The Trick Called Libertarianism: How The Private Sector Wants to Enslave You
Do you consider yourself a libertarian, a lover of freedom and liberty, a private sector/small government conservative? Well, something is rotten in Denmark.
To all of you Ron Paul fans and followers:
"Modern libertarianism is the disguise adopted by those who wish to exploit without restraint. It pretends that only the state intrudes on our liberties. It ignores the role of banks, corporations and the rich in making us less free. It denies the need for the state to curb them in order to protect the freedoms of weaker people. This bastardized, one-eyed philosophy is a con trick, whose promoters attempt to wrongfoot justice by pitching it against liberty. By this means they have turned 'freedom' into an instrument of oppression." George Monbiot, British writer and activist.
Before you decide that you want a very small government, just remember this: A true democracy brings tyranny to the minority. Only a republican-type democratic government can be of any value to its people.
For more info on libertarianism, click here.
Libertarianism is little more than a shell game. It is nice to see this con getting the attention it deserves.
ReplyDeleteBrimshack: Yes. It's been a ruse for a long time. Anything Ayn Rand-sian is a joke.
ReplyDeleteThe foundation of libertarianism is the non-aggression principle. They apply it to both governments AND private entities (banks, corporations, etc).
ReplyDeleteThus he idea that a libertarian society would be "oppressed" by private groups is foolish, and generally a result of misunderstanding on the part of non-libertarians.
Libertarians do direct most of their ire toward government, mainly because governments are by far the most coercive, aggressive, and violent organizations in the world. A quick tally of war deaths in the last few centuries (many millions) makes this point very strongly.
Anon.: Has libertarianism ever been implemented enough in any given society to be well tested? Because on the surface, the cons seem to outweigh the pros.
ReplyDeletePure libertarianism? Not that I know of.
ReplyDeleteHowever, ibertarian scholars (see Rothbard, Mises, Rockwell, and Hayek) show a strong relationship between liberty and prosperity, which suggests that we should want to expand freedom and liberty in our societies.
What libertarians do note, and writers like Manbiot often ignore, is that when corporations defile the public interest it is almost always with the help of corrupt and compliant government (via lobbyist, and general political corruption).
Anon.: You make a good point about the corrupt and compliant governments, but the very same corporations are yelling for even more 'freedom.' I watched a great documentary on PBS last evening featuring the Adirondack parks and New York's efforts to keep the parks usable into the future. Lots of fights on the part of profiteers, both large and small. Without state intervention, the logging companies would have turned that part of New York into a wasteland as they nearly did most of the West in the 19th and early 20th centuries. We cannot allow complete free enterprise or so called Trickle Down economics. We need government. And regulations. IMHO. Thanks again for the thoughtful comments.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting documentary. I would encourage you and your readers to watch and read more libertarian viewpoints, they make very strong arguments as well.
ReplyDeleteMost of us have heard countless pro-government/pro-intervention viewpoints, yet very little fair presentation of libertarian ideas. It is virtually impossible to reach thoughtful conclusions when that is the case.
Happy learning.
Anon.: At the bottom of my article here, I posted a click to more info on libertarianism. It's a brief rundown of pros and cons. I thought it was enough for this space. Did you click on it? Please do so and let me know what you think...
ReplyDeleteYour post makes many assumptions that are untrue. First, libertarians don't reject the republican form of government adopted by the U.S. through the Constitution. Second, libertarians embrace individual rights (usually inalienable natural rights) as the core protection against the tyranny of the majority. Third, your post presumes that the private sector can "enslave" the people; and yet, private entities have no power to enslave anybody. The private sector functions through voluntary cooperation and interaction--not force. A corporation can't enslave you, it can't restrain your liberty, it can't arrest you, it can't show up at your house with a gun and force you to do its will.
ReplyDeleteI'm adding two comments here, one for each side of the issue. First, Monbiot again... http://www.monbiot.com/2012/01/06/why-libertarians-must-deny-climate-change/
ReplyDeleteAnd the opposing team... http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/philosophy/why-george-monbiot-is-wrong-about-libertarianism
ReplyDeleteGotta play fair.