Sunday, March 02, 2008

Labels, Again

Anarchist .... libertarian .... anarcho-capitalist ....

What do they all mean? Yes, I know you can look up definitions to see what someone, somewhere, thought they meant when they were writing the definition, but those definitions may not be what you really have in mind when you say the words. They seem too all fall short of the concepts. Yet, somehow we are trapped. If we make up new words they will also drift away from our original intent as soon as someone else uses them. You can't totally avoid using labels unless you are satisfied to use a paragraph (or a chapter) each time you try to relate the concept. It turns out, that is what I end up doing. A lot. Labels are a shortcut. I don't think they can be eliminated or completely avoided. I will simply try to be aware that you and I may not mean the same thing when we use the same words.