The problem is you run into this little problem that John Adams pointed out about our great Constitution.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --October 11, 1798 John Adams
“For government to “leave us alone” will require the People of this country to learn, once and for all, that government is the answer to nothing: “that government is best which governs least.”
The problem is you run into this little problem that John Adams pointed out about our great Constitution.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” —October 11, 1798 John Adams”
Exactly, itsahoot. That quote from Adams really hits the nail on the head.
I actually like libertarians and enjoy reading much of their philosophical work. I find Ayn Rand very fascinating. However, ultimately their philosophy turns out to be as unrealistic as the socialists since social liberalism by its nature requires economic liberalism/statism.
I don’t consider that a problem, insofar as you don’t appear to understand the historical context underpinning his argument.
John Adams wasn’t arguing that the Constitution was tailor-made to be used as a blunt instrument to squeeze morality out of the People, independent of the already-existing morality of the People. It is precisely that type of “top-down” moral tyranny that the early colonists escaped.
What Adams meant was that a Constitution that assigned limited powers to government could only function adequately where a People had the ability to exercise self-restraint, self-control, and self-discipline. In the absence of such a People, only a tyrannical government (an absolute monarchy, a dictatorship a la Cromwell) could maintain law and order.
You can use the Constitution to impose a form of “moral socialism” on the People, but such would not be a Constitutional Republic as defined by our Founding Fathers. On the other hand, you can have a Constitutional Republic where the boundaries imposed on government are jealously maintained, but you would need to give up using the State to enforce your vision of a moral utopia.