Top 10 Reasons You’re Actually Libertarian
Okay, I’ve been away from the blog for a couple weeks, so let me get back to it with a Top 10 list. Many of my readers probably do not consider themselves libertarian. Maybe you think of yourself as a conservative, liberal, moderate (whatever that means), or some other political philosophy. I’m willing to bet you’re actually libertarian and just don’t realize it! So here’s my…
Top 10 Reasons You’re Actually Libertarian
10. You believe it’s inherently wrong to initiate force directly or ask someone (the government) to initiate it on your behalf; but you do believe you have the inherent right to defend yourself from aggression.
9. You can’t help but notice that gangs don’t form and start shooting each other over legal substances like alcohol and cigarettes.
8. You really hate sitting in the traffic that results from government ownership and management of roads.
7. Somewhere in the back of your mind you remember that immigration helped this country become rich.
6. You don’t believe violence is a legitimate way to achieve your goals (no matter how noble the goals or whether you’ve gotten the government to act on your behalf).
5. You believe that if you legitimately buy something (or create it from unowned resources), it’s your rightful property.
4. You believe that it’s not logically possible to have a right to something (health care, education, water, a certain wage, etc) that requires taking from someone else by force (taxes and regulations).
3. You believe that a group (government) acting on your behalf has no more rights than you do.
2. You believe that people are more productive, happy, innovative, and cooperative when subjected to fewer acts of government aggression (taxes, regulations, etc).
1. And the number 1 reason you’re actually libertarian…
You have a sneaking suspicion that everything the government touches turns to pure crap!
So, now that you know you’re libertarian, you might look into the Libertarian Party. Of course, if you’re one of my North Carolina readers, you can’t register Libertarian even if you want to since the Republicans and Democrats have gotten together and essentially banned third parties through ballot access restrictions. But you can help get the party back on the ballot by collecting signatures for the ballot access petition.
With our government expanding quickly in all areas of life and choking off our freedom and prosperity, there has never been a better time to inject libertarian principles into the debate. The Republicans and Democrats live and operate through power and the use of coercion and force. They won’t stop willingly–they must be stopped from outside the monopolistic two-party system.
Seek out your state or county Libertarian groups (many local groups are organized through Meetup.com), and get involved in some small way.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Comments
Comment from Darren
Time: September 20, 2007, 1:11 pm
David, thanks for your comments. Let me try to address your questions.
“What kind of state will it be if the poor don’t have access to education?”
I’m not sure what you mean exactly. In a free society, everyone would have access to education. Of course not everyone would choose to take advantage of that access or be able to afford the most expensive school in town. But there would be a flourishing of private educational options at every level of price and quality just as we have today with other ‘necessities’ like food and clothing. Some would choose other options for their children such as apprenticing under a tradesman. The key thing is that there’s no inherent need for everyone to get a certain type of level of education, so all would be free to choose the path the felt most appropriate for them and their children. And the economy would become more efficient and productive along the way.
”How am I protected from rogue corporation’s money? If the US is to convert to libertarianism how do the existing corporate structures adapt to an environment where money is the only power?”
I’m really not sure what you mean by being ‘protected’ from a ‘rogue corporation’s money.’ What constitutes a rogue corporation? One that initiates force against people, perhaps? And what can ‘money’ do to you that you would need ‘protection’ from it? For one thing, in a libertarian (i.e. stateless) society, corporations as entities defined and protected by the state would cease to exist. I imagine complex insurance policies and other market mechanisms would emerge to fill many of the roles that state-defined corporations currently fill. As for being protected from a person or firm using that initiates force against you, I have two brief thoughts. One is that would be extremely unlikely in a civilized free society since it would be bad business to become known for initiating force against others. Another thought is that you would turn to the private equivalent of police and courts. There would be an abundance of private security firms and private arbitrators or courts all competing to be known as the most effective, most fair, etc. If the offending business or individual (no need to assume it’s a business) doesn’t like the judgment of the arbitrator you choose, they can submit the case to their choice of arbitrators. If their arbitrator finds in favor of them, then there would probably be some sort of appeals process where a third arbitrator would make a final decision. Any business or person that wanted to remain a halfway reputable member of the community would abide by the final ruling. This is just one imaginary possibility. The great thing about a truly free society is that there’s an almost infinite variety of peaceful solutions to all problems, and we have no way of predicting exactly what will emerge in a given place at a given time. The important thing is to undo the machinations of the coercive state so that such possibilities can begin to emerge.
Finally, you say:
“I want a good world for me and my children and part of that is a country that will guarantee a bare minimum.”
Then I’m afraid you do not want a free and maximally prosperous society, because only force and coercion can ‘guarantee’ this ‘bare minimum’ you speak of. Life offers no guarantees. To use force to extract a guarantee at the expense of others is profoundly unjust.
Comment from Turner Walters
Time: September 20, 2007, 4:25 pm
The idea of guaranteeing a bare minimum sounds great in the idea of a limited state. Some small welfare programs to handle the poorest of the poor sounds like an amazing idea.
The problems come out when you realize that even if that is the state’s only responsibility, it will not be for long.
“People who believe that the state can somehow be contained have not accepted the fact that no state in history has ever been contained.”
-Stefan Molyneux
And you end up with an ever growing, ever consuming, ever more violent creature only set on increasing it’s own power.
Comment from x-er
Time: September 20, 2007, 6:14 pm
Just a quick comment. I was a registered Libertarian (in FL) but changed to Republican so I could vote for Congressman Paul in the Primaries.
Then I realized something. There are a lot of us joining the party for that reason. The party is very demoralized right now and their attendance and new memebers is at an all time low.
I think we should take the lead from Dr. Paul and all join the Republicans. Take them over from the inside. That which is about to fall deserves to be pushed. They have ballot access, we need ballot access. No one is minding the store. They won’t know what happened until it is to late.
I can even say this publically becuase they do not even realize it could happen.
Comment from Turner Walters
Time: September 20, 2007, 9:36 pm
Well, x-er, last time I checked Republicans were supposed to be small government, low tax conservatives. It sounds more to me like the neo-cons took over the republican party and we would just be taking back what is rightfully ours. 
Ron Paul 2008.
Comment from Darren
Time: September 20, 2007, 10:19 pm
Turner and x-er,
Great comments! Interesting idea about taking over (or retaking) the GOP. I’m not sure which would be faster–doing that or fighting for ballot access for the LP. Definitely worth thinking about!
Comment from Becky
Time: September 24, 2007, 11:29 am
That was very good. I intend to direct the readers of my blog over here to take a look.
~Becky
Comment from Darren
Time: September 24, 2007, 12:03 pm
Thanks, Becky! I’ve been keeping up with your blog, too (although I’ve been light on the comments).
Comment from David
Time: September 17, 2007, 9:42 pm
I hear you, many of those ideals I believe in. Two things I very much wonder about in regards to libertarianism:
What kind of state will it be if the poor don’t have access to education?
How am I protected from rogue corporation’s money? If the US is to convert to libertarianism how do the existing corporate structures adapt to an environment where money is the only power?
These are part of a number of things that concern me. I want a good world for me and my children and part of that is a country that will guarantee a bare minimum.