Difference between revisions of "What Is Wrong With Libertarianism"

From Critiques Of Libertarianism
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* [[Diversity In Libertarianism]]
 
* [[Diversity In Libertarianism]]
There is really no such thing as a coherent libertarian ideology or philosophy.  Nor is there one "real" libertarianism: libertarianism is heterogeneous.  Libertarianism can be left or right, rationalist or antirationalist, essentialist or pragmatist, hardcore or soft core, based on rights or liberty or values, using Austrian or Chicago or other economics, statist or anarchist, political or philosophical, etc.  This occurs in other viewpoints (conservatism, liberalism, etc.) as well: but there are two great errors due to this fact.  The first is presenting any one statement as typical of all libertarianism, instead of one or a few sects.  The second  is using these different varieties as if were the same thing.  That is a fallacy of the shifting middle term.  These problems are best avoided by focusing on individual arguments based on one libertarian viewpoint at a time.
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There is really no such thing as a coherent libertarian ideology or philosophy.  Nor is there one "real" libertarianism: libertarianism is heterogeneous (a mixed collection.) Libertarianism can be left or right, rationalist or antirationalist, essentialist or pragmatist, hardcore or soft core, based on rights or liberty or values, using Austrian or Chicago or other economics, statist or anarchist, political or philosophical, etc.  This occurs in other viewpoints (conservatism, liberalism, etc.) as well: but there are three great errors made because of this fact.  The first is presenting any one statement as typical of all libertarianism, instead of one or a few sects.  That is a false generalization.  The second  is using these different varieties as if they were the same thing.  That is a fallacy of the shifting middle term.  The third is the claim that there is a "true" libertarianism.  That's an essentialist fallacy.  These problems are best avoided by focusing on individual arguments based on one libertarian viewpoint at a time.
  
 
* [[There Is No Simple Description Of Libertarianism]]
 
* [[There Is No Simple Description Of Libertarianism]]

Revision as of 11:52, 12 October 2009