Ask a Libertarian

[Lebbo73]

If Paul is the high watermark of libertarian thinking and policy reformation then God help us all. I mean just ask the family of Kent Snyder...

Nice try mellowyellow. That is bs propaganda and you know it. Ron Paul was a practicing physician before he got into politics who did many procedures free of charge for those who couldn't afford it.

 

[haden1999]

but corporate influence in government is part of capitalism, and libertarianism is inherently capitalist.

So how do you fight it?

The people who brag about being Libertarian on this board are full of s**t conservative capitalists.

Libertarian my arse.

 

[The Coup]

If Paul is the high watermark of libertarian thinking and policy reformation then God help us all. I mean just ask the family of Kent Snyder...

thing is Ron Paul can actually be respected because he puts his (often pro corporate, anti human) opinion on the line.

Most modern libertarians are also gutless.

 

[The Coup]

Nice try mellowyellow. That is bs propaganda and you know it. Ron Paul was a practicing physician before he got into politics who did many procedures free of charge for those who couldn't afford it.

He seems like a good, principled, honest man.

 

[Gus Poyet]

If Paul is the high watermark of libertarian thinking and policy reformation then God help us all. I mean just ask the family of Kent Snyder...

Why would you think that?

You might want to google Gary Johnson. Given he's most likely the Libertarian candidate for the next election.

 

[mellowyellow]

Why would you think that?

You might want to google Gary Johnson. Given he's most likely the Libertarian candidate for the next election.

Dont think I'll bother as they all read from the same hymn book

The mantra is ... Me Me Me....

 

[Gus Poyet]

Dont think I'll bother as they all read from the same hymn book

The mantra is ... Me Me Me....

Yeah don't bother. It's too much for your brain to comprehend.

Johnson is a strong supporter of civil liberties and received the highest score of any candidate from the American Civil Liberties Union for supporting drug decriminalization and having a pro-choice stance on abortion, while opposing censorship and regulation of the Internet, the Patriot Act, enhanced airport screenings, and the indefinite detention of prisoners.[120] He has spoken in favor of the separation of church and state, and has said that he does not "seek the counsel of God" when determining his political agenda.[121] Johnson endorsed same-sex marriage in 2011;[122] he has since called for a constitutional amendment protecting equal marriage rights,[122] and criticized Obama's position on the issue as having "thrown this question back to the states."[123] Johnson has been a long time advocate of legalizing marijuana and has said that if he were President, he would remove it from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act as well as issue an executive order pardoning non-violent marijuana offenders.

 

[mellowyellow]

Yeah don't bother. It's too much for your brain to comprehend.

Reads more like a social progressive agenda then Libertarian
So where does hes stand on economic matters , laissez faire dogmatist?

 

[little graham]

Thought it strange paul wants less government while in the grips of rampant capatlism.

 

[Gus Poyet]

Reads more like a social progressive agenda then Libertarian
So where does hes stand on economic matters , laissez faire dogmatist?

He reads exactly like a Libertarian. His views are common among Libertarians you realise? Or maybe you don't.

He stands for cutting Government waste. His economic record as Governor of New Mexico was a success thanks in part to that philosophy.

 

[mellowyellow]

He reads exactly like a Libertarian. His views are common among Libertarians you realise?

.

Thnx for the midnight giggles you're a riot

 

[Gus Poyet]

Thnx for the midnight giggles you're a riot

I'm a riot and you're clueless. What a pair.

 

[Mofra]

Gus Poyet serious question to a libertarian (hoping none of the conservatives pretending to be libertarians chime in).

Where do you find that line at which government interference is too much of an imposition on personal freedoms?
Is it 'gut feel' or are there a basic set of rules that you or many libertarians agree on? Stats on where personal protections are necessary, or is it simply about reducing government interference to as close to zero as possible?

In my experience this is the biggest issue with libertarianism - the practical realities vs the ideology (like many ideologies it's fair to say)

 

[The Coup]

New question:

1. Where do libertarians stand on collective bargaining, strike action and trade unions?

Anarchists are cool with it, communists are cool with it, social democrats are cool (ish) with it.

How about libertarians?

 

[Gus Poyet]

Gus Poyet serious question to a libertarian (hoping none of the conservatives pretending to be libertarians chime in).

Where do you find that line at which government interference is too much of an imposition on personal freedoms?
Is it 'gut feel' or are there a basic set of rules that you or many libertarians agree on? Stats on where personal protections are necessary, or is it simply about reducing government interference to as close to zero as possible?

For the individual it's not just about personal freedoms, it's also about personal responsibility from the individual who is asking for personal freedoms to be respected. It's asking people to tolerate others life decisions even if you don't agree with them.

A Libertarian may not like abortions, they might find them quite appalling. However they will not seek to stop others from having them if that is their choice.
That mindset is what the vast majority will appply to most situations in their life. It's all based on tolerance.

