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Slims · 08-07-2009, 10:28 PM

I am going to chime in very quickly.

I will post a longer response tomorrow now that I have found this thread.

But quickly: The Libertarian Philosophy is a very general one. I personally believe that the core of any true libertarian philosophy is a believe in minimal government and an emphasis on personal responsiblity. How that should manifest itself is largely up to the individual.

Personally, I believe you can consider yourself a libertarian if you believe (as an ideal, not necessarily as a practical implementation of that ideal) this statement applies to you: "I believe the maximum role of civil government should be the protection of life, liberty and property as well as the maintenance of a free state."

There is a lot of wiggle room in that statement, though it probably would be difficult to stretch it far enough to fully include Willravel's personal ideals.

The problem with any ideal is that they are, well, idealistic and fail to include the natural failings of societies and the individuals within them. The libertarian philosophy is no different in this regard than many others. What I believe it has going for it is a good principle which should be applied more often.... But then you run into the collision of ideals with reality (but to be honest, you will have similar issues with any philosophy which I am aware of). The environment, for instance is one issue where the core philosophy is silent (because it deals with people rather than things), it is up to individuals and society to find a practical balance between absolute freedom and consumption. Under Libertarian philosophy an individual would be forbidden to harm others, destroying our environment is not far removed from that.

I, as a libertarian feel we are beginning to vote for things which we as a society cannot afford and cannot sustain. I feel this will long-term do more harm than good. I understand that as the world becomes more complex, the government is likely going to have to grow in response, but I don't see how we can justify it's current bulk and inefficiency. IMHO most of my tax dollars are now spent on things which I simply do not feel are important.

Don't assume the Libertarian Party is the voice of the average Libertarian. One things Libertarians do very poorly is organize under a common banner and the Libertarian party has become a catch-all party of all kinds of radicals and other silliness.

More after I am less tired.

08-07-2009, 10:28 PM	#100 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	I am going to chime in very quickly. I will post a longer response tomorrow now that I have found this thread. But quickly: The Libertarian Philosophy is a very general one. I personally believe that the core of any true libertarian philosophy is a believe in minimal government and an emphasis on personal responsiblity. How that should manifest itself is largely up to the individual. Personally, I believe you can consider yourself a libertarian if you believe (as an ideal, not necessarily as a practical implementation of that ideal) this statement applies to you: "I believe the maximum role of civil government should be the protection of life, liberty and property as well as the maintenance of a free state." There is a lot of wiggle room in that statement, though it probably would be difficult to stretch it far enough to fully include Willravel's personal ideals. The problem with any ideal is that they are, well, idealistic and fail to include the natural failings of societies and the individuals within them. The libertarian philosophy is no different in this regard than many others. What I believe it has going for it is a good principle which should be applied more often.... But then you run into the collision of ideals with reality (but to be honest, you will have similar issues with any philosophy which I am aware of). The environment, for instance is one issue where the core philosophy is silent (because it deals with people rather than things), it is up to individuals and society to find a practical balance between absolute freedom and consumption. Under Libertarian philosophy an individual would be forbidden to harm others, destroying our environment is not far removed from that. I, as a libertarian feel we are beginning to vote for things which we as a society cannot afford and cannot sustain. I feel this will long-term do more harm than good. I understand that as the world becomes more complex, the government is likely going to have to grow in response, but I don't see how we can justify it's current bulk and inefficiency. IMHO most of my tax dollars are now spent on things which I simply do not feel are important. Don't assume the Libertarian Party is the voice of the average Libertarian. One things Libertarians do very poorly is organize under a common banner and the Libertarian party has become a catch-all party of all kinds of radicals and other silliness. More after I am less tired. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence Last edited by Slims; 08-07-2009 at 10:32 PM..