Difference between revisions of "What Is Libertarianism?"

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(An Unusual Preference for Certain Liberties)
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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.
  
== A Rightwing Populist Movement In Miniature ==
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== A Long-Running Public Relations Campaign ==
While libertarians may profess socially left ideas such as freedom of choice, their right-conservatism becomes obvious if you ask them what parts of the right-wing economic agenda they'd be willing to sacrifice to realize their left social goals. They just won't give up their opposition to government and taxation, nor will they give up their allegiance to absolute property. No matter what social goals you propose in exchange.
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The extent of libertarianism today is largely the result of decades-long public relations campaigns that have been working on insinuating libertarian ideas throughout our society. The time, the ambition and the resources applied over the past 60 years are extraordinary. Generations of propagandists, scholars, lobbyists, think-tanks, astroturf organizations and political parties have been financed by large corporations and billionaires.
  
== A Childish Selfishness ==
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They have attempted (quite successfully) to subvert the language, to pack propaganda into textbooks and academic publications, to subvert science (smoking, pollution and global warming) with enormous [[denialist]] campaigns, to create intellectual shock troops to disperse their propaganda, to stack the legal system with specially trained judges, to direct politicians with think-tank plans and offers of revolving-door employment, and a host of other activities.
Libertarianism is a tiny movement of people who primarily want (a) to freeload on society by not contributing their share (b) to avoid social prohibitions and (c) want to lock in their good fortune.  It's really that simple: all the supposed philosophy is really just after-the-fact (post hoc) rationalization.  Everything springs from the childish "I don't wanna pay", "I wanna do that anyhow" and "no, it's mine!"
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== An Unusual Preference for Certain Liberties ==
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This coordinated effort channels the numerous variants of libertarianism to serve the political face of libertarianism, the Koch-controlled maze of fronts and organizations (the "Kochtopus".)
Some libertarians simply value some forms of personal liberty more than other people consider reasonable.<ref>Ravi Iyer et al., [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1665934 Understanding Libertarian Morality: The Psychological Roots of an Individualist Ideology]</ref>  Essentially all the rest of their argument is post hoc excuses that conceal the simple difference in preferences.  Their post hoc arguments tend to be based on (a) natural rights, (b) ridiculous formulas like "coercion is bad", (c) assertions about qualitative benefits that overlook other obvious factors or (d) [[denialism]].
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== Scrooge's Viewpoint ==
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Because "he who pays the piper calls the tunes", the result is that libertarianism has benefitted major corporations and billionaires far more than it has benefitted the middle-class pot smoker (now approaching lower class.)
Many libertarians reject patriotism, democracy, politics, religion, charity and other traditional values and institutions in their attempt to view the whole world through economics.  While many traditional values and institutions may deserve a good kicking, preferring "greed is good" economic views and ignoring the harms of dismantling major institutions is repulsive.  Examples include the Friedman and Hayek attitudes towards Pinochet's Chile<ref>Third World Traveller, [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zeroes/Milton_Friedman.html Milton Friedman]</ref><ref>John Quiggan, [http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2006/11/23/friedman-and-hayek/ Friedman and Hayek]</ref> and serious defenses of Scrooge.<ref>Michael Levin, [http://mises.org/daily/110 Scrooge Defended]</ref>
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== A Catspaw For Corporations ==
 
== A Catspaw For Corporations ==
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The liberty these corporate hirelings write of is generally the liberty desired by corporations, not the liberty desired by ordinary people.  Hence we see propaganda such as the "Index of Economic Freedoms".
 
The liberty these corporate hirelings write of is generally the liberty desired by corporations, not the liberty desired by ordinary people.  Hence we see propaganda such as the "Index of Economic Freedoms".
  
== A Long-Running Public Relations Campaign ==
+
== A Rightwing Populist Movement In Miniature ==
The extent of libertarianism today is largely the result of decades-long public relations campaigns that have been working on insinuating libertarian ideas throughout our society. The time, the ambition and the resources applied over the past 60 years are extraordinary. Generations of propagandists, scholars, lobbyists, think-tanks, astroturf organizations and political parties have been financed by large corporations and billionaires.
+
While libertarians may profess socially left ideas such as freedom of choice, their right-conservatism becomes obvious if you ask them what parts of the right-wing economic agenda they'd be willing to sacrifice to realize their left social goals. They just won't give up their opposition to government and taxation, nor will they give up their allegiance to absolute property. No matter what social goals you propose in exchange.
  
They have attempted (quite successfully) to subvert the language, to pack propaganda into textbooks and academic publications, to subvert science (smoking, pollution and global warming) with enormous [[denialist]] campaigns, to create intellectual shock troops to disperse their propaganda, to stack the legal system with specially trained judges, to direct politicians with think-tank plans and offers of revolving-door employment, and a host of other activities.
+
== A Childish Selfishness ==
 +
Libertarianism is a tiny movement of people who primarily want (a) to freeload on society by not contributing their share (b) to avoid social prohibitions and (c) want to lock in their good fortune.  It's really that simple: all the supposed philosophy is really just after-the-fact (post hoc) rationalization.  Everything springs from the childish "I don't wanna pay", "I wanna do that anyhow" and "no, it's mine!"
  
Because "he who pays the piper calls the tunes", the result is that libertarianism has benefitted major corporations and billionaires far more than it has benefitted the middle-class pot smoker (now approaching lower class.)
+
== An Unusual Preference for Certain Liberties ==
 +
Some libertarians simply value some forms of personal liberty more than other people consider reasonable.<ref>Ravi Iyer et al., [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1665934 Understanding Libertarian Morality: The Psychological Roots of an Individualist Ideology]</ref>  Essentially all the rest of their argument is post hoc excuses that conceal the simple difference in preferences.  Their post hoc arguments tend to be based on (a) natural rights, (b) ridiculous formulas like "coercion is bad", (c) assertions about qualitative benefits that overlook other obvious factors or (d) [[denialism]].
 +
 
 +
== Scrooge's Viewpoint ==
 +
Many libertarians reject patriotism, democracy, politics, religion, charity and other traditional values and institutions in their attempt to view the whole world through economics.  While many traditional values and institutions may deserve a good kicking, preferring "greed is good" economic views and ignoring the harms of dismantling major institutions is repulsive.  Examples include the Friedman and Hayek attitudes towards Pinochet's Chile<ref>Third World Traveller, [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zeroes/Milton_Friedman.html Milton Friedman]</ref><ref>John Quiggan, [http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2006/11/23/friedman-and-hayek/ Friedman and Hayek]</ref> and serious defenses of Scrooge.<ref>Michael Levin, [http://mises.org/daily/110 Scrooge Defended]</ref>
  
 
== Philosophical Fairytales ==
 
== Philosophical Fairytales ==

Revision as of 13:41, 20 January 2011