Libertarianism

May 17, 2009 Poisoned
Tags: Politics

This promises to be a unique entry in that what I am about to write about is very deep and might not be completely understandable. To be completely honest with you – I don\’t even understand it myself.

I was at a party on Friday with my sister (which sucks because if I make out with someone(s), she can use that as ammunition in the eternal war between us. Anyways – I was sitting with some friends and we ended up discussing our political philosophies – which is like totally weird and out of character for us. And I have just realized that I am unsure as to whether I am, or am not, a libertarian.

And now you ask – what the hell is a libertarian? What is libertarianism?

I\’m not going to claim that I can fully describe libertarianism, but here is my attempt at a brief sketch.

Libertarianism is a not a single idea. It is a constellation of political and philosophical ideas centered around the notions that personal freedom of action is paramount, and that government should be minimized or eliminated. There are many different variations of libertarianism, and not all libertarians agree on everything.

In general, libertarians stress the notion of individual liberty, and argue that governments interfere with that liberty through taxation and regulation. In general, libertarians argue that any action should be permitted except the use of force, and they argue that government actions such as taxation only work because they are backed by force. In general, libertarians believe strongly in private property rights and in rights of contract.

The basic moral premise of libertarianism is as follows: Every human has a right to life and property, and the initiation of force in violation of these rights is wrong. This is very simple. It tells us that theft, murder, and rape are evils that violate another’s natural right to life and property. However, taking a closer look at this moral premise shows that the government commits some of these acts. Any action the government takes has a moral purpose because whoever is behind that action believes it is the right thing to do. Taxation, since it involves the government, is the initiation of force against human beings to take their money. Thus the essence of taxation is theft. The morality of taxation states it is right to steal a man’s money, which he has worked to earn, then use it as the thief sees fit.

See – libertarianism, you might say, is a form of anarchy. And I, insofar as anything can be said about my personal philosophies and beliefs, am an anarchist. And that is a realization that i have only come to grasp very recently. A couple of months ago, if you had asked me what an anarchist was, I\’d give you the example of a angry young man throwing a Molotov cocktail at a police line. Now, I\’d give something less demonstrative, yet more accurate all the same.

So if to be a libertarian is to be an anarchist, then yes, I am a libertarian. This, however, is flawed reasoning. It makes little sense at all. See – I could write more about this, but laziness is part of my character.

What should you conclude from this meaningless discussion? Simply this…the things I do when I should be partying sometimes defies explanation.

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2 Comments Add your own

• 1. David W  |  May 17, 2009 at 12:00 pm

  You aren’t an anarchist, whenever I see you next online i’l tell you why. Otherwise, who are you and what have you done with J******!!!

  Reply

• 2. phil  |  May 17, 2009 at 4:42 pm

  just have fun all thats for later in life phil the libertarian haveing fun lol

  Reply

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