On Libertarianism
Socialism is an infantile philosophy. It plays to the desire to not only have the state take care of you, but to hand over all responsibility for one's own life, all decisions, all individuality to the collective state.
Libertarianism is, by contrast, an adolescent philosophy. It works on the adolescent urge to break from society, declare one's own individuality, and insist that nothing outside of yourself is your problem. Anyone who has been around self-involved teenagers can recognize these characteristics imediately. The motto of the Libertarian Party should be "Fuck You, Dad! You Can't Tell Me What To Do!" Preferably, it should be printed on a seal patterned after the cover of Rush's 2112.
Somewhere in between infantile dependency and adolescent rebellion, there is an adult worldview that is capable of seeing beyond the black and white of these immature philosophies.
I am not a socialist. I am a capitalist. I believe in the capitalist system. It's a great system, it works well, it encourages achievement among it's members. I believe in the free market, I believe in entrepeneurship. The problem is that the right has exherted such a strong pull (and the left given so little resistance) in recent decades, that they have actually managed to move the center far to the right, and the language with it, so that we use the term socialism to refer to capitalism with reasonable government oversight, regulation, and social programs, and capitalism to refer to an absolutist, laissez-faire form of capitalism, a sort of religous adherence to the forces of the free markets.
America will never be a socialist country. Libertarianism is so ingrained in the American character that I cannot imagine an America that even resembles the socialist democracies of Europe. But that doesn't mean we have to invest the government with a superstitious fear, and believe that any use of the government for the good of the people is dangerous.
I believe in the individual. I'd even go so far as to say that I believe in placing the rights of the individual over the collective good of society. What I don't believe is that the rights of the individual are the ONLY thing worthy of consideration. Balance.
Libertarianism is, by contrast, an adolescent philosophy. It works on the adolescent urge to break from society, declare one's own individuality, and insist that nothing outside of yourself is your problem. Anyone who has been around self-involved teenagers can recognize these characteristics imediately. The motto of the Libertarian Party should be "Fuck You, Dad! You Can't Tell Me What To Do!" Preferably, it should be printed on a seal patterned after the cover of Rush's 2112.
Somewhere in between infantile dependency and adolescent rebellion, there is an adult worldview that is capable of seeing beyond the black and white of these immature philosophies.
I am not a socialist. I am a capitalist. I believe in the capitalist system. It's a great system, it works well, it encourages achievement among it's members. I believe in the free market, I believe in entrepeneurship. The problem is that the right has exherted such a strong pull (and the left given so little resistance) in recent decades, that they have actually managed to move the center far to the right, and the language with it, so that we use the term socialism to refer to capitalism with reasonable government oversight, regulation, and social programs, and capitalism to refer to an absolutist, laissez-faire form of capitalism, a sort of religous adherence to the forces of the free markets.
America will never be a socialist country. Libertarianism is so ingrained in the American character that I cannot imagine an America that even resembles the socialist democracies of Europe. But that doesn't mean we have to invest the government with a superstitious fear, and believe that any use of the government for the good of the people is dangerous.
I believe in the individual. I'd even go so far as to say that I believe in placing the rights of the individual over the collective good of society. What I don't believe is that the rights of the individual are the ONLY thing worthy of consideration. Balance.
posted by Chris Oliver at 10:43 AM
2 Comments:
Exactly. Thanks for putting this so succinctly. It's just the point I've been trying to make with a co-worker.
Thanks. Feel free to steal it!
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