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Willravel · 08-04-2008, 09:08 AM

I'm not a libertarian. I believe I understand a lot of the broad strokes of libertarianism, but I find myself constantly questioning libertarians about their beliefs and very rarely get answers (as many of them are libertarian in name only).

Tilted libertarians, I hope you'll step forward and explain exactly what it is you believe and possibly take a shot at answering my questions and the questions of others.

What do libertarians do about the environment? It seems that libertarianism largely ignores non-human issues that could eventually have some effect on humans but do not have any short term effects. Things like climate change or pollution often are left to the market, which is more concerned with itself.

Why do you believe rights are inalienable? Obviously it says so in the Constitution, but I've had several discussions on TFP before where it's been plainly established that there is a proportional relationship between how sacred a right is and how powerful proponents of said right are. If only 80,000 people in the US were pro-gun proponents, I suspect that the right to bear arms would be largely ignored despite it's presence in the BOR.

Where does the idea of privately owned property get it's genesis and why is it an assumed mode in libertarian theory? Mises went on and on about private ownership, but I have yet to encounter a libertarian that can explain why there is a connection between using something and somehow having an exclusive right to said thing. I've argued before that in pre-agrarian societies of humans, most property was collectively owned by the group of humans, and this can be demonstrated in other primates and intelligent animals.

Why do you believe freedom to be more important than equality? Can you demonstrate that a more "free" society is more successful? More happy? What about people who repeatedly make bad decisions that effect others?

I have more questions, but I think (hope) these are a good jumping off point for discussion.

Thanks for reading and I hope this will be a friendly and fruitful discussion.

08-04-2008, 09:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Questions about libertarianism I'm not a libertarian. I believe I understand a lot of the broad strokes of libertarianism, but I find myself constantly questioning libertarians about their beliefs and very rarely get answers (as many of them are libertarian in name only). Tilted libertarians, I hope you'll step forward and explain exactly what it is you believe and possibly take a shot at answering my questions and the questions of others. What do libertarians do about the environment? It seems that libertarianism largely ignores non-human issues that could eventually have some effect on humans but do not have any short term effects. Things like climate change or pollution often are left to the market, which is more concerned with itself. Why do you believe rights are inalienable? Obviously it says so in the Constitution, but I've had several discussions on TFP before where it's been plainly established that there is a proportional relationship between how sacred a right is and how powerful proponents of said right are. If only 80,000 people in the US were pro-gun proponents, I suspect that the right to bear arms would be largely ignored despite it's presence in the BOR. Where does the idea of privately owned property get it's genesis and why is it an assumed mode in libertarian theory? Mises went on and on about private ownership, but I have yet to encounter a libertarian that can explain why there is a connection between using something and somehow having an exclusive right to said thing. I've argued before that in pre-agrarian societies of humans, most property was collectively owned by the group of humans, and this can be demonstrated in other primates and intelligent animals. Why do you believe freedom to be more important than equality? Can you demonstrate that a more "free" society is more successful? More happy? What about people who repeatedly make bad decisions that effect others? I have more questions, but I think (hope) these are a good jumping off point for discussion. Thanks for reading and I hope this will be a friendly and fruitful discussion.