Why aren't more people Libertarian?

[CrazedScotsman]

Seriously, why aren't there more Libertarians out there?

Is it because people don't know what Libertarians stand for?

 

[occupied]

Seriously, why aren't there more Libertarians out there?

Is it because people don't know what Libertarians stand for?

It's because libertarians tend to be the worst kind of advertisement for their ideology, they swing wildly from incredibly permissive on big business to downright fascist on things like labor unions. American libertarians even seem to hate the ideology of the European libertarians on which they are based. In short they seem to be mainly engaged in disavowing all social responsibility and have zero regard for anyone's freedom other than their own.

 

[Steelplate]

^What he said^

 

[Paulie]

Seriously, why aren't there more Libertarians out there?

Is it because people don't know what Libertarians stand for?

It's because libertarians tend to be the worst kind of advertisement for their ideology, they swing wildly from incredibly permissive on big business to downright fascist on things like labor unions. American libertarians even seem to hate the ideology of the European libertarians on which they are based. In short they seem to be mainly engaged in disavowing all social responsibility and have zero regard for anyone's freedom other than their own.

Um, how about NO?

We don't have a problem with unions. Workers are free to unite however they want. What we have a problem with is government colluding with them.

 

[Paulie]

Not to mention, we adhere strictly to the idea of "our freedom ends where yours begins". So to claim we only care about our own freedom pretty much confirms the OP's suggestion you don't know what libertarians stand for.

 

[rightwinger]

Why is it that no country on earth is libertarian?

Because they know it is nutz

 

[Paulie]

Why is it that no country on earth is libertarian?

Because they know it is nutz

You're approaching a staggering 44,000 posts. Will you ever make a worthwhile one?

 

[occupied]

Seriously, why aren't there more Libertarians out there?

Is it because people don't know what Libertarians stand for?

It's because libertarians tend to be the worst kind of advertisement for their ideology, they swing wildly from incredibly permissive on big business to downright fascist on things like labor unions. American libertarians even seem to hate the ideology of the European libertarians on which they are based. In short they seem to be mainly engaged in disavowing all social responsibility and have zero regard for anyone's freedom other than their own.

Um, how about NO?

We don't have a problem with unions. Workers are free to unite however they want. What we have a problem with is government colluding with them.

There would be no labor unions without the government providing them with the legal protection where they can exist without being beaten in the streets. Take a look at the early history of the labor movement, before the government protected them strikes were violent, bloody affairs, now they are much more peaceful and hardly anyone gets killed by management goon squads.

 

[occupied]

Not to mention, we adhere strictly to the idea of "our freedom ends where yours begins". So to claim we only care about our own freedom pretty much confirms the OP's suggestion you don't know what libertarians stand for.

Compartmentalizing a society into a collection of tiny little separate kingdoms is pretty silly.

 

[Cowman]

All the libertarians I've met tend to be even more extreme conservative than the conservatives I've met.

 

[Politico]

This should be fun.

 

[Katzndogz]

All the libertarians I have ever met are solely concerned with making drugs legal and stopping people from exercising self defense against the drug addled.

 

[Avatar4321]

Why is it that no country on earth is libertarian?

Because they know it is nutz

Why is freedom nuts?

 

[occupied]

Why is it that no country on earth is libertarian?

Because they know it is nutz

Why is freedom nuts?

Simply? American libertarianism is the belief that anarchy can be a peaceful, wonderful way to live, nutball stuff. European libertarianism believes that the government exists to proactively protect freedom and to stamp out unfair exploitation, it's where the American libertarians differ in that the government has no domestic use.

 

[bucs90]

My 2 cents.........

I think far more people than you think are outright afraid of what the world and our society would look like without a strong government. We are NOT Iraq...but...look what happened when Saddam was gone. Chaos broke out. He was the strongman who kept it in "order".

Now, thats not us, but the idea is. Our government, for all its wrongs and annoyances, keeps a fairly civil order here. I mean...honestly, America is full of every ethnic group on Earth, we are the most heavily armed society on the planet...but we live in relative peace and safety.

People call 911 over barking dogs. Over their "out of control" 10 year old kids. They consume FAR more government than they think. They just dont realize it because they are caught up with American Idol and the NFL. People profess to hate govt peddling in other peoples business.....UNTIL they find out that a strip club or gun range wants to open up on their block, and then they petition for the govt to deny the business permit.

