as rational economic calculators — actually on the rationality of the living— to supply all the bonds and norms that are presently generated and enforced by the traditional social institutions.

That bears repeating.

[Tribune7]

Good article

[takenoprisoner]

Do you believe Ernest van den Haag was a conservative?

[Wonder Warthog]

"Libertarians oppose all taxes and all public services (not always the services, but always their public, legal, and tax-paid character). Libertarians favor activities only when volunteered or privately coerced. 1 Libertarians oppose public courts, laws, police, armies, roads, parks, education, health. They want no government whatsoever."

Geez, there are more lies and strawmen in this paragraph than I have yet seen in one place on Free Republic. This twit has obviously confused Libertarianism with Anarchism.