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Do Libertarians Really "Want a World Without Moral Judgments"?
Reason ^ | 03/22/2013 | Nick Gillespie

Posted on 03/22/2013 8:51:10 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

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1 posted on 03/22/2013 8:51:10 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
He seems to be saying that libertarians like moral "judgments," in the sense of each person's judging for himself what is "moral." It's another way of saying "moral relativism" ... you say tomayto, I say tomahto ...

According to this writer, what they don't like is moral norms, which come from outside the individual - indeed, outside the State - and apply to everyone, regardless of how any individual feels about them.

2 posted on 03/22/2013 8:55:04 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Now with more LOL and less UNNNGH.)
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To: SeekAndFind
No.

We just have this crazy notion that the government shouldn't need to be mommy & daddy & R. Lee Ermy to a citizenry of grown adults.

3 posted on 03/22/2013 8:59:37 AM PDT by Hemingway's Ghost (Spirit of '75)
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To: Tax-chick

The man wants MINIMAL government involvement in deciding how an individual runs his life.

He isn’t saying that there should be no moral judgments at all. He just does not want the government making laws outlawing certain kinds of behavior that does not harm to others (e.g. marijuana ).

Having said that, I don’t think you can ran a society or a country without acknowledging SOME moral norms. It might be influenced by Christian, Muslim or Ayn Randian ideas, but you cannot avoid it.


4 posted on 03/22/2013 8:59:50 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Where the hell does that come from? I just don’t want moral judgements handed down to me from the ruling elite.


5 posted on 03/22/2013 9:00:48 AM PDT by DManA
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To: Tax-chick

Moral norms are there for a reason. There is a reason we don’t think incest is a good idea.


6 posted on 03/22/2013 9:01:07 AM PDT by Viennacon
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To: SeekAndFind

Everyone makes moral judgments...they’re just not always the same.


7 posted on 03/22/2013 9:01:22 AM PDT by stuartcr ("I have habits that are older than the people telling me they're bad for me.")
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A surprisingly pathetic analysis of libertarianism in light of the extreme degrees of statism being established before our eyes.

>> But it’s time to start swatting away random accusations of libertarians as nihilists simply because we don’t sign on to every given moralistic agenda that is proposed or enacted in the name of the greater good.

Examples, Nick? Abortion, homosexual “marriage”? The former killing nascent human life; the latter requiring law to enforce compliance. A true libertarian is for the life of the unborn and opposes any law that forces citizens to service and support homosexuality.

Feel free to embrace your liberalism, Nick, but libertarianism is about enforcement, not morality.


8 posted on 03/22/2013 9:02:25 AM PDT by Gene Eric (The Palin Doctrine.)
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To: SeekAndFind

This person will not toss the god talk and judgments at them from the right, or the PC “the village” caused this and will take care of it from the left. This person will say OK it is yours, you take care of it. I do not feel it is my responsibility to pay for your mistake or support this child for the next 18 years.
The biggest motivation for finding a job is hunger.
You got it, I am one of those people. If you feed the feral Americans forever and provide them with medical and housing then they will fail in taking care of them selves. We are proving this as I type.


9 posted on 03/22/2013 9:02:40 AM PDT by oldenuff2no
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To: SeekAndFind

This will be a fun thread.


10 posted on 03/22/2013 9:04:33 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: SeekAndFind
From my vantage point, one of the things to which libertarianism is dedicated is the proliferation of moral judgments by freeing people up to the greatest degree possible to create their own ways of being in the world.

How do you get from this statement of the author's to "The man wants MINIMAL government involvement ..."?

I don't suppose for a minute that he's speaking for everyone who identifies himself as "libertarian," but it seems to me that "proliferation of moral judgments" translates to "no moral norms or standards," simply as a matter of philosophy.

11 posted on 03/22/2013 9:07:16 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Now with more LOL and less UNNNGH.)
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To: SeekAndFind; Tax-chick

Gillespie conflated the very things he should have distinguished; specifically, enforcement and morality.


12 posted on 03/22/2013 9:07:38 AM PDT by Gene Eric (The Palin Doctrine.)
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To: SeekAndFind

No matter how one cuts the pie, in practice the “Libertarian” position, devolves down to maximizing personal pleasure and the exercise of power over others.


13 posted on 03/22/2013 9:08:20 AM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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To: Viennacon
There is a reason we don’t think incest is a good idea.

I believe the author would argue that, if incest is your way of being in the world, then that is your moral judgment, and it is just as valid as anyone else's moral judgment and way of being in the world.

14 posted on 03/22/2013 9:08:58 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Now with more LOL and less UNNNGH.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Libertarians (at least small-l libertarians) want a GOVERNMENT that stays out of private matters, and specifically PERMITS individuals and companies to MAKE MORAL JUDGMENTS.

For example, the libertarian position is to support the right of a motel owner to refuse to rent to sodomites.

People confuddle government and private actors.


15 posted on 03/22/2013 9:10:23 AM PDT by TheThirdRuffian (RINOS like Romney, McCain, Dole are sure losers. No more!)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS
in practice the “Libertarian” position, devolves down to maximizing personal pleasure

No, to allowing individuals to make that choice, or not, free of government coercion.

and the exercise of power over others.

Sounds like hogwash to me - how exactly does libertarianism do that?

16 posted on 03/22/2013 9:10:54 AM PDT by JustSayNoToNannies ("The Lord has removed His judgments against you" - Zep. 3:15)
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To: Tax-chick
each person's judging for himself what is "moral."

ah yes, the lies... you will know good and evil, actually, you can DEFINE good and evil for yourself, because you are a god...

Every man's way is right in his own eyes... Prov 21:2

17 posted on 03/22/2013 9:13:43 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS
I certainly agree with that. Libertarians are a lot like Liberals -- they like their own pleasure, and they are very interested in powering over other people to get what they want. They don't like it when others coerce them but in my experience, Libertarians are forceful individuals who want what they want, and don't like it when folks get in their way. As I say: a lot like Liberals, only with a slightly different flavor.
18 posted on 03/22/2013 9:14:17 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (The ballot box is a sham. Nothing will change until after the war.)
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To: Gene Eric
... the latter [homosexual "marriage"] requiring law to enforce compliance.

It surprises me that so few people mention this point, especially among "libertarians." Under our present laws, any pair (or group) of people can live together, own property together, and designate one another as heirs or attorneys-in-fact. They can have a wedding ceremony performed by a variety of celebrants, religious and non-, if they choose, or simply draw themselves a certificate.

There is no liberty interest in the homosexual "marriage" movement. It is an authoritarian position, dedicated to using the police power of the state to force others to act against their moral or pragmatic beliefs about certain kinds of behavior.

19 posted on 03/22/2013 9:15:01 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Now with more LOL and less UNNNGH.)
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To: Tax-chick

>> “proliferation of moral judgments”

This is a bizarre example given it requires moral judgment to deem other moral judgments unacceptable.


20 posted on 03/22/2013 9:16:16 AM PDT by Gene Eric (The Palin Doctrine.)
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