I think the more independent minded a person is, the more likely they are to lean libertarian. But MOST people are not that independent. Most LIKE the fact that cops patrol our streets at night, that if a fire breaks out we wont have to use the neighbors water hose to put it out. They LIKE the fact that the govt will zone areas to keep nightclubs away from subdivisions, strip clubs away from schools. They like public school access. They like hardcore drugs being illegal.

For the majority of people, they LIKE the government having a fairly strong hand in keeping society civil. They may not admit it, or realize it immediately, but when they think hard about it...they do.

 

[bucs90]

Why is it that no country on earth is libertarian?

Because they know it is nutz

Why is freedom nuts?

Total Freedom = Survival of the fittest.

Our people dont want survival of the fittest.

The 18 year old college girl who gets raped should not have to track down her attacker, or her father have to do it. In TOTAL FREEDOM, that would be the case. Vigilante justice.

I DONT WANT to just hope and pray that the food company I bought from is being honest in their ingredient list. If they have aspartame in their shit, I want to know. But only a govt body is gonna force that. I suppose a private sector watchdog could do...BUT that hasn't happened yet.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Several reasons I think. For starters, some people simply disagree with what we have to say. Obviously you can't convince everybody you're right, so there is that. That aside, however, I think it boils down to a couple key things.

Many people, maybe even most people, have no idea what a libertarian is, meaning that they've never even heard the word before. I can't tell you how many times I've told people I'm a libertarian and they say "What's that?" Then there's a lot of misinformation out there, and many of the replies in this thread are evidence of this. I walked into my history class a few weeks ago and the professor had written on the board the words "Conservative" and "Liberal," and underneath both words was the word "Libertarian." He made the case that libertarians can either be conservative or liberal, rather than having their own distinct ideology. Then he told the class that the greatest promoter of libertarianism from the mid-20th century was probably William F. Buckley. Hopefully I don't have to explain why that's ridiculous. I couldn't believe it, but that's what the rest of the students in that class took away from him about libertarianism, my protests not withstanding.

Also, I think libertarianism is a bit of a shock to the system even when it's not being demagogued by charlatans. Our positions are radically different from what you get with your typical liberal or conservative, and some people just can't conceive that what we're saying is possible. People in general, myself and all other libertarians included, are not as open to new or different ideas as they would like to believe.

 

[occupied]

Several reasons I think. For starters, some people simply disagree with what we have to say. Obviously you can't convince everybody you're right, so there is that. That aside, however, I think it boils down to a couple key things.

Many people, maybe even most people, have no idea what a libertarian is, meaning that they've never even heard the word before. I can't tell you how many times I've told people I'm a libertarian and they say "What's that?" Then there's a lot of misinformation out there, and many of the replies in this thread are evidence of this. I walked into my history class a few weeks ago and the professor had written on the board the words "Conservative" and "Liberal," and underneath both words was the word "Libertarian." He made the case that libertarians can either be conservative or liberal, rather than having their own distinct ideology. Then he told the class that the greatest promoter of libertarianism from the mid-20th century was probably William F. Buckley. Hopefully I don't have to explain why that's ridiculous. I couldn't believe it, but that's what the rest of the students in that class took away from him about libertarianism, my protests not withstanding.

Also, I think libertarianism is a bit of a shock to the system even when it's not being demagogued by charlatans. Our positions are radically different from what you get with your typical liberal or conservative, and some people just can't conceive that what we're saying is possible. People in general, myself and all other libertarians included, are not as open to new or different ideas as they would like to believe.

The retarded American libertarianism that rejects all government power as leftist is not in any way an accepted theory in the social sciences, Beck invented that shit and he never even went to school.

 

[Avatar4321]

Why is it that no country on earth is libertarian?

Because they know it is nutz

Why is freedom nuts?

Total Freedom = Survival of the fittest.

Our people dont want survival of the fittest.

The 18 year old college girl who gets raped should not have to track down her attacker, or her father have to do it. In TOTAL FREEDOM, that would be the case. Vigilante justice.

I DONT WANT to just hope and pray that the food company I bought from is being honest in their ingredient list. If they have aspartame in their shit, I want to know. But only a govt body is gonna force that. I suppose a private sector watchdog could do...BUT that hasn't happened yet.

People have odd definitions of freedom.

 

[Avatar4321]

The retarded American libertarianism that rejects all government power as leftist is not in any way an accepted theory in the social sciences, Beck invented that shit and he never even went to school.

Except that's not the position of Beck or Libertarians. So why do you feel the need to lie about their positions?