Difference between revisions of "What Is Libertarianism?"
From Critiques Of Libertarianism
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"Liberty" is the rhetorical tool of choice that unites libertarians: it can back any claim they make, no matter how bizarre. Libertarians have no single claim in common except this rhetoric, and they can gloss over their conflicting beliefs through the persuasion of their own rhetoric of liberty. | "Liberty" is the rhetorical tool of choice that unites libertarians: it can back any claim they make, no matter how bizarre. Libertarians have no single claim in common except this rhetoric, and they can gloss over their conflicting beliefs through the persuasion of their own rhetoric of liberty. | ||
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| + | == Wishful Thinking == | ||
| + | Many libertarians paint a picture of a libertarian future that is just like today, except much richer and without government. Government in society is the equivalent of a [[wikipedia:keystone species]] in ecology. Remove government and society will change radically. Government is responsible for the creation of middle classes, infrastructure, defense, human rights, etc. Government combats the rise of coercion for private ends and brings about limits to externalities such as pollution. These are problems where significant market failures exist, and market solutions have rarely worked. A libertarian future would be different enough that the transition would be perhaps as painful as the Soviet change to capitalism, and few would be certain of their position in the new society. | ||
== A Rightwing Populist Movement In Miniature == | == A Rightwing Populist Movement In Miniature == | ||
