Fred’s Cozy Little Nook

“being harassed by the police, the IRS, the child “protective” services” is not part of the political philosophy of ANY party, they are problems. We agree that these are problems. Anarchy however (Which libertarianism is a form of), isn’t the solution.

What I hear from Libertarians is that people should be allowed as much freedom to succeed as possible, and government activity (of any kind) can act only to restrict that freedom. The other side of that statement is that someone should be free to fail, to starve, to die. I reject the notion that those are freedoms. Someone with the freedom to starve to death is not more free than someone who collects money from the government, as this person can now buy food. Heartless, isn’t it, that government dependence? Moreover, Libertarian ideology not only says that it’s OK for this to happen, but that it’s the RIGHT outcome because it was the result of a pure and perfect system. Again, I reject that notion outright.

If we transformed overnight into a Libertarian society, the people who would do the best are the ones who are ALREADY doing the best. So of course it ends up being THOSEpeople who want to see such reform. That is why I call it self-serving. And no amount of charity work, although noble an endeavor in itself, will correct that error.

My Response

Well, we can go back and forth forever over semantics and the definition of words, and totally miss the point.

1. The problems of government cannot be ignored. In Libertarianism, government has a specific function — basically, to protect us from each other and to protect the country in general from external aggressors. Outside of that, government should but out of our private lives as long as we are not harming anyone against their will.

2. Yes, I agree, a transition to complete libertarianism overnight would be disastrous for many, but that is not what I am proposing. It would not be any more successful than what the US is doing trying to ram “democracy” down the throats of countries that have never known democracy.

3. Central to success of Libertarianism is self responsibility. You have to agree that if everyone — or at least a good majority — acts responsibly in all things, you’d need far less government than you have today.

4. Another problem with government is it is next to impossible to eliminate a department/ministry/agency once its instituted and firmly entrenched, even if the need for it goes away. Like a cancer, government has this annoying tendency to grow and grow without bound. And if you’ve been paying attention, the US government is probably the worst offender with regards to growing new departments, agencies, and bureaucracies without bound. Not to mention the quality of service goes downhill because the extract tax dollars from you and I at gunpoint.

5. Libertarianism is not anarchy. It is a minimalist approach to government, not the complete elimination of it. There’s a huge difference, and there are those who wish to scare you by trying desperately to muddy up the waters on the distinction.

6. We are all essentially selfish creatures, and we are motivated best by selfish reasons. In all actions that humans choose to do there is always an underlying selfish component, even if it’s nothing more than the satisfaction of helping your fellow humans. I freely admit this is what motivates me to help others.

7. Many fear change and wish to cling to the status quo, because they cannot imagine the alternative. There is a better way, but the better way will never see the light of day because the rank-and-file will fight against it out of fear, clinging even stronger to the status quo, and thus nothing will ever be accomplished.

I propose a solution that I need to work out the details on, but basically it has to do with ending geographic monopolies current governments exerts over us. We must have the freedom to choose association and alligence without having to change our geography. This is a very dangerous idea because nearly all current governments will rail against the notion, but think for a moment of the advantages:

1. Wars would become infeasible because your own citizens may be living in the land.

2. Governments would have to actually compete for our citizenship. Think of how much would improve!

3. Governments all over would have to think more business-like and trim down their bureaucracies to run smoothly and efficiently. No excuses.

4. If you don’t like any of the existing governments, you can always start your own. Or even be stateless.

5. If a government is misbehaving, simply disassociate without having to move anywhere.

Poverty and the Poor

To address your — and mine as well — concerns about the poor and poverty in general, one must look at the root cause of such. Basically, the root problem lies in the very real fact that it is nearly impossible to do subsistence living these days. Everything you own is taxed to death, and even your real estate is taxed annually even after you’ve paid off the loan. This forces you either to continue to work or secure an income by other means, or to be homeless. The elderly are kicked out of the very homes they’ve spent a lifetime in for no other reason than not being able to pay the ever-increasing property tax. Is that fair? And who is doing this to them? Libertarians? I don’t think so. Under the Libertarian approach they would be able to remain in their homes because there would be no frelling property tax.

Well, that’s enough for now. I should put much of this in a blog somewhere, as this is even more off-topic than my original post!!!!