I guess the overall feeling of a Libertarian is that if it's not hurting or impeding other people then the Government has no role or right to tell people how they live their lives. An example of that is Gay Marriage. A Government has no right or need to impose it's views on such a matter. This is not a part of Governance, it is using their power to push their own social agenda onto others.

Libertarians don't want zero government interference. People who want that are Anarchists. Libertarians realise there is a role for Government in many areas. Especially those where the private sector does not or cannot provide a service.

The less services Governments provide the less we need to be taxed to fund it. If that lead to less tax payers $ being required people wouldn't get taxed so much and would have money money to spend or invest. That in itself would create more jobs from the increased amount of disposable income people had.

It's the end it's all about cutting the massive amounts of wastage our present Governments create.

In my experience this is the biggest issue with libertarianism - the practical realities vs the ideology (like many ideologies it's fair to say)

This is only so due to society having devolved into one of a sense of entitlement and hand outs.

One only has to look at how people react when the Government says "we aren't paying for it anymore, you can pay for it yourself".

I'm under no illusion that we'll ever live in a Libertarian society. People are far to selfish and incapable of self responsibility to makeit happen.

However even if 25% of the population lived by the principle it promotes society would be all the better for it.

 

[Gus Poyet]

New question:

1. Where do libertarians stand on collective bargaining, strike action and trade unions?

Anarchists are cool with it, communists are cool with it, social democrats are cool (ish) with it.

How about libertarians?

This covers it quite well.

http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/regul...abour-libertarians-employment-and-the-unions/

A libertarian believes that human beings should be free to undertake exchanges with each other free from force, fraud or coercion. Trade unions found their origins in defending workers against abuse by business, abuse often supported by the state. A libertarian state that functioned properly would not collude with anti-liberal business practises and would protect people from forceful, fraudulent or coercive practises that might necessitate trades union membership.

But libertarian employment law would undermine unions too. Like most things, labour is a commodity. A job is a contract between an employer and an employee in which the latter’s labour is traded at a given rate for remuneration in wages and perhaps other perks. Despite this trades unions are not seen as what they are in business terms: cartels working to inflate prices (wage costs) by restricting the labour market. While the horrors of the closed shop and the flying picket have (for the most part, student politics aside) disappeared, the fundamental leverage behind a strike is the idea that a union can exercise a labour monopoly and use the threat of withdrawal to coerce employers.

No libertarian system would ban strikes or unions. People are free to associate with each other as they wish and no libertarian would argue that a worker does not have the right to withdraw their labour. What is critical is that a libertarian recognises the right of an employer to replace that labour. In the same way in which a libertarian government would fight monopolist practises on the business side of industry, so it should strive to create a free market in labour. Not only would this be morally right in accordance with libertarian principles, but it would allow the market to adjust British wages back to internationally competitive levels.

 

[katana]

is it annoying to have to whisper all day? bcoz u work in a library?

 

[Richard Pryor]

Even if one doesn't agree with everything the libertarian ideology advocates, I think everyone can (or should) agree that an increased influence of it would be a good thing for society. It's an important point of view that deserves representation more than either of the major parties do.

 

[Malifice]

but corporate influence in government is part of capitalism, and libertarianism is inherently capitalist.

So how do you fight it?

Liberalism.

 

[The Coup]

Even if one doesn't agree with everything the libertarian ideology advocates, I think everyone can (or should) agree that an increased influence of it would be a good thing for society. It's an important point of view that deserves representation more than either of the major parties do.

Would be good if someone could define it then

 

[Lebbo73]

He seems like a good, principled, honest man.

I must of missed this. Don't know whether you are pulling the piss or serious?
Ron Paul is a libertarian who also believes in God. So like me he could never support gay marriage or abortion.

 

[The Coup]

I must of missed this. Don't know whether you are pulling the piss or serious?
Ron Paul is a libertarian who also believes in God. So like me he could never support gay marriage or abortion.

Not taking the piss, seems like a good person.

A nice idiot.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

A Libertarian may not like abortions, they might find them quite appalling. However they will not seek to stop others from having them if that is their choice.
That mindset is what the vast majority will appply to most situations in their life. It's all based on tolerance.

I guess the overall feeling of a Libertarian is that if it's not hurting or impeding other people then the Government has no role or right to tell people how they live their lives. An example of that is Gay Marriage. A Government has no right or need to impose it's views on such a matter. This is not a part of Governance, it is using their power to push their own social agenda onto others.

So are libertarians and humanists basically on the same page and waging the same struggle? It's weird - the more I understand of all these 'isms' the more I find I don't fit perfectly into any of them.

One more victory for the 'salad bar' approach?

 

[CountryRace]

Whats wrong with the authorities looking at my phone and email?

I've got nothing to hide?

what could go wrong?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/pentagon-child-pr0n-scand_n_656839.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...t-the-heart-of-the-British-Establishment.html

 

[CountryRace]

Nice try mellowyellow. That is bs propaganda and you know it. Ron Paul was a practicing physician before he got into politics who did many procedures free of charge for those who couldn't afford it.

Also the only one in American politics that said don't bomb Iran on the eve of the last election