Why Is Libertarianism Wrong?

http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/libertarian.html ^

[Maceman]

A libertarian is a conservative who smokes pot. Hardly a sufficient distinction to justify the animosity conservatives display for libertarians here on FR.

I think that if everything that conservatives and libertarians agree on became law in the US today, all of us here would be VERY pleased.

Then we could debate the fringe differences at our leisure.

[Exnihilo]

bump

[El Sordo]

Is it just me or does this article boil down to: "You need a ruling class to tell people what's what."

[francisandbeans]

Gee...wasnt it you that posted the (now pulled) 'what is with all of the libertrian conservative threads here' thread?

What is wrong with you...are you bipolar?

[Exnihilo]

bump

[Exnihilo]

Just a post to stimulate discussion. Nobody seemed to have a problem with it after I asked. Enjoy!

[Southack]

No, no, no. I do not care to spend my time arguing with libertarians. Those people love the sound of the last word far too much for my tastes.

But if there were a couple of tangible problems with them, I'd place:

1. that they always want revolutionary change rather than baby steps (in an "all or nothing" game, they have too little power to get it all, and that leaves "nothing" everytime),
2. they consistently misinterpret the Constitution (e.g., they think that the phrase "general welfare" has ZERO meaning),
3. they constantly cry wolf about nebulous, unnamed freedoms that they think they've lost

at the top of my list of problems with them.

They are idealists. They argue for a perfect world, and I find that pursuit unrealistic.

[Exnihilo]

I posted this to stimulate a lively discussion, since that's what people seem to enjoy. Enjoy!

[francisandbeans]

No, they'll wait until I type up 16 paragraphs of analysis and pull it in between the preview and post page.

[Exnihilo]

I found this quite illuminating.

libertarian image	libertarian reality
Image: non-coercion, no initiation of force	Reality: libertarians legitimise economic injustice, by refusing to define it as coercion or initiated force
Image: moral autonomy of the individual	Reality: libertarians demand that the individual accept the outcome of market forces
Image: political freedom	Reality: some form of libertarian government, imposing libertarian policies on non-libertarians
Image: libertarians condemn existing states as oppressive	Reality: libertarians use the political process in existing states to implement their policies
Image: benefits of libertarianism	Reality: libertarians claim the right to decide for others, what constitutes a 'benefit'

[Aquinasfan]

The central problem with libertarianism is that God doesn't give anyone the "right" to do anything intrinsically evil.

[f.Christian]

Libertarians is liberalism redressed as a flair--cloak with anarchy under the skirt!

[Southack]

"No, they'll wait until I type up 16 paragraphs of analysis and pull it in between the preview and post page."

Tell me about it. If there is ONE THING that Free Republic admins could improve upon, it would be to post a WARNING on a thread in ADVANCE of it being pulled.

That way, people could Save the thread (for those who already made the effort to comment) and others would know not to invest too much into further thoughtful comments on the thread.

[FreedomIsSimple]

Libertarians say they are against coercion, but they support the free market. The introduction of a free market in Russia after 1989, lead to an excess mortality of about 3 million people. I call that force (and not defensive or retaliatory force): libertarians do not. Some US employers require their employees to smile at all customers, or lose their job. I call that coercion: libertarians call it freedom of contract.

Well, this shows what side of the political spectrum this moron is writing from. I suppose he would have preferred that Russia stayed with their oh-so-lovely command economic system. Socialism is always wrong and a socialist state always oppresses and kills its citizens - something this statist author would do well to remember. And requring an employee to smile somehow being force? I suppose that this author would prefer that a government committee decide every aspect of the employer-employee relationship.

Is this the best mindless libertarian bashing article you can manage? Come on, at least don't post critiques from communists!!

[El Sordo]

Nothing wrong with that.

I checked out some of the author's other writings. Now some of that stuff would really make for a violent thread!

[steve-b]

"economic injustice"

You typed in the wrong URL. Your DUmpster home is over